Are RTD drivers aiming for bicyclists?
 

Sometimes it seems that way to me, unfortunately.

http://www.industrializedcyclist.com

Anybody else have any notable run-ins with Denver bus drivers?

Have you contacted RTD about this? http://www.rtd-denver.com/ContactUs.shtml

Get the bus number, route number, time of day and location. Whatever description of the driver you can come up with will help too, even if it's just male or female. By bus number I mean the number painted on the bus that RTD uses to keep track of buses for parking, maintenance, etc. The route number is on the destination sign.

The police can't do much unless they see this happening, but RTD management will probably take a strong interest in your story. RTD buses have video cameras, I'm not sure if they can be used in a customer complaint.

+1, report it to the police and to RTD.

I have never had one run-in with an RTD bus.

That sucks that your luck isn't all that good with them.

I did contact RTD about this, back in November when the latest incident occurred. And I contacted them immediately after the incident before that, sitting down at their headquarters and making formal compaints both times. (I didn't report the first incident, opting instead to simply launch my half-eaten burrito through the driver side window of the bus. Not proud of that, but I have to wonder, maybe that was more effective than the formal complaints.)

The reason I wrote this blog post is because I was not satisfied with their response, in which they promised to have lectured the driver on his 'customer service' skills.

Mark, I am curious why you know so much about complaining to RTD. Have you had to do so yourself?

I've never had dealings with RTD, but I have a commercial driver's license and I've made a few complaints as a cyclist to trucking companies, bus companies, etc. over the years. So I think I know both sides of the situation.

RTD might seem to have given you the brush-off in their response, but I'm willing to bet that if they hear enough complaints involving a particular sub-contractor they will either lean on the sub-contractor to clean up their act or find another sub-contractor.

I had a similar thing with a Denver Water Board truck on S Steele at the stop light at Buchtel...I was Going S in the center getting ready to stop and turn left on
Buchtel, and this Guy in a DWB truck passed me, really close, on the right and stopped for the light, and was so close I reached out and could, and did pound on the side of the truck,,, lucky the mirror did not get me...I yelled at him ...Anyway I called DWB and got nowhere with their "safety person"...The truck was leaving a construction job on Steele at lunch time but I didnt get the #,,For the future,Gonna start carrying a marker so I can write down the license # and file a formal complaint with cops...
Bud

I liked the burrito part. Vivid imagery.

I get squeezed by RTD busses on 12th Ave all the time. I can get frustrating, because depending on lights, they sometimes pass me, I pass them again, etc. giving the opportunity for multiple encounters. I have not had anything blatantly malicious, but just careless. Bus will pass me and then pull over for a stop, etc.

My wife and I just got home from a walk and as we were crossing back into our neighborhood, a bus blew a red and would have taken us out in the crosswalk if we had started walking when it was our right.

I am generally not impressed with the quality of RTD drivers.

I lived up on Detroit for eleven years and regularly used 12th to get downtown and back, so I am very familiar with the bus dance on that particular street. I had the most awkward interactions with buses on the east side of the park and around York/Josephine, so if there was any bus around I would frequently end up racing it to the other side of the park, using the singletrack trail, so I could get ahead of it and enjoy some clean space over there.

Strange park, that Cheeseman. Used to be a cemetery you know.

That was my theory as well when I made the complaints.

Judging by my email inbox, ranting on the internet is a far more effective way to communicate with RTD than going down to their office and ranting to them in person. Maybe even more effective than the half-eaten burrito.

The RTD complaint department epitomizes the saying "The customer is always wrong" . If you have a commendation to give a driver or want to report a small item like a late bus , they can be ever so nice. But if you have a real complaint, a dangerous situation, they are as nasty as it gets.They complain about their union but it is obvious that without their union none of them would keep their job in the call center and neither would a lot of the drivers. The call center seems to be set up that if you complain once, they will treat you so badly and make you feel so unimportant that you will never call to complain again !!! RTD claims that their priority is customer satisfaction, then they disprove that when you call in a complaint.Even if it's not a complaint but just bringing a dangerous situation to their attention. In so many words they tell you they don't care about your safety.Have you noticed that it is always the RTD (union) drivers? The drivers from the other companies are so much better. They figure they'll get our tax dollars any way . And yes, safety for others (except their own drivers and them selves) seems to be the number one thing RTD does not care about

Since I don't spend much time of the streets I can't really say however I do know that the local TV stations love to blast RTD and time they get the chance to. A couple of calls to "9 wants to know" can surely get the word out to bike riders.


*edited to add* Or better yet Greg Moody at CBS 4. I know he rides a bike because he did Ride the Rockies last year.

dude, use good sense, ride 13th and 14th avenues- they have bike lanes. i ride rtd on the #10 and am appalled at the idiots on bikes. i have even seen (while on my own bike) an idiot run a red light WITH HIS KID IN A TRAILER. did not even look. guess he was looking for the kid's death benefits.

and, so's we allllllllllllllllllllllll know- cyclists are required to use the same laws as motor vehicles. ask me how many idiots ride the wrong direction, for example.

Since when do 13th and 14th Avenues have bike lanes? I know 14th has a stretch of bike lane from Kalamath to Bannock, but I've never seen a bike lane elsewhere on 13th or 14th avenues.

12th Avenue is a much nicer ride than 13th or 14th.

I used to commute from 6th and Downing and to 14th and Ulster. Given the choice, I'd ride 12th over either 13th or 14th.

/\ this.

I know this is an old post, but now might be an opportunistic time to contact the local news channels if this is still an issue. With all the Pro Cycling buzz and all the reports on how much $$ it brings to the State they are probably more receptive than usual to take on bicycle related stories. This is probably especially true in cases where public employees threaten that revenue potential by disregarding laws and contributing to a less bike friendly environment.