As a bus driver in 03, I saw many things and gained much wisdom and insight.

Some of these routes are gone/changed, but the faithful riders will remember.

Excel (sorority row):
Perfume and hairspary burned my eyes in the AM.

When the weather was warm/hot, turn AC on full blast for maximum rearview mirror visuals (what do you think the little round mirror is for by the door).

When the weather turned cold, girls wore shorts with jackets and still froze.

Aggieland

Many drunk people ride home at 6AM, drive careful or they will spill

If you ever got on at southwest parkway & texas ave, you know I don't wait long, better be runnin

Wehner Express aka Sit-n-Spin

Hotties everywhere, but snotty

Packed buses are not fun for me either, but I will not leave early, I don't care what time your class is at Heldenfels. If you're that worried about it, run.

Cotton Bowl

Asian married students will not miss a bus, they will run, even with a stroller, groceries, two backpacks, whatever.

Game Day Shuttle

I seriously don't care if you drink on my bus, but at least pour it in a cup, that way I have an excuse

There is no "Aggie" radio station that just plays "Aggie songs." What are "Aggie songs?"

Random Stuff

Only let out a silent-but-deadly on a crowded bus, that way no one knows

People like to try and fornicate on late night routes. Hey, I can see you.

Sorority charters really suck, mostly because you have to clean up puke when you turn in your bus

Fraternity charters suck even more, because you still have to clean puke, but there are not as many bewbs to see in the mirror

The only people I ever gave a ride to in Bryan after midnight, were thoed and headed to the corner store

My second day as a driver, I did this to keep me awake.

Me:"Good morning everyone,and Howdy. Thank you for choosing us for your trip this morning. Please notice the rails and straps that are there for your convenience in case we encounter any turbulence today. Should we crash in the water you will find a small personal flotation device under your seats. Relax and enjoy the trip."

People actually looked under the seats. That's why people make Aggie jokes.

Cody
Fightin' Texas Aggie c/o '04

awesome, tell it again

I got pulled over by the sheriff on my second day as a bus driver for speeding in a school zone.

"You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life." - Winston Churchill

You didn't rape anyone did you?

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Perfume and hairspary burned my eyes in the AM.

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And that is why I never drove that route.

I was driving an on campus route once (can't remember which one) and I had a crowded bus with a sorority chick up front talking on her cell phone. I guess she was so caught up in the beetching about a guy she had met that she didn't realize the entire bus could hear her when she said "I can't believe I let that ******* **** me in the ass.". When the bus fell silent it dawned on her what she said and she started crying. I almost lost contol of the bus from laughing so hard.

I drove from '02-'04.

interesting stuff. good post OP

aTm2004

did you get her number?

I drove from 98-01. We only had about 20 buses with AC, 43-45, 48-65. Any drivers Remember the 2 blue birds? 46 and 47?

Before it was Excel, it was Gig'Em. Why do they think you'll wait for them if they're strolling towards your bus and on their phone? Used to love picking people up with them wearing their pajamas.

Night shuttle: cruise around from 8PM to 2AM in a 12 passenger Diesel Chevrolet Van, giving people rides on campus. Usually busy on Sunday nights, people with baskets full of laundry, groceries etc.

Cotton Bowl: 12 passenger Van shuttle to 'the oaks' Apartment Complex. Great run, until the van broke down and you get the old Chevrolet Diesel buses.

Ring Dance: Race other buses down Wellborn Road

Fuel Crew and Wash Crew: Done em both, end the night at Layne's for Chicken Fingers. Winter sucks for wash crew.

Sorority charters: For some reason, I was always requested for this one Sorority. They always trashed the bus out.

Food Safety Inspection Service aka FSIS (Feces) Charter: Easiest charter ever.

Game Day: Easy, get paid to watch most of the game. I also got the "Put it on the Aggie station".

Paratransit: Also easy, got in trouble because another driver taped a picture of Timmy From southpark to the back window of the Bus and didn't take it off.



[This message has been edited by 1agswitchin4lanes (edited 2/25/2009 1:21p).]

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"I can't believe I let that ******* **** me in the ass.".

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Sweet!!!!!!

You could see asphalt throught the floor of 10 and 11

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You could see asphalt throught the floor of 10 and 11

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I remember someone had a 12th man sticker on the back window of 11.

aTm2004

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Paratransit: Also easy, got in trouble because another driver taped a picture of Timmy From southpark to the back window of the Bus and didn't take it off.

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I know I shouldn't laugh, but I can't help it.

I loved Centerpole. I lived on the route, and a lot of friends did too. It was so easy that I usually had a good 10 mins at campus to read, shoot the breeze, or get on the phone. I had to drive bus 40 a lot, no A/C, and my first night at bush wash the drive shaft died on it. Bus wash was usually very cold the spring I did it but the cold and everyone being anxious to go out on Friday night.

One of the funniest things that happened in that job was when my bus was cut off in front of Northgate (happened all the time) and a girl in the seat behind me asked if she could yell at the guy. I said, go for it, and she proceeded to put her window down and chew him royally. I appreciated it.

