The Grumpy Driver

I love taking quick snaps at bus stops, especially these little temporary painted messages.

I've started riding the bus again, temporarily, while NZBus and ARTA sort out when my route will change - so it's been nice to reminisce.

I have a driver I see at least once a week and he's a hardened veteran: Arm tatoos, shaved head, and a good scowl that would shake the toughest person to their core. However, if you're nice to him, he's nice back. A simple, "good morning driver" is enough to make him crack the briefest of smiles.

And so I've never ever seen this guy laugh. Not once. So I call him the "grumpy driver" but he's really just a person, trying to make ends meet.

These veteran drivers train new ones from time to time and these encounters are usually pretty somber affairs. The trainee is hoping this won't be the day he crashes the bus and the trainer is secretly thinking the same thing.

I get on the bus and grumpy driver is laughing, nay "giggling" with a trainee. It seemed like a great relationhip, laugh, joke, laugh, joke, all the way into downtown Auckland's CBD.

According to recent stats most drivers are male and are 45+ in age so seeing a male driver in his late 20s/early 30s being trained was refreshing. More drivers = more riders = more buses = I don't have to get a car, you see.

Of course whenever I ride the bus it's usually very early, 6:40am to be exact, so seeing this is inspiring and makes me feel just that much better as I wipe the sleep from my eyes.

It's never too late too laugh.

Maxx Text Service

Have you ever been out and about, on foot in Auckland, and wished you could find out which bus will get you where you want to go? If you're away from the Maxx website have no fear, the Text Service is for you.

Simply text it to the Maxx Text Service. Remember that there's a .25 charge per text to this service, but it's well worth it.

For example I text "Mt. Eden Road to Britomart" to 3666 and receive this reply:

MtEdn Terrace
Eden(=MTF) to
Britomart(=BRR)
277@08:10am,
258@08:24am,
277@08:40am,
267@08:53
am+680@09:03
am, 277@09:10
am

This means you I can take the 258, 267 or 277 buses to reach Britomart from Mt. Eden Road bus stops.

The more specific you are with your street to street arrival/destination points the more targeted your route text will be. Even if you're at a bus stop this service can help you figure out which bus to take, though texting 3666 and sending the bus stop's number will give you its schedule for that hour.

I've found this is the most handy in and around CBD and Auckland City Center but also helps me plan trips on routes I'm not familiar with.

The text system makes riding the bus even easier so check out the weblink above for even more tips.

(Photo credit: Maxx.co.nz)

Bus Sounds

It's 6:45am and I'm on the bus in the dark. It's cold, rainy and a bit lonely so I record a bit of what I can hear to keep my mind off of that.

The bus sounds cheer me up. I love the sound of tires on wet road, the squeaky windshield wipers.

Press play to hear what I hear:

Bus Noises by natobasso

This Misty Morning

Winter seems to be losing its grip here in Auckland and today, it's warm, sunny, and beautiful. I couldn't be happier, but it reminds me how cold, dark, and rainy it's been the past 6-7 months.

I submit this picture for your consideration from the dead of winter (mid June-ish). I can imagine this mist chilling me to the bone. Add some wind (chill) for an even more wintry effect and the fact that the previous 20 minutes saw me riding the bus and walking in almost complete darkness.

This mobile phone image doesn't do it justice, but you get the idea.

After my windy walk down Burleigh Street the calm of this part of Enfield Rd. is most welcome, and as I head toward Horse and Trap and then, in to the warm confines of the Orion Building, I feel blessed to have witnessed the start of yet another day.

The Auctioneer

I love drivers who really get into the whole bus driving experience. Drivers who stick in my mind simply because they go the extra mile to make the ride fun.

As soon as I get on my Flyer bus home for the day I know this is going to be one of those times. I put my GoRider card in the slot and am greeted by a cheerful hello. We discuss the beautiful weather and wonder how long it will last.

It's so amazing when you get human contact when you least expect it. It makes my day, really.

So I sit down and wait for the show to begin. This driver has a great personality, and she makes everyone, even the hardened veterans, smile a bit because she calls out stops like an auctioneer.

"Now arriving at Ellerslie Panmure Highway. Next stop - Harvey Norman and shopping center."

She puts her all into it, and I can hear her from the back of the bus.

Now the really funny thing is when we finally get to my stop, on the border between Otahuhu and Sylvia Park, she says to me as loud as she can (I can even hear her over the music in my headphones):

"Hey, why are you getting off HERE of all places?"

"Um, my family and I live here," I say with a smile. Though her question takes me by surprise, thinking about it later I realise my family and I are a bit of an anomaly in the neighborhood.

Maybe she thought she'd be able to give me a fine send off with a bit more warning? She didn't expect me to get off at that particular stop, in the middle of nowhere, basically.

Timing is everything, especially for an auctioneer.

(Photo credit: lornakelly.com. Lorna Kelly, born and raised in England, moved to America and became the First Female Fine Art Auctioneer in America at Sotheby's.)