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Riding
the M60--or any New York bus, for that matter--is a daily nuisance
for passengers who are late to work or impatient to reach the airport.
They can't wait to get to their destination and off the bus.
But for its driver,
Karen Glover, the crawl of the M60 is life. Her nine years behind
the wheel of MTA buses shows when she wiggles the 40-foot bus in
and out of traffic, effortlessly overtaking trucks and avoiding
bicyclists while keeping up an uninterrupted flow of conversation.
Only the experienced and skilled drivers get the airport bus, she
boasts with a smile.
Glover's day starts
at 2:15 a.m. She drives down to New York from her Stroudsburg, PA
home to start the first trip to the airport at 4 a.m. She moved
to Pennsylvania four years ago because she wanted to get away from
her slow, jerky New York life and enjoy the fresh country air and
free driveways.
She gets no downtime in her stressful
day until her two-hour lunch. Then, if she is not relaxing with
fellow bus operators, she will take the opportunity to do her shopping,
visit her hairdresser or run errands. Before the afternoon's rush
hour sets in, she is making her way out of the city, hurrying home
to be with her two children. She will be in bed by 7 p.m., ready
to do it all over again the next day.
Glover says that she has developed
her own techniques to deal with the monotony of her work and avoid
irritations. For example, she strives for a rhythm to beat the traffic
lights. She tries to avoid stopping at the lights by adjusting her
speed depending on the traffic.
Being polite and friendly with passengers
helps, too. "I do not want arguments with passengers to add
to my stress," she said. "I can spot a woman walk in the
door and tell she is coming with issues. I'll smile broadly at her
and go, 'That's a lovely handbag you got there, honey,' and the
situation will be instantly diffused."
A man got into the bus at Frederick
Douglas Avenue and said, "How you doin', gorgeous," and
kissed her on the cheek. She said some of her regular passengers
are very attached to her.
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