n the buses: one oman's viewpoint
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%KEN FOR A RIDE is a 30-page Jstrated paperback, in large int and with drawings by iristopher Madden on most iges, published at 60p plus 20p )stage by Centerprise Trust J. The book, says Centerprise, the work of a group of people,
idea coming from a tape cording when Ruth Parsons, a is conductress, was terviewed about the first ipression of working for inclon Transport. Ruth writes ry openly about the difficulties the job, particularly for men.
Here Here is an extract from her perience: or instance, later on in your lining, 12 of you go out on a is and pretend to be issengers and conductors. To ife the driver the signal to aye off you're supposed to 3nd in the proper position, on e platform, ringing the bell th your right hand. Well, I'm 1-handed, so when I went to ig the bell I stuck my left hand and the instructor actually id, 'I'll fail you if I catch you ling that again.' This business about ringing the bell got me.
"I just had this vision of these buses queueing up miles of buses with conductors all ringing the bell with their right hand. You'd have to rush down the stairs every two minutes, you just couldn't do it. Everyone would be going mad. Half the time you ring the buzzer upstairs or bash,the front, otherwise the bus would never get beyond the garage.
"Next, you're given a week with an instructor and here I was very lucky, I was given one of the only two women instructors in the garage. She was very good, because she understood the problems involved when you're a woman. Even though she doesn't look tough, she's got ways of keeping things under control, and making people feel right idiots. She certainly taught me a lot. Being a women working on the buses doesn't mean that you won't get assaulted, just that you'll have to cope with sexual advances as well, and older women come in for a lot of abuse."