The funniest part of all though was the people who would lecture with a straight face about sexual harassment would be the same people playing ass-grab in the office the next day.

I was a student bus mechanic 98/99, was a great job.

I almost always have a beer when I get on the bus at game day. I am discrete about it. Didn't know I was breaking any rules and have never had anything said to me about it.....

Did anybody ever drive the short bus? 72 I believe.

Also, the same guy took all of the good para routes every semester (you know who I'm talking about). I was able to get a couple my last year of driving and, coincidentially, my grades went up.

aTm 2004 which route was the one that picked up at Melrose? GOD I HATED that route. Standing there while buses whizzed past you due to being overcrowded.

71 and 73 were the "buckin bronco" short buses.

BCOBQ did you work with Lyndon Zygsby?

Yes, Lyndon, Wayne, Jerry, Jodi, Bill...The lot of them.

Almost got fired my first week. It was our privilage to check every bus's oil in the PM. They blaimed leaving the oil filler cap off a bus and it made a mess. Could have been me who know....

How many laps can you do around the clocktower? With students on the bus?

At night on the late night routes, parking the other buses and getting on one to go "surfing" while the driver went around the clocktower.

My wife was on the student committee back in the 70's that brought bus transporation to campus....... you can blame her if you want........

aTm2004! That's great!

Some of the stuff I overheard as a driver was downright hilarious. It's amazing how people would have super personal conversations while sitting right behind me. I guess being a bus driver makes you invisible/deaf?

I drove from '01-'04. To this day I think it is the coolest job any college kid could ever have - loved every minute of it.

I tried to get a job driving, but my hours werent good enough for them. Sad day for me.

I drove in 97 and 98. I started on one of the crappy "regular" buses..I think Hullabaloo. Then I got assigned an on campus route with the two doors (one in the front and one in the middle) w/ ac. It took about three stops to realize that opening the doors initiated the brakes. I think someone in the back yelled at me saying, "hey dumbazz, can you please wait until we stop to open the doors!" ohhhhhhhhh, so that's whats going on here!

Drove '98-'02

My favorite bus driving experience was when I drove a charter to the Austin airport in the early morning. The drive was fine, most people were asleep except for couple of people that chatted with me most of the trip.

We get close to the Airport and at the last stoplight before turning into the airport. The light turned yellow, and I was planning to go through it. Unfortunately, the car in the other lane cut me off and slammed on the brakes, causing me to slam on the brakes as well. All those people asleep got a very rude awakening.

The little blue car is lucky it didn't become a whole lot smaller.

My favorite route was Reveille. I always had 10-15 minutes to sit on campus. Plus our stop was near the Underground, so it was always nice to get a snack midway through.

I avoided Excel and Sit N Spin like the plague.

Later I got fired for a no-show. I accidentally signed up for two routes at the same time, drove one of them and was told to come up to dispatch after I finished my route when I learned my fate (luckily it at the end of my undergrad career).

I loved being an Aggie Bus Driver.

[This message has been edited by JHUAggie (edited 2/25/2009 2:46p).]

i drove from 02-05.

i remember the blue birds, and also the short bus. i had to drive that one once on a night route (bonfire, i think it was).

22 was actually my favorite route, because you could touch and go down all the stops towards the end of the day on university oaks and get back to campus with time to spare to hit the can or get a snack.

i avoided the routes with old buses like the plague. i'm a husky guy and i don't like sweating.

Reveille was one of my favorites to drive. I got stuck with it my first semester b/c no one with any seniority wanted it. After that I signed up for it at least a couple times a week. What made it so great was that you usually only had to make 5 rounds and your shift was over - for some reason that made the time go by faster. Also, an empty bus and almost not passsengers to pick up in the evening meant that I could blast whatever music I wanted, blow by all the stops and end up with a good while to read/study/talk on the phone back on campus.

On time I got YELLED at by one of the mechanics because I eneded up at Blinn with a flat tire (it was on a god-awful old bus, maybe 12 or 11). He insisted that the tire didn't just "go flat" between the time I left campus and the time I got to Blinn and that I must not have done a walk-around. All I could do was laugh and ask him if he knew how many unavoidable potholes and random road debris I probably ran over every time I drove through Bryan.

i had the fish pond gate come down on my bus one day, which was a pain because the bus was packed and all it did was mangle the arm of the gate.

the blinn turn was great. I tore up their grass more than a couple times

I did that on my very first day driving by myself! I was so embarassed and actually ended up with a ton of mud caked under the front door of my bus. Fortunately, there were only like 3 passengers and they didn't seem to care.

Bill (the black dude) that worked at busops was not the sharpest tool in the shed. I heard Lynn is still here.

Not sure if Finn is still there or not. I also drove for CSISD, wasn't that bad at all, and in the summer I drove for the summercamp for A&M UMC, but those were basically paratransit buses with seats, just a little larger than a 15 packer van.