Driving in Difficult Situations - Types of Bus Stop

(Wheel-Chair extension board on a Concave Bus Stop)

I this following blog, I wish to share with you, the reader, on some of the difficult driving situations that I have encountered. This can serve as some background information to you, if you wish to come on board as a Bus Captain later.

Previously, while, driving my own car, I did not notice these kinds of bus stops design and construction. Basically, there are 4 types of bus stop design that I have categorized.

The safest type is the current modern type of bus top, that with a lead-in and lead-out 45 degree angle, that being cut-out adjacent to the left side of the traffic. The difficulty will only arise, as explained in the earlier blog post entitled, “Vehicle parked at Bus Stop”.

The next type is located adjacent to the side of the road but without the 45 degree cut-out. Bus is mandated to stop inside this painted yellow rectangular box. I like this kind of bus stop very much. It is very easily to handle. However, for other road users, they will frown on it, as each time the bus make a call at this kind of bus stop. Do you know why?

Bus stops that situated at either a convex or concave bend of the road; are the most difficult one to handle. Mathematically, with a 12M long bus length; it is not possible to park the bus parallel to the edge of the kerb for both the front and rear of the bus.

If it is a concave type, the bus will be parked in a chord tangent manner; and if it is a convex type, the bus will be parked in a tangential manner. Both are difficult to handle. Some bus stop its curvature is so sharp (i.e. radius not enough), that to board and alight a wheel-chair bound pax is near to impossible! (as shown in the picture here).

As I approach the bus stop, I will tilt the bus front towards the edge of the bus stop and the rear of the bus will be away from the edge of the bus stop. In this way, it is easier for the pax to board the bus. However, for the alighting pax, I am sorry that, there will have some inconvenience caused.

 The standard operational procedure is to keep a 0.5M gap as far as possible between the buses port-side to the bus stop.

The frequent un-satisfactory utterance by pax is “alamak jauhnya”, or “ goodness me, it is too far away”.

On several occasion, a Malay elderly lady will come up to me to give me a hand gesture signal by moving both her hand inwards;  that I must stop the bus as close as possible to the bus cement pavement for a concaved bus stop; so that, her marketing trolley wheel will not got caught in between the gap.

I really, hope, that the pax can understand that it is mathematically not possible to align the bus parallel to a bus stop that been located adjacent to a curved road.