Golden Gate [X]Press : Behind the Wheel

Behind the Wheel

MUNI drivers accelerate their voices

by Lai Saetern, associate editor

March 13, 2008 6:20 AM

On a fairly luminous February afternoon, passengers enter the congested 28 line MUNI bus, dropping money in the machine and showing their passes to the driver. Inside, elders sit aligned in the front of the bus. As the bus accelerates, people lean on one another, looking annoyed, anticipating abrupt stops. Some look toward the driver in dismay. Although the bus ride appears unpleasant, no one seems to notice the driver behind the wheel. He is a middle-aged petite Asian man wearing thin-framed glasses, with salt and pepper hair, and aging wrinkles on his forehead. From the start of the route, which begins at Daly City BART Station and ends at the Golden Gate Park, all but one passenger has a conversation with the driver. The driver's name is Mr. Lau. The passenger enters at the end of the bus line and is one of the first riders. Holding a pink plastic bag of empty cans and the SF Chronicle, the man in his mid-thirties, who declines to reveal his name, is a frequent rider on Mr. Lau’s “Mr. Lau is a very hard worker. No one knows that,” the passenger says. He jokes with Mr. Lau, but by the time the bus reaches the Geary line, the bus is crammed again and Mr. Lau’s friend is gone. In a metropolis full of city-goers, tourists, students, and commuters who try to get from point A to point B, public transportation is in high demand. Yet, there is still question of whether or not drivers do their job right.  There is a stigma attached to MUNI drivers—with bizarre MUNI-riding experiences told—all over blogs such as SFist, reviews, conversations and of course, the media. Lately, drivers have been under particular surveillance, as more complaints from passengers arise. Passengers claim that drivers are reckless and rude. Since last year, ABC7 news has recorded incidents that perpetuate inappropriate behavior from drivers. As the controversy over whether MUNI drivers’ conduct is satisfactory ensues, we rarely hear from the other end of the bus. Are there deeper reasons to why some drivers act inappropriately, or do they just loathe their tedious jobs? Even though most of us ride the MUNI everyday, we fail to have any contact with our transporters at all. We enter buses eager to get our destinations without giving the driver a simple “hi”. We don’t argue that drivers should greet and thank their customers, like other customer service jobs. “I just do my job,” says Mr. Lau. “In this business, there are good drivers, bad drivers, and there are ugly drivers. Just like there are good, bad, and ugly passengers.”  He explains that drivers have rationales as to why they can appear rude. While drivers' tardiness creates a domino effect tension in a monotonous atmosphere with long hours, the most common reason for rude behavior is that passengers are sometimes equally obnoxious. A bus driver in Hong Kong for twenty-two years and a MUNI bus driver for nine years, Mr. Lau says that although the buses are more crowded in Hong Kong, the system there is better. “The management in Hong Kong acknowledges public safety rules and is very good with public relations. Here, (in SF) the management isn’t good with educating the drivers and public, so that kills employee morale.” His coworker, Zenobia Howard, agrees. “I think they spoil the public too much. There’s a problem with priority lines and letting passengers get away with not paying fares," she says. Howard says that the buses running through more affluent areas are highly prioritized and have to be on time, whereas the lower-income neighborhoods get the late buses. MUNI drivers are almost like robots—they drive, stop, load and unload passengers. They cannot defend themselves because they’re mandated to remain in their seats, despite the situation or circumstance. “You could be standing over me and spitting on me and I still can’t do anything about it. I have to just stay in my seat,” Howard says. Everyday, they bring people to where they have to go. Without them, thousands of people would have no source of transportation. Despite passengers’ unsatisfactory reactions, drivers are pertinent to keeping the city in motion. “If I was a MUNI driver, I’d hate my job too,” says Janine Ramos, a sophomore at SF State, who takes the MUNI to get to work. It’s not that drivers hate what they do, but a lack in encouragement from management affects their morale. Possibly, if the public did a part in making their jobs easier, drivers will not have a reason to “hate their jobs.”

» E-mail Lai Saetern @ lsaetern@sfsu.edu

COMMENTS