To The Editor:

I have been living here in South Lake Tahoe since July 1, 1995, and I was recently asked what my biggest complaint about living here has been, so I thought I’d let your readers know.

My biggest complaint is all the people who ride the local public bus system (STAGE) who constantly complain about the buses being late or not coming to their bus stop at all. Recently, those complaints have come from Heavenly Ski Resort employees who, during the ski season, get to ride STAGE buses free by showing drivers a valid employee ID.

There are more things to a STAGE driver’s day than just driving the buses between the Transit Station at the South “Y” Center and the stop at the side of Harveys Resort & Casino. If a bus is late, chances are that the drivers are having to stop at all the stops between the South “Y” Center and Harveys and pick up other passengers. If there’s quite a lot of traffic, or bad weