Training is over. But are we ready? Or are we just prepared to fake it?
Training today began with a 13:30 pickup from the hotels. Some of us jumped in the hot tub before we left. Then we stood around for half an hour in the drizzle waiting for people to get organized. We ended up doubling up with another group for training on route 202 and 203, in Squamish. One of the buses had a destination sign malfunction that had it displaying 911 that couldn’t be cleared. Once the trade-off arrived, we went on our own bus. Then we promptly got lost 5 minutes into the 201 route. We are becoming experts at turning a bus around in a driveway.
Willy and Dan Pope relaxing before work.
At that point our instructor, Paul Teichroeb, made the wise decision to give up and head to Whistler. At least this time he stopped at Tim’s for us.
Why they don’t have local drivers leading the route training is a mystery. At this point Paul got fed up with the lack of documentation on the Squamish routes. The booklet we were given didn’t include the Lefts and Rights. I put my hand up and mentioned that I had all the lefts and rights on my union site. (See http://caw4304.ca/olympics/routes/) I suggested we have the office print them up for us. I agreed, and had me phone the office in Whistler. We ordered the route 1, 2, and 3. Unfortunately, we actually needed the 201, 202 and 203 routes, which we the short turn of the routes we had printed. So we didn’t bother photocopying them all when we finally tracked them down at the garage.
The ride up to Whistler allowed me time to program in the 99 route into my GPS. The guys on the bus started asking where they could buy their own GPS systems. But the problem we have is getting power to them on these new buses. Mine is battery powered, so I have no problems. The rest of our group are really starting to sweat as full service on Monday draws closer.
Once at the Whistler garage, confusion reigned yet again as we stood around waiting for someone to show up to give us some training on the shuttle buses. We ended up getting a lecture in the parking lot of how the payroll works. Then they also told us that they have 50 shifts to cover for Monday. But I don’t want any overtime as I have a trip planned to the West coast of Vancouver Island for Monday through Wednesday. I hope to go whale watching off the coast from. See http://www.weighwest.com/
Then we found our shuttle trainer. The vans hold 24 passengers and have a wheel chair lift at the back. The tie-downs are new and very handy. It was a bit rushed, but I knew most of it from my time in Mobility Plus. One more check mark on the list. At the end of the night we had to sign off on the training. I marked that we had not covered all the runs.
Next it was back to route training. I was up to drive to Pemberton, some 30 miles up the highway. So, out came my GPS and we headed off into the dark. The road was winding almost all the way. I had to use my high beams most of the way as the low beams on these new model Novas isn’t very good. I’m glad I’m working days, as night travel doesn’t allow you to see much. When we arrived at the endpoint, I had to rely on my programming of the GPS, or we would have missed yet another turn. Another operator drive back south, with me becoming the navigator. Actually, I just gave him my GPS, and we had no problems.
Next it was back to the garage for a Q&A with John Palmer. I almost felt sorry for him as three of the drivers really grilled him as to why there wasn’t driver shuttles arranged for us to go to Whistler each morning. As it stand, the expect us to walk about 10 minutes up the road at about 3:30 in the morning to catch the regular line to Whistler. Krys, the lady in our group, said that this wasn’t acceptable to be walking alone in the dark to the bus stop. And then, once in Whistler, we still have to catch another bus to the garage. I say that this hour and a half commute to work each morning is the real down side to this job. I’ll have to find something to keep me occupied.
Next, Fernando and I organized a group photo shoot. We did two shots as the first one we had three stragglers. It was hilarious as two drivers took all our cameras and shot dozens of photos. It was really nice how our group has come together over these past three days.
The "A Team"
We arrived back in Squamish at just after 10. We said goodbye as some of these people we may not see again. Some of the drivers are celebrating graduation with parties in the various rooms. My roommate, Reto, isn’t shaking in his boots. He is hoping for overtime first thing Monday. I wish him well, as it will be a zoo. I’ve booked a cab to Squamish Baptist Church tomorrow.
So, I’m off for the next four days. Bob Arsenealt will be my local guide. We have a local driver giving us a lift to the ferry for 8:30 Monday morning. I can’t wait.