Larry Jones, city bus driver, wanted to be an airline pilot early in his life. Although he had a chance to drive a bus in New York City followed by back and forth stints of tour bus driving and city bus driving. He was hired twice by CU Transit. What brought him back to stay… the benefits are excellent and the management team is great he said. He works with some great people he emphasized.
“Where can you find a job that you sit in a nice seat and get to meet great people all day long.”
How does he make a difference? Smiling is important he said. When someone boards the bus and you welcome them with a smile that helps them start their day on a positive note. We all feel better when someone greets us with a smile. Also, he learns his passenger’s routines. In one case during an early morning run, a regular passenger fell asleep. He stopped at her stop, seeing she had fallen asleep, and told her we are here now.
When a passenger thanks him for the ride, that is always appreciated he said.
What would you like the passengers to know? When someone has a suggestion, it would be better to go directly to CU Transit. The bus driver has a lot on his mind all day, and he may not be in the best position to passing it on. The Transit website has a comment page which Transit does check and a phone number for passenger inquiries.
Larry studied computer science when in college. Our conversation shifted to idea sharing on how the transit service could build its client base attracting the technology generation.
While on Route 8, the comfy chair and taking the hour loop around the north part of the city, seemed to get Larry’s idea juices flowing. In the near future, CU Transit will be part of an app that will show all the routes on one’s smartphone. (I understand more on this will be coming. I didn’t know the details of what this is at this time.) Also, the buses may be having computer-based prompts to name key streets as they pass by which are tied into a GPS system. He pointed out the bus routes are already tied into Google and on the website a person can get directions/connections(at a link called Map It) for a trip in the city.
To increase ridership, life skill classes at school on how to use the bus to get around town would help increase bus use Larry felt. Bus drivers could come and share main components of how the bus system works. Have a similar class offered to the public through a community college as a community service. A bus driver teaching the class would be able to answer specific questions.
At elementary schools, have a bus day. (Larry indicated this was done in the past.) Take a bus to the school, have the kids ride it and a driver show the kids how everything works, and go over the rules of the bus. Parents could be invited too and they get a free pass to try the bus sometime, or maybe a couple times.
At the new terminal, videos could be shown on a screen to explain the ins and outs of the bus system, or put them on the website as well. The more a person knows before getting on a bus, the more likely they will be inclined to use it.
On the bus, enlist community volunteers to be a personal host for new riders to show them how it all works and answer questions. (Seems like I saw something like this on the CU Transit website, but not sure if I have seen it done.)
At the colleges, have a welcome to CU Transit day. The city has a healthy influx of international students who are more accustomed to using public transit. They could be given courtesy passes when they start their college semester to get them going on the city’s transit system.
Well, the loop around the north part of the city went pretty fast and it seemed Larry’s brain was just warming up as ideas continued to flow. When I got off the bus, I told Larry thank you. He smiled and said come back again and ride sometime.
The more we become familiar, the more we tend to use what we are familiar with. Educational and information sharing experiences can accomplish this.
Greet someone with a welcoming smile today. “Be humble and teachable. Those who humble themselves are raised to higher positions.”
“Where can you find a job that you sit in a nice seat and get to meet great people all day long.”
How does he make a difference? Smiling is important he said. When someone boards the bus and you welcome them with a smile that helps them start their day on a positive note. We all feel better when someone greets us with a smile. Also, he learns his passenger’s routines. In one case during an early morning run, a regular passenger fell asleep. He stopped at her stop, seeing she had fallen asleep, and told her we are here now.
When a passenger thanks him for the ride, that is always appreciated he said.
What would you like the passengers to know? When someone has a suggestion, it would be better to go directly to CU Transit. The bus driver has a lot on his mind all day, and he may not be in the best position to passing it on. The Transit website has a comment page which Transit does check and a phone number for passenger inquiries.
Larry studied computer science when in college. Our conversation shifted to idea sharing on how the transit service could build its client base attracting the technology generation.
While on Route 8, the comfy chair and taking the hour loop around the north part of the city, seemed to get Larry’s idea juices flowing. In the near future, CU Transit will be part of an app that will show all the routes on one’s smartphone. (I understand more on this will be coming. I didn’t know the details of what this is at this time.) Also, the buses may be having computer-based prompts to name key streets as they pass by which are tied into a GPS system. He pointed out the bus routes are already tied into Google and on the website a person can get directions/connections(at a link called Map It) for a trip in the city.
To increase ridership, life skill classes at school on how to use the bus to get around town would help increase bus use Larry felt. Bus drivers could come and share main components of how the bus system works. Have a similar class offered to the public through a community college as a community service. A bus driver teaching the class would be able to answer specific questions.
At elementary schools, have a bus day. (Larry indicated this was done in the past.) Take a bus to the school, have the kids ride it and a driver show the kids how everything works, and go over the rules of the bus. Parents could be invited too and they get a free pass to try the bus sometime, or maybe a couple times.
At the new terminal, videos could be shown on a screen to explain the ins and outs of the bus system, or put them on the website as well. The more a person knows before getting on a bus, the more likely they will be inclined to use it.
On the bus, enlist community volunteers to be a personal host for new riders to show them how it all works and answer questions. (Seems like I saw something like this on the CU Transit website, but not sure if I have seen it done.)
At the colleges, have a welcome to CU Transit day. The city has a healthy influx of international students who are more accustomed to using public transit. They could be given courtesy passes when they start their college semester to get them going on the city’s transit system.
Well, the loop around the north part of the city went pretty fast and it seemed Larry’s brain was just warming up as ideas continued to flow. When I got off the bus, I told Larry thank you. He smiled and said come back again and ride sometime.
The more we become familiar, the more we tend to use what we are familiar with. Educational and information sharing experiences can accomplish this.
Greet someone with a welcoming smile today. “Be humble and teachable. Those who humble themselves are raised to higher positions.”
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