Terrifying Transit

A few weeks ago, I started taking DART (local public transportation) to work in the morning and home from work in the evening.  For the most part it isn't too awful and has been uneventful.

HOWEVER, then entered the bus driver I have nicknamed Flingin' Flo.  Flingin' Flo is apparently a new driver.  Judging from her skills, she got her license from a box of Lucky Charms one morning, donned a DART uniform and took to the road.

Why am I maligning the woman, you ask? Oh, let me extrapolate:

• Consistently late....at least 10 minutes late.  She gets a partial pass for today because there was an accident where she was supposed to turn and she had to go out of her way to get around it.
• STOMPS on the brakes. This is part of the reason I call her Flingin' Flo... because her brake stomping causes passengers to (quite literally) be flung from their seats into the aisles and onto the floors of the bus.
• WHIPS around turns.... This is the rest of the reason I call her Flingin' Flo... She takes corners hard and fast.
• Road Ragey... she has used her horn more in the three trips I've taken with her than all other transit workers I've EVER ridden with combined.
• Has her route written on a piece of paper and still consistently needs reminding from passengers where she needs to turn. Ok, I get it.. It isn't easy to keep a long bus ride straight in your head, especially the route I ride that twists and turns and doubles back upon itself.  But really, consistently having to whip across three lanes of traffic to make a turn is not winning you any friend.
• Crash waiting to happen... every ride she comes really close to plowing into a car or cars.  Todays incident she gets a partial pass because the idiot DID pull out in front of her and should have known better.

I am actually fairly convinced, at this point, that she has a death wish and wants to take the rest of us with her. However, I have indeed lived to tell the tale, so I suppose she's not THAT bad... but it is very scary sometimes to ride with someone who seems to have so very little regard for passengers and other drivers.  Perhaps some more training. In a nice secluded training area. And something for the rage.

I'd better get to bed and rest my road-weary body.  Hope the bruising (from people being flung into my lap with great force and velocity) isn't too bad tomorrow.