Most people believe that the efficiency of a bus route rests solely on the bus authority. While most of the responsibility rests on the bus company, the passengers who use that bus route have quite a bit of control in the how efficient that route reaches its destination.
One of the biggest things that passengers can do to keep a bus moving quickly and on schedule is to have your bus fare ready BEFORE the bus arrives at your bus stop. When you arrive at your bus stop you know that you want to ride the bus, so while you are standing at the stop and waiting gather your fare ($1.75 one-way for HART $3.75 for an all day pass) and have it ready for the fare-box. If you already have a fare card in your
possession, take it out of your pocket, wallet, purse, or wherever you may keep it, and if you keep it in the same place all the time you won’t have to dig for it. If you are one of several people waiting at the bus stop and you are paying a cash fare, let others with fare cards board first since paying with cash takes longer than swiping a fare card.
Before you even board the bus know where you are going. If you aren’t sure where to get off don’t wait until you are getting off the bus to ask the driver questions, this holds the route up immensely. If you aren’t sure what routes you need to use to get to your destination use a computer to type in the address you wish to reach and print out the map it provides for you. With this in hand approach the driver with your map in hand and they can help you connect with the correct buses, but make sure you do this BEFORE you arrive at your bus stop so the bus can continue on schedule.
Now that you are on the bus and you know where you are going you might think that your impact on route efficiency has been fulfilled,
well you’re wrong. You still can play a big role in how well that bus stays on schedule. When you believe you are approaching your destination sitting in the back of the bus doesn’t allow you the best view of the area, move so you can see where you are and you can pull the stop request cord for your stop. If you pull the cord to early, alert the driver right away so he/she can continue moving. What most passengers don’t realize is that when those doors open, the bus cannot continue moving until they are closed and it takes a while for that bus to get back up to speed. 
All of this is wasted time which could be spent moving along the route. Before the bus arrives at your stop, have all of your belongings gathered and be ready to depart. You DON’T have to be waiting at the door, in fact its safer to stay in your seat until the bus stops. When its time for you to exit the bus, do so through the back door so people can board in the front (if you are seated in the first two rows it would be faster to exit through the front, but only if no one is waiting to get on).
Now that you’ve completed your bus trip and you’ve followed these tips you know that you have played a vital part in keeping that route on schedule. You can share these tips with friends and other passengers. Each time you practice good rider habits other will take notice. You can take these tips and use them on ANY transit system worldwide and it will work and be noticed.
YO Bus Driver! 