Top 1% bus driver
Yesterday, an old lady entered the bus I was in. Before she was able to reach a seat and sit down, the bus accelerated so fast that she lost her balance and fell down. If you’ve taken a bus in Vancouver, I can almost guarantee that you similarly have lost your balance.
This incident got me thinking – how could the driver have prevented this?
What actually makes for a great bus driver?
Over the last one and a half years, I’ve probably taken the bus more than 500 times. I think this qualifies me to comment on what makes a great bus driver. At least from the customer or rider point of view. Here’s my take:
[Non customers] Before a rider even enters the bus, a great bus driver scans to see if there is anyone running to the bus stop to catch the bus. If they’re not too far away, a great bus driver will wait for them. An average bus driver looks at the stop, sees that there is no one there at the moment and leaves.
[Entry greeting] When a rider enters the bus, a great bus driver will cheerfully greet them. “Hello”, “Morning”, or even just a nod and smile. An average driver will be passive and not acknowledge anyone who enters.
[Fall prevention] I have seen the best bus drivers look in the rearview mirror if the riders who just boarded are holding on to something before they accelerate. I have also seen some drivers loudly announce “Hold on, bus is moving!” to remind people to be mindful of their balance while the bus accelerates. A great bus driver will do one or both of the above at the very least when he sees older people or people with kids board the bus.
[Smooth driving] The best drivers also have very smooth acceleration and braking. This not only reduces the likelihood of people falling, but improves the overall experience of the ride.
[Crowd management] The best drivers are clear and confident crowd managers. They will assertively ask people to move to the back and make more space for people who want to enter, especially during rush hour.
[Special accommodations] I have sometimes seen drivers make special accommodations like letting a passenger get off even when there isn’t a stop. Knowing when to break rules in order to help your customer is an art and great drivers know it.
Personally, the lessons for me from this episode are:
Greatness is composed of a million tiny things.
You must always be in search of actionable tactics to become better at your work.
You must care about your customers a lot and try to put yourself in their shoes as often as possible.
You must observe how other people who are very good at their job, do their job. Greatness has many flavours and you will often be blind to the other ways people are good if you have never observed it.
It is often operationally difficult to quantitatively measure greatness. But it is so so easy to see who is really good at their job.