Bus Etiquette
 

Half of my trip to and from work I ride in the bike lane on the street. I find myself "racing" a bus most of the way sometimes. Usually on the way home. It is like we leapfrog each other. I'll pass him while he is at a stop bu then he will pass me after he has made his drop off and pick ups then we meet again at another bus stop. There are a few times where he has to stop where there is really no safe place for me to pass. I could wait for him behind him I suppose and let him go ahead but I don't want to curtail my ride waiting for mister bus to get going. I could also pass on his left but that just seems scary. I am jumping out into the second lane over on the road and if he decides to take off while I am on his outside I see a big world of hurt. I could slow down and take to the side walk but then I risk hitting folks getting on and off the bus.

Thoughts?

Get faster, slow down, or change routes. Obviously the bus will continue doing what buses do! :D

I often have the same thing happen. A friend actually crashed into someone as they stepped off the bus. My friend was fine but the person getting off the bus lost some teeth. Police determined that it was the fault of the person stepping out for not looking first (not that fault really matters).
I hit my airzound horn a few short bursts as I go by. My hope is that for a brief moment people will stop to wonder what that was and I can go by and nobody is hurt. I don't like the idea of going around to the left.

Passing a bus - or other vehicles - on the left is just part of urban cycling. I plan to do just that on my way home from work this afternoon.

lol, Unfortunately route won't matter the bus runs up every street I would take on my return trip. Better get faster because slowing down ain't gonna happen.

Ya, that is my fear of the sidewalk passing.

I understand that but because of the width of the bus and the width of the bike lane is sticks me in the middle of the road and because of the unpredictability of the bus taking off I don't wanna get shoved out by mister bus man trying to get back in his lane.

I know your in a big hurry and all riding your bicycle..........you might not want to play tag with a bus.

This is surely the safest choice. I do wonder if by waiting one time then you wouldn't catch up again so the problem is solved for the remainder of the ride. I might try that sometime as an experiment. Tooting my horn as I go by is no guarantee.

And that is why I am asking here what others would do in the situation. It is not that I am in a big hurry it is that I want to keep a certain pace when riding and was hoping to a happy solution that would allow me to keep my pace without the risk of the bus killing me.

I try not to delay buses, it's not just "mister bus" but tens of people on board of that bus. If I see a bus coming from behind I do my best to get out of its way as long as it's safe. It's part of my policy of not being a selfish jerk-on-a-bike.

Yep. When I'm riding in an area with buses (which is a substantial part of London, one way or another) if the bus pulls in and I can safely pass then I'll pass. On the outside (the right in the UK). Passing a bus on the inside is asking for trouble.

If the bus has been there for a while I'll scan the pavement to see if there are a lot of people waiting to board or a steady stream of people getting off. If so, I'll pass if it's safe. If not I may or may not pass, but if I do I'll be watching for the indicators to flash to say the bus is pulling away and ready to either brake hard or gun it, depending on where I am relative to the bus if it does start to move.

especially in the larger cities

I actually said "mister bus man" implying the bus driver as he is the one who would be the person trying to get back into his own lane. I also do not want to delay or impede the bus. I am just looking for the best way to get around said bus.

Regarding waiting behind the bus once. That may work but the problem arises when they have an extended stop for someone to load/unload a bike or a ramp for someone in a wheelchair. Then I pass them again and the cycle continues. Or I will catch them at a light then pass at the next bus stop across the intersection then the cycle continues.

Whenever the coast is clear to pass, I pass. Whenever the coast is not clear and safe, I don't pass.

If waiting a few extra seconds will deter any mishaps, I'll always opt to wait...Safety trumps urgency every single time!

Besides, usually the "urgency" is only in your mind...

PS.

For long or extended wait times, I dismount and walk my bike towards the front in order to better assess the situation.

