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Thank you to Joan Holden for the positive feedback in the Summit Daily concerning the Summit Stage service.
As president of Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 1751, I extend my gratitude for your appreciation of the extra efforts of our drivers. From the details provided in your letter to the Summit Daily, I realize that your compliment regarding washing the windows of the Boreas Pass bus in Breckenridge Station was about me.
However, all of the Summit Stage drivers perform public service duties that are often out of view and unrecognized.
Drivers rise from bed at 3 a.m. for the day shift or go to bed at 3 a.m. from the night shift. Most of our drivers live outside Summit County due to the high cost of housing. Many commute over Hoosier Pass and Fremont Pass from Fairplay, Alma, and Leadville in extreme weather conditions. My living arrangement is exceptional, ownership of a restricted-deed studio condominium in Copper Mountain. Higher wages and more housing options are needed for Summit Stage drivers and other employees throughout the county.
In the early morning darkness, Summit Stage drivers check over the mechanical safety of the buses and disperse to distant sites in the county long before the first riders begin the morning commute to work. Throughout the day, Summit Stage drivers serve a public safety role in reporting accidents and providing other assistance to law enforcement officers. Many of our drivers are working 60 hours and drive 1,200 miles per week during the winter season.
The Summit Stage is perpetually short of drivers, partially due to the high cost of living among the resorts. During the long hours of operation, each driver must be constantly alert to changing road conditions and other vehicle operators who are unfamiliar with the roads of Summit County.
In a typical snowstorm, any single driver may observe five vehicles spin-out or rollover along the route and avoid a collision or two, while trying to keep a bus on-route and on-schedule.
During any spare time at the transit stations, a driver may be providing directions to disoriented visitors, cleaning windows, stacking grocery carts in the racks, picking up litter, replacing schedules in the station, filling the windshield washer fluid boxes, and chopping ice from the platforms. The tasks are diverse and almost always pleasant. However, if you do happen to encounter a tired or grumpy driver, please extend a bit of understanding compassion.
Finally, thank you for riding the Summit Stage. If more residents and visitors in Summit County rode our bus system, the freeway would have fewer closures due to accidents and all of the roads would be less congested with traffic, allowing people to reach work, slopes, and shopping centers with greater efficiency and safety.
As president of Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 1751, I extend my gratitude for your appreciation of the extra efforts of our drivers. From the details provided in your letter to the Summit Daily, I realize that your compliment regarding washing the windows of the Boreas Pass bus in Breckenridge Station was about me.
However, all of the Summit Stage drivers perform public service duties that are often out of view and unrecognized.
Drivers rise from bed at 3 a.m. for the day shift or go to bed at 3 a.m. from the night shift. Most of our drivers live outside Summit County due to the high cost of housing. Many commute over Hoosier Pass and Fremont Pass from Fairplay, Alma, and Leadville in extreme weather conditions. My living arrangement is exceptional, ownership of a restricted-deed studio condominium in Copper Mountain. Higher wages and more housing options are needed for Summit Stage drivers and other employees throughout the county.
In the early morning darkness, Summit Stage drivers check over the mechanical safety of the buses and disperse to distant sites in the county long before the first riders begin the morning commute to work. Throughout the day, Summit Stage drivers serve a public safety role in reporting accidents and providing other assistance to law enforcement officers. Many of our drivers are working 60 hours and drive 1,200 miles per week during the winter season.
The Summit Stage is perpetually short of drivers, partially due to the high cost of living among the resorts. During the long hours of operation, each driver must be constantly alert to changing road conditions and other vehicle operators who are unfamiliar with the roads of Summit County.
In a typical snowstorm, any single driver may observe five vehicles spin-out or rollover along the route and avoid a collision or two, while trying to keep a bus on-route and on-schedule.
During any spare time at the transit stations, a driver may be providing directions to disoriented visitors, cleaning windows, stacking grocery carts in the racks, picking up litter, replacing schedules in the station, filling the windshield washer fluid boxes, and chopping ice from the platforms. The tasks are diverse and almost always pleasant. However, if you do happen to encounter a tired or grumpy driver, please extend a bit of understanding compassion.
Finally, thank you for riding the Summit Stage. If more residents and visitors in Summit County rode our bus system, the freeway would have fewer closures due to accidents and all of the roads would be less congested with traffic, allowing people to reach work, slopes, and shopping centers with greater efficiency and safety.
