Passenger Relations

Safety is the cornerstone of all activities at SST.  Any activity that does not promote safety is intolerable.

Your job is to provide SAFE, RELIABLE, and COURTEOUS SERVICE.  Remember that, for most of the public, you are the only City of Steamboat Springs or SST representative they will contact.  You determine how the City and Steamboat Springs Transit is perceived as an organization.

Always utilize the Ask, Tell, Make procedure when correcting passenger behavior.

               City Policy

               State Law

               Federal Law

1. Be professional at all times.  Be courteous, polite, and sensitive to your passengers.  Listen to their questions and take time to answer those questions.  They will appreciate your assistance.
2. Treat passengers in a friendly, courteous, helpful, and professional manner.  Say “hello” when they board and “thank you” when they get off.  If you can’t answer their questions, ask another driver or dispatcher or give them the Transit Operation Center (TOC) phone number (970-879-3717).
3. Bus drivers will call all stops and transfer points over the P.A. system or utilize the automatic enunciator system.  If a bus is equipped with an automated stop call system, it must be used and cannot be shut off.  Calling stops is required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
4. Be informed regarding services and activities that your passengers are likely to inquire about.  For example: mention several restaurants so the passenger has a selection and SST remains impartial.
5. Mention upcoming service changes to your passengers at times on route such as when approaching the Gondola Transit Center.
6. City ordinance prohibits the consumption of alcoholic beverages in public and on city buses.
7. Smoking is prohibited by both operator and passengers in the bus, in all city bus stops, in all City vehicles, and all City facilities.  This includes marijuana, and electric cigarettes.
8. Title 49, Section 171.2 of the DOT Hazardous Material Manual states “It is not permissible to allow passengers to carry gasoline or automotive batteries.”  If a passenger tries to board a bus with these items, please call base immediately.  Base may advise you that a supervisor will give the passenger a ride (if possible) so find out where they are going.  If a supervisor is unavailable to give the passenger a ride give them options such as Alpine Taxi.
9. Enforce all safety regulations (i.e., standing behind the yellow line, keeping arms inside the bus, no alcoholic consumption, etc.).  Maintain order on your bus at all times.  Do not let a situation escalate to the point where you have a fight, accident, or a situation that you cannot handle.  If unsure of what to do, contact base for assistance.  If you are unable to get ahold of a supervisor call Routt County Dispatch at (970) 879-1144 and explain the situation to a dispatcher.
10. If a passenger slips and/or falls notify base immediately and ask the passenger and any witnesses, to fill out a courtesy card.  Do not proceed on route until instructed to do so from base, and fill out an incident report at the end of the shift.
11. If a passenger on the vehicle, or at a bus shelter/stop appears to be asleep, passed out, lost, confused, or in any other state of mind that can be a cause of concern to you, you must stop and make every attempt to assess the passenger, determine if the problem may be medical or drug/alcohol related, determine if they are breathing, and notify base, the on-call supervisor, or Routt County dispatch if a welfare check is in order.  Dispatch will need a description of the party or parties, as well as confirmation that they are breathing. Do not proceed back on route without permission from a supervisor, or county dispatch.  Fill out an incident report at the end of your shift before going home.
12. When buses are in service during times the sun is down, the interior lights must be left on.
13. Pets, except service animals, are not allowed on the bus unless they are secured in appropriate pet carriers.  No snakes are allowed at any time.  Drivers will make a general radio call to notify base when a service animal is boarding a bus. You are only allowed to ask the owner of a service animal “Is this a service animal?” and “What specific task has the animal been trained to perform?”  Emotional support animals need to be in a pet carrier.
14. Passengers may not wear inline skates on the bus.
15. Passengers may bring beverages on the bus only if they have lids.  Food must be in a closed container.
16. Passengers should load and unload bikes.  The bus driver may not physically assist in this process, but can give verbal instruction.  Unusual bicycles or odd sized bicycles that cannot fit safely in the rack are not allowed.  The bus’s parking brake must always be set while loading or unloading bicycles.
17. No bicycles are allowed on board without permission from a supervisor.  Motorized devices that contain fuel are never allowed.  Devises that operate from batteries (not a car battery) are allowed on board, such as a fold up scooter without a chain, or a battery powered skateboard as long as it does not block the aisle.  We do not permit bicycles to be transported in the luggage bay to prevent injury to the driver in loading the oversized item as well as potential damage to the bicycle in transport.
18. There is a list of policies posted in the schedule as rules for riding the bus and drivers need to enforce all such rules.
19. Tubers from the river are welcome on the bus when they are clean and dry.  They may be asked to leave the bus if there tubes limit the passenger capacity of the bus.  Tubes or other flotation devices may not block the aisles or exits on the bus.
20. See chapter 7 of the city employee handbook for all city policies for employee conduct.