September 12, 2009 What is the Bus Driver’s Job?
Most bus drivers operate as though their job is to drive from Andover to Guiseley via Barrow, Chelmsford, Doncaster, Exeter and Faversham. It is the journey of the bus that matters – whether it is on time and what the traffic is like. The journey of the passenger doesn’t matter so much, except to the passenger. The journey of all passengers matters a bit, if the bus route is to be viable.
Drivers working with Trent Barton buses in Nottingham disagree. They know the passenger is part of the bus. Trent Barton buses know they carry passengers from Eastwood to Brinsley, from City Centre to Heanor. Some super-training course, some refined company values that put the “customer at the heart” make the buses/and drivers charming, chatty and helpful. And this matters, for the bus isn’t a bus without a driver.
I do not intend to suggest that service workers should be made to smile, only to discuss what happens when they do. It is easy the see the obligation to customer service that might be felt by the Trent Barton bus driver. But it is also possible to read this as being about a pleasure in the smile, in helping. Perhaps the Trent Barton bus driver has a sense of commitment to the bus route, a route that needs all the components of bus, driver, passengers and stopping points to exist. And momentary pleasures can be part of encounters with strangers or regulars, visitors or locals.
Simmel describes sociability as the “play form of association”, and for the Trent Barton bus/drivers, it is a play form because it does not alter the most basic function of the bus, but it does affect its feel and flow. Passengers in the UK tend to thank drivers, even though the bus was going to the stop anyway. They do not want to be incidental to the journey. But it is only Trent Barton buses that know the passenger is the journey.
Reference
Simmel, G. (1949) ‘The Sociology of Sociability.’ American Journal of Sociology. 55(3), 254–261.
Comments
I’ve often thought if Bus drivers are paid an hourly wage, why do they sometimes seem in a rush? e.g. passing cyclists too closely because they don’t have the patience to wait.
Perhaps they associate with their passengers impatience to get to work..
At 11:05 am on October 16, 2009 Tejvan said:
because the driver is only one dimension to the existence of the bus.
The cyclist has plays no part in the bus’ journey and can expect no care.
At 12:59 pm on October 16, 2009 Lynne Pettinger said: