I like buses. Without them I couldn't reasonably bike commute at all.

I found it interesting that on the last season of Top Gear, the famously anti-bicycle, anti-bus, etc Clarkson actually rode around London on a bike for an afternoon. Now, it is a comedy show and Clarkson is playing a part to large extent, but it was interesting that the main thing he said was that drivers were all uniformly courteous and understanding, but the bus drivers were all homicidal maniacs that seemed to be actually TRYING to kill him.

The buses along my commute change lanes to pass. I don't leap frog. There's no point. If I catch up, I'll just trail behind. Sometimes it's safer as motorists would change lanes to pass the bus so the bus provides a kind of shelter for me on the road. The buses in Toronto now have front bike racks and I've used them before for various reasons when I could not continue to pedal.

I'm a multi-modal commuter. I ride my bike from home to the bus stop, put the bike on the bus, and ride about 30 miles to another city for work. There, I get off and ride my bike to the office. The bus drivers that drive the bus I'm on are always courteous. In the two towns (home town and work town), the city bus drivers always give me room. Heck, I usually wave at them and they usually wave back. In my home town, one of the city bus drivers is an AVID bike rider. He can be seen on a long tailed cargo bike or a commuter bike with an IGH and belt drive. And he's done a little bit of bike touring. Nothing wrong with bus drivers that I've encountered.

I have two relatives who are county metro drivers, it sucks until you have enough seniority to bid a good route, then its a decent job with outstanding pay and benefits. I couldn't do it, too many freaks, weirdos, perverts, thugs, and other human debris to deal with.

I agree it must be an incredibly difficult job, but it does not give them an excuse to honk at me when I'm on the shoulder and half a dozen semi and dump trucks have safely passed. Or to tell me I'm wrong for taking the lane in appropriate situations.

I've met many bus drivers over the years who are overly friendly and overly rude. There are alway some of both. It certainly can have to do with the point in their shift, their route, their ability to read people, and other unknown factors.

@cobrabyte. Not sure who that image was geared towards, but I am not a fan of that joke. No I didn't die, but people who've seen the video of my accident said I should have died. Knowing the exact extent of my injuries I know I cheated death only because of three incredibly capable people who were on the bus; an LPN, an RN, and a firefighter. They stopped enough of the blood flow from my "shredded femoral artery," as described by my vascular surgeon. Due to the intervention of those three and being outside of an ambulance station did I have the chance to receive 5 or 6 units of blood versus being an organ donor. It's fifteen weeks today and I'm 27 hours out of my seventh surgery and I've been in the hospital for 105 days straight and I will probably be here for 21 more, I was hoping to go home on the fifteenth. So I'm a little touchy.

This week, a bus came up behind me and honked. I realized it wasn't "get out of my way" it was "could I please enter the bus stop zone?" So I moved left, and he passed me on my right so he could pull in. Be predictable. Predict others.

You were one damn lucky SOB!

Thank you. I remind myself everyday when I look at my family pictures.

I also use it to reassure my wife that I'll never die on her.

I never had a problem with any public transit buses in my city, they always change a lane when passing me.
School buses are a different story, some school bus drivers are very reckless, I was almost taken out by one few years ago.

It can be pretty stressful to ride around busses in large cities. My current commute is mostly through a suburban area, with a small city/downtown section. I almost never have bus problems now.

I've found that most bus operators & truck drivers are very polite when they are around me. I always try to let them go so they can focus on getting where they are going & not on avoiding me.

- Andy

Oi! Not all of us on 4+ wheels are motorised… ;-)

(If I'm taking the bicycle to/from the bike shop, often there are 6 wheels involved: two on the bike I'm riding, two on the trailer and two on the folding bike in the trailer.)

Still, I've had one of the Brisbane City Council busses try and take me out one morning. Got witnessed, and I spent quite some time on the phone to Translink to report the issue.

Seriously guys: if you think that is going to get me to take public transport, think again!

Yep. And my bus has free WiFi so I can read bike forums!

In Minnesota the good and bad seemed largely associated with who they drove for. The school buses from one commercial outfit were consistently quite good and fortunately these were the bulk of the buses, the ones from another commercial outfit and from a local school district who ran their own buses could be rather awful and I learned to watch out for them. Commuter buses seemed somewhat similar though those who drove for the public MTC could be good or bad. I think most were pretty good but about once per week I'd encounter one who wasn't.

Each bus represents to me from 30 to 70 automobiles not on the road.

Dealing with buses is ok once I learnt where their blind spots are. It can be frustrating if you're stuck behind one, but I don't think they're hate-worthy. I only had a problem with a school bus. The guy came up from behind me and then pretended I don't exist and made a right turn on my face. I had to come to a quick stop and get on the sidewalk carrying my bike.

Taxis on the other hand, are a different story. While driving I find them annoying and when cycling they're downright life-threatening. A lot of them I notice have no respect for traffic laws and right-of-way.

Me: Where are we going?

Taxi Driver: Where you want, ***** Avenue.

Me: Yes, but not the wrong way down a one way street.

Taxi Driver: It's okay, it's Sunday.

Amen to that!

- Andy