All good advise above. Here's some more.
If there is a bench at the bus stop, and you are sitting on it, watch for the bus. When the bus is approaching you, GET UP. Don't wait for it to stop before
you get up. If you do, the driver might just pass you up, thinking you are just resting, and don't really want the bus.
If you are new to the bus system or area and not sure, ask the bus driver
for directions. Don't just ask how to get to another bus, tell him where
you are trying to go.
The driver might be able to suggest a better way,
or help you find your target stop.
Even a "bus nazi"
is suppose to help passengers.
Truly
mean,
rude, or inconsiderate drivers
will eventually get fired. Part of
the driver's job is to help you
get where you need to be.
This doesn't
necessarily mean reading you the schedule, however, but it would include
at least hinting at where you could find a schedule, or suggesting a
connecting bus or transfer point.
Part of the driver training for most
bus companies includes familiarization with the routes, especially ones
that connect to the drivers' regular routes. (This may be different,
depending on the number of routes involved.)
However, please
try to get help from the driver
long before you need to get off. Standing in the open doorway asking
questions just before you get off annoys the other passengers who are
trying to make connections or get home or whatever,
and annoys even the
nicest of drivers (although they might not tell
you), especially when they are already late. (Why do people persist in
waiting until last minute before asking for help!!?!)
As to sleeping on the bus...my ride is a 20 minute ride as well,
but I frequently sleep, although usually not intentionally.
Since early childhood, I've had trouble keeping awake in a moving
vehicle (unless, of course, I'm driving it), but I always wake
up when it stops. One bus route makes a turn at a stop light just
before my stop, so this is perfect. However, I've been saved more than
once by the veteran driver just stopping at my stop (that tends to wake
me up too), even though I had not been awake to ring the bell.
I've hit a few strict bus drivers, but most of them are also nice
veteran drivers. They just get mean when you do stupid wrong stuff,
most especially when they recognize you as a regular passenger who
should know better.
However, I did have to deal with a truly bad driver once. For some
reason, I found I needed to catch the first bus of the day to make it
on time. This incompetent rookie driver decided that since it was dark and
of course nobody ever took the first bus, he could
speed
down a 40mph street at 60mph 15-30 minutes earlier than the schedule just so
he could get an extra long break at the end of the run. He passed me
more than once, waving a flashlight
madly trying to get his attention.
He passed me more times while I was not yet up to the stop,
10 minutes earlier than he had been the previous day. Every time he
passed me, I called in and complained. I overheard another driver say
something about a supervisor following him in a car for several days,
calling him on his radio every time he sped or passed a time point early.
I don't think he made it through the probationary period.