Keep pushing your speed. Round my way in the rush hour I'm usually faster than the bus (not least because I can use the bike lanes and get past slow moving traffic). If I can't get past the bus when it stops I'll get past soon enough when it moves off, and if the traffic is heavy the chances are the bus won't catch me again.

You just can't predict the bus movement, it stops and goes and so will you. There really isn't one answer to your question. You will just need to work out your system keeping your safety as #1 and others convenience as #2. It depends on the size of the bus, the condition of the road, etc. Do your best not to annoy the bus drivers, they want to end their shift and go to their families without hurting anyone, don't make their lives harder but don't put yourself in danger. So use your judgement, you know your skills and your route. I play such game with buses every day and if timed properly, it's not a huge deal at all. I know when to slow down and let them pass and when to pick up pace and pass them.

OK, sounds good y'all. Thanks for the input. I wasn't sure if there was a particular way in which you guys resolved this type of problem. Seeing that there isn't then I'll figure out which solution of the ones offered makes sense in each situation where the bus and I meet and choose that one placing my safety as priority, obviously.

I honestly never though of it as "problem" :)

ya well... lol

I'd find a different route, or ride behind the bus all the way, or in front all the way. It's too hazardous to keep passing.

I'll usually pass or wait, depending on the circumstances. If traffic is light on the left, then I'll go for it but hug the side of the bus. If traffic is continuous, then I'll wait. Sometimes I'll even pass on the right, on the side-walk which here in Korea is a sidewalk/bike path--really terrible idea, but I have the option. Guess it wouldn't be the end of the world if you did the same thing in the states and just used the sidewalk to pass. Also, since you're leap-frogging the bus, he knows you're around somewhere and is probably aware by the 2nd or 3rd time he sees you that you're gonna continue popping up. Sometimes a bus will insist and going first. Sometimes they'll let me go. But I never assume that I can pass him on the left.

Hey, Slimrider...you changed your signature. I thought you were all about chromoly and CF, not titantium.

Leave work five minutes later. Stop and take a dump or something. Give the bus time to clear that part of the route.

May sound like a heavy load, I know -- I wanna get OUT ASAP when the day's over, too -- but I'm a bad one to go by, cuz I have about nine different ways home, and hardly ever take the same one two days in a row.

Depending on what the bus services are like that may not make a lot of difference. Round my way we have so many buses, some of which run at 10-15 minute intervals, that even if you leave 5 minutes later you might miss one bus only to play leapfrog with a different bus. Or a bus on a different route on the overlapping parts.

I don't see why buses are such a problem. If they pull in and there are a load of people waiting to board, it will be a while before the bus moves. If it pulls in and nobody is waiting then it won't be as long. If you're approaching it and it indicates it's about to pull out, decide whether to gun it and get past or brake and tuck in behind (and the best solution depends on where you are relative to the bus, how fast you can gun it, how good your brakes are etc).

In my town it's quite common for me to be gaining fast on a bus that's stopped only to slow to let it out and then catch and overtake it at the next stop. Usually once I'm past the bus it doesn't catch up, on the basis that it goes faster than I do but I don't have to stop to let people on and off every few hundred yards.

Yes, leaving early wouldn't make any difference for me either as the buses run at frequent schedule during rush hours from 5am to 10am and I need to be at work at 9am. However, there is a big difference in traffic if I leave at 7:20 or 7:45. At the later times there is definitely more car traffic. In one way it slows the traffic down causing the bussed to run slow, but on the other hand it makes the ride more frustrating and dangerous. I'd rather ride with less traffic and faster moving buses.

Hey there SurlyLaika,

I'm really about all bicycle frame materials. It's just that I'm particularly enamored by chromoly and Titanium. I'm really hopeful about the progress of carbon fiber and I'd love for aluminum to be more properly priced.

I've always been a lover of Titanium. It's just that speaking about Titanium, further alienates people more so than chromoly steel. People tend to celebrate that which they can afford and denigrate that which they can't.

Respectfully,

- Slim :)