Viva la Difference!

Perhaps you recall the story, MANY columns ago; where my boss dispatched me, with a flatbed, to bring back a burned bus. (You DO memorize these columns?)

I failed to mention to him that I’d never driven a tractor-trailer before, but figured “how different can it be from a bus?” Everything went reasonably smoothly until I reached our garage, and had to back the rig into a bay. The whole gang marched out to the parking lot to see the coach carcass, and got more entertainment than they expected.

Gotta tell you, I learned the hard way (and with an amused audience) that backing a trailer requires some skills, and they are counter-intuitive. I still smell burning clutch, hear clashing gears, and recall creative cursing.

Trucks and coaches are different in lots of ways, and it behooves us to remind legislators and regulators of that fact.

Trucks carry cargo, which rarely complains. As a result, their builders put less effort into amenities like suspension, noise control and HVAC. In North America, tractor suspensions are so firm that builders normally add springs to the cab mounts and driver’s seat. These absorb some of the thrashing that the driver might otherwise be taking.

Buses carry passengers who generally don’t enjoy beatings, so manufacturers spend tons of effort in smoothing the ride for the whole vehicle. In addition to coddling customers, those suspensions are gentle on the road surface. The effort to control the wheel’s violence to the coach also works in the other direction, and a 50,000 pound bus pounds the pavement substantially less than a 50,000 pound truck.

Currently coaches enjoy a measure of immunity from weight laws, and it’s important that we keep it that way. In years past operators had to either mechanically alter coaches, or lighten loads, to run in states with restrictive laws. Properly loaded, coaches today meet a national standard, which may supersede state regulations, on federal highways.

On occasion, perhaps as a form of revenue enhancement, states have begun weighing (and fining) buses, citing local regulations.

If held to state truck standards, current 45’ coaches could not operate legally in most jurisdictions. Imagine the consequences to our industry, the environment and the traveling public if we slip back into that mode.

Another important distinction between trucks and buses is the way they treat drivers.

Anyone who has been in a boat on a grumpy sea understands how tiring it is to fight constant motion. Coaches ride better than trucks, so drivers use less energy sitting in the seat.

Have you ever been driving around, searching for an address, and turned the radio down to avoid distraction? Crafty bus builders put the noisy engine in the back, and cover it with insulation, making the coach cockpit nearly as quiet as a luxury car. Things done for the passengers benefit often make the driver’s job less stressful.

Freight rarely asks for meal stops or bathroom breaks, while most coach trips are punctuated by such requests, offering drivers periodic changes of pace.

This is not to make the case that operating a coach is easier than driving a truck, only substantially different. Physically bus driving is probably easier, but truckers don’t have to contend with the whims of the traveling public. In some ways a coach driver is always “on”.

Trucks outnumber buses by a bazillion, but our cargo is more valuable than theirs, and our industry deserves to be studied and understood as being unique. That’s true when it comes to hours of service, coach construction, safety regulations and weight laws (I may have forgotten a few).

When regulators lump us in with truckers, they are either uninformed, or lazy.

If they’re looking for a comparable industry, they might take a peek at the public sector transit industry (currently exempt from many regulations the private sector must adhere to).

I’ve told this one before, but I’m hoping you forgot it…

Years ago a call came in from a gentleman in upstate New York who wanted to start a coach company. Since I was a hungry bus salesman, we quickly became best buddies.

He had operated trucks successfully for many years and had decided that it would be easier to run coaches.

I asked him why he wanted to get into the buses, and he said “Because they load themselves.”

He hadn’t given much thought to luggage.

Apparently the differences between trucks and buses were significant and stressful. When I checked back with him… he’d had a couple of heart attacks and was a candidate for a transplant.

Hope he made it.