“Is this why BusETA is never right? Is it really true that bus drivers are getting punished because they are ahead of or behind schedule?”

“Dear PoPville,

I am currently staying out near the end of the D6 bus line. Today on my way home, the bus driver stopped twice and idled for 5 minutes at random stops. I asked what was wrong and they showed me a screen saying they were ahead of schedule and had to stop in order to “not leave anyone at the upcoming stops.”

I asked, what about the people already on the bus who need to get home but they said the supervisors would make them wait. Several people got off the bus frustrated. When the bus continued, they drove super slow- noticeably under the speed limit, stopping early on yellow lights. What’s more is that this was after rush hour and no one else boarded the rest of the ride. I was eventually the last person on the bus with three stops to go and they still said they had to hold for another 5 minutes. I was frustrated because the bus ride was already taking significantly longer and so I got out and walked. The driver kept arguing that they had to do this because a new screen showed them ahead of schedule and so had to stop so they didn’t get to the end of the line super early. Is this a new policy/ new tracking screen? It seems to me that the busses have never followed the posted schedule perfectly, and this would really mess up the estimated times for those of us that use BusETA. It also lengthened my trip by at least 20 minutes (and more for the extra walk). Is it really true that bus drivers are getting punished because they are ahead of or behind schedule?”