This time a tip for drivers
TriMetiquette is usually written from a point of view that asks for riding etiquette. But today, it’s TriMet driver (or operator, whatever you want to call those folks) etiquette.
First, this one line will explain it all:
Rain does not equal cold.
Sometimes, when it’s raining outside, it doesn’t necessarily mean riders are cold and that you need to pump up the heat. Typically, we’re wearing jackets and are already all bundled up. Making it extremely warm doesn’t help.
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Comments
Christian, please pass this on to your (our) riders so that they may have a better understanding of how the “heat” works on the buses.
Please allow me to dispel some of the myths about the bus heater…
Contrary to urban legend–The driver cannot “crank up the heat”. They do not have that type of control.
We basically have 3 types of Climate Control on the buses. In ALL circumstances, however, all we can do is either turn it on or off. We have NO CONTROL over the Heat (or A/C) other than to turn the entire system on or off.
On “low floor” model buses, it is a self-regulating system. It is designed to keep the ambient temperature between 68-74 degrees. Drop below and the heat kicks on. Rise above and the A/C kicks on. (when it works right…)
On 2100 series buses, the driver can “select” from: low vent, high vent, low heat, high heat, and two selections marked low air and high air (although this implies A/C, it doesn’t really work that way). Again, the driver has no control other than to turn on or off. We cannot regulate how hot or cold it gets.
On all other buses, there is only Heat ON, or shut off. No control over blower speed. Only the low floor buses have “true” A/C.
I try to guess at what my passengers need in the way of heat and A/C. On a low floor bus, I just let in run unless the system isn’t working quite right and fogs up the bus or OBVIOUSLY freezes everyone out; then I can…wait for it…shut it off. I CANNOT control the temperature.
On the buses with just blowers; I turn on the “heat” until I get warm (or hot), then all I can do again is shut it down. No temperature control. But in these types of buses, when you shut the blower off, it usually will have the opposite effect and freeze you out within a few minutes.
The best thing you can do as a passenger (at least in MY opinion) is on a low floor bus either layer or un-layer your jacket..you can tell the driver (but it will normally take more than one “complaint”-you might be the only one uncomfortable), but DON’T open the windows on this model unless it is really unbearable. It makes the system work worse.
On the other types, crack a window if too hot, but please remember to close it when you leave, so that others can be comfortable.
ONCE AGAIN, we have NO control over the flow on ANY bus other than the on or off switch.
Thanks!
Rain does not equal cold. However the rain can make it feel colder if the temps are already chilly. Snow doesn’t usually have that affect.