I hesitantly slide into the driverB次元官网网址檚 seat of a B.C. Transit bus, not at all ready to steer the massive beast through five daunting obstacles set up around the companyB次元官网网址檚 Langford yard.
I am about to get a crash course in appreciating transit bus drivers, who shuttle us to all ends of the Capital Region and beyond.
B次元官网网址淚 can direct you or you can try it on your own,B次元官网网址� B.C. Transit safety and training officer Phil Thornton-Joe says graciously. There is no hint of panic or reluctance in his voice at being assigned to coach my rookie self through the next seven heart-pounding minutes.
B次元官网网址淛ust tell me what to do, and IB次元官网网址檒l do it,B次元官网网址� I choke out, hands gripping the enormous steering wheel. B次元官网网址淎nd before we start, I just want to say, IB次元官网网址檓 sorry for everything IB次元官网网址檓 about to say and do.B次元官网网址�
Six journalists, including CTV reporter Louise Hartland, CTV anchor Hudson Mack, Shaw TVB次元官网网址檚 Dan Kahan, CFAX radio host Ryan Price and Jack Knox, columnist for the Times Colonist, were vying for serious bragging rights in a B.C. Transit Roadeo Thursday.
Ten professional transit drivers are also competing amongst themselves (March 29 and 31) for the best time and point-based score for skill. The winner will go on to the 2012 International Bus Roadeo in Long Beach, Calif., May 4 to 8.
I glance quickly back at my judge and jury, B.C. Transit safety and training officer Sal Ruffolo. HeB次元官网网址檚 doing a good job of fighting the urge, I suspect, of screaming his way off the bus.
After an all too brief lesson in changing signals and the difference between the gas and brake pedals, weB次元官网网址檙e off at the break-neck speed of two kilometres an hour.
The next thing I know, I've parked my bus - albeit on an unflattering angle - next to a curb. Still, the judge standing outside is unharmed.
Then weB次元官网网址檙e off to the obstacle that forces us into a turn. The entrance pylons remain upright, but I havenB次元官网网址檛 banked hard enough. IB次元官网网址檓 now in a face-off with four pylons inches away from the nose of my bus.
B次元官网网址淚 canB次元官网网址檛 make this turn without killing those B次元官网网址榩eople,B次元官网网址� can I, Phil?B次元官网网址� I ask, looking forlornly at the pylons. Reversing would result in further point reductions.
B次元官网网址淛ust nail them. Take them out,B次元官网网址� he says. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 okay.B次元官网网址�
Pylons scatter and weB次元官网网址檙e off to navigate my right wheels between two lines of tennis balls, mounted on washers.
B次元官网网址淗ow do you know where the wheels are, Phil? I canB次元官网网址檛 see a thing,B次元官网网址� I say as the bus creeps forward.
B次元官网网址淚 just know. It takes practice,B次元官网网址� he says, eyes glued to the bus mirrors.
With PhilB次元官网网址檚 expert eye - there are just three inches of clearance between the balls and either side of my wheels - we scrape through. One ball wiggles, but stays put.
We set up for a manoeuvre in reverse, only to have to abandon the obstacle. We head for the finish line. Phil instructs me to step on the gas and stop just before our bumper touches the final pylon.
B次元官网网址淛ust feather the break when I tell you to stop,B次元官网网址� Phil says.
Little does he realize IB次元官网网址檇 given up on lightly touching down on the brake four obstacles back. Several jarring stops later, we finish the course.
Still, Phil and Sal allow me to drive the bus to where CTVB次元官网网址檚 Hudson Mack and his coach, seven-time Roadeo competitor Ron Brown, are waiting.
I clamber off my seat and stand on shaky legs. Phil, who refuses to admit he is the reason weB次元官网网址檙e still alive, hasnB次元官网网址檛 broken a sweat.
B次元官网网址淵ouB次元官网网址檙e trainable. You listen to instruction,B次元官网网址� Sal tells me, glancing at his clipboard.
I spent mere minutes toddling around pylons and tennis balls from the cockpit of a near-empty bus, while the true transit heroes spend their days up to their steering wheels in traffic, coping with busy customers, dodging bad tempers and, all too often, riders who assault them with spit.
Those found guilty of assaulting a bus driver should be sentenced, in part, to hard time at the Langford yard, where they must drive the obstacle course until they nail it perfectly.
Only then will they come away singing the praises of the regionB次元官网网址檚 transit operators, much like six journalists are now doing.
B次元官网网址⑩赌⑩赌�
Erin McCracken, who earned second place in the B.C. Transit Roadeo, is a reporter with The Victoria B次元官网网址.
