Submitted By: William Donley
There's most likely far less cushioning now-a-days on
non-Greyhound routes, but I have to relate a story. At Bonanza, it was
common to carry hound drivers on the 50 mile trip to Boston, their work
reporting location. Or to anyplace. They would park at Providence and
jump on the Boston Express. Most were absolute gentlemen, but in the
90s, Greyhound was not drawing the same caliber of driver as they did in
the 60s-50s-40s etc.
One Friday Evening, I was the 9:30PM NYC-PABT Gate 17 to Providence. I
was about the leave when a man dressed in what I knew was Greyhound
Training Uniform ran up to the bus and said loudly and rudely
"Providence Please" and proceeded to his seat. I asked him if he had a
ticket, and he said, Greyhound Pass. I said I needed to see it so I
could mark my envelope, just the union card would be fine.
"Union
Card?????" Yeah the Union Card. He said "I have a voucher from my
training school in Richmond." Oh, I told him that his bus was just down
the driveway in the next building.
He said that bus would not stop in Providence, that it went
NYC-Hfd-Bos. And it would take him more than 8 hours to get to
Providence.
No Problem, but step outside a moment. I explained to him... Pal,
there's a way to go about this, and 1st you ought to introduce yourself
and ask if you might get a lift. I'm glad to take you, even though I'm
just about solid, but you've got to learn how to get a free lift the
right way or you're gonna learn how to get your butt kicked off the bus.
He sat behind me and gave me a 4 hour lesson on what Greyhound was
doing wrong.
He asked me to run the 52 passengers down a road closer to his home so
he could walk home, but I told him that we had one stop, at the station.
A couple of weeks later, he again appeared at the PABT at 9:30 PM for
the ride to Providence. I gladly put him aboard, he was in the Greys
this time, and I was not going to hassle him. This time he sat behind me
and proceeded to tell me that he had broken the all-time speed record
on a Boston to Buffalo run, and had run 80 MPH nearly all the way. He
was hoping for the run again and was going to make the 500 or so mile
trip in even less time. Of course after the run, he had to cushion to
the PABT.
I thought, Oh this is a great driver. But it'll take him
longer than average to get to the Million Mile award. What I did not
tell him was that 2 days later, I was taking over as Safety Director at
Bonanza.
As I said, Greyhound drivers are carried every day on Bonanza, mostly to
Boston, but actually anywhere, and while I was in management, it
continued.
Now Bonanza had several ex-Greyhound drivers who left during the various
labor troubles and some were VERY bitter about it. One we'll call
Wally, a fine driver, but VERY VERY bitter, considered every Greyhound
driver who worked for the company after Wally left to be a scab, but he
did not make waves normally. His driving was exemplary. But all one
had to do was hiccup and Wally was ready to erupt big time.
He winds up with Mr. New Greyhound Rocketass cushioning with him. The
GH driver sits halfway back. 5 minutes into the trip, Mr GH rocketass
shouts from his seat "Hey driver, don't you know how to set the heat?
I'm cold. Bitter Wally ignored him. Soon, Rocketass shouts "you know
at Greyhound, we know how to set our heater switches." No answer from
Wally.
But at Boston, bitter Wally takes him aside and in no uncertain terms
tells him he will not be cushioning with Wally in the future. No
problem.
Mr. GH Rocketass writes a letter of complaint to CoachUSA HQ in TX. The
letter winds up on my desk. Oh boy. Who better to give Mr. GH R/Ass
some common sense lessons than his fellow Greyhound Boston drivers. I
instruct our dispatcher in Boston to hang the letter of complaint in the
Greyhound drivers room. Attached was a company-wide bulletin from me
forbidding any Greyhound driver to cushion on Bonanza Bus lines without a
ticket.
Well, it wasn't very long before he received his well deserved
instructions from Greyhounds union reps and normal minded drivers at
Boston about how to conduct himself was receiving a free ride, and of
course I quickly rescinded the bulletin.
Months later he applied at Bonanza, informing me that he would be a real
driver, and could make up time on any run, whereas most Bonanza Drivers
(many with 40 years) did not know what the hell they were doing. No,
Bonanza did not hire him while I was there. He went on to driver for a
small charter outfit in Rhode Island, and left the day he had 3
accidents in the same day in NYC with a Vanhool. He had chased a car
through Times Sq which somehow had offended him with 57 people aboard,
sideswiping cars and truck to catch his prey.
I last saw him in a state
park on a school bus charter making kissyface to a woman on the nose of
the school bus he was driving. Jon, I know you must have had your
share of dillys in your day, but they are still out there! Sorry for the
cushioning story going on so long.
Bill.
Greyhound Gift Shop