Arborway Restoration

[Digital_Islandboy]

I also think it depends on the driver. I have heard drivers tell people they need to wait until he gets to the stop to let them out. Other have no issues doing it.

It's the same as some drivers will allow passengers to stand in front of the yellow line when the bus is packed, while others won't.

Exactly. Those are the drivers which actually *care* about not having their whole job at the MBTA placed into jeopardy.

 

[Digital_Islandboy]

The driver should do whatever is appropriate to stay on schedule. If that means letting people off in the middle of the street 1/2 block before the bus stop, then do that.

Stay on schedule? Impossible.
IMHO the schedules which the vehicle operators are given is not practical.

For one thing, they use the route times (timed during non rush hour) and apply it to a rush hour setting. Then they give hardly any (slack) time at the beginning or the end of the route that allows for a reconciling of time. I believe it is like a mere 2 minutes on some routes????
Therefor, just offloading all of your customers at the end of the route takes up the entire time. Not only that but the drivers still may not have changed the codes in the fare equipment, the overhead, done a sweep of the bus (or train car) for lost items, Etc.
All it takes is a light touch by say either Boston Police/Fire Dept. activity along a route or even couple wheelchair pickups (on the older buses) to ruin an **entire evening** schedule. Then the T also tries to squeeze the most money out of the drivers by giving them rush hour only schedules. So for example your schedule will have a 6 hour un-paid block in the middle of the the day. In leading into your shift you may also be swinging onto and off of different routes so that while you're on your way toward different points in the system you end up working routes. So if one route makes you late you could end up spilling it over to a next route.

Then once you get a back-to-back buses it is next to possible to untangle it for almost the remainder of the night. Since both buses travel the same speed, will hit the same traffic lights, and can't take shortcuts to beat the other bus to end of the route, they will continue to be close to one another for the rest of the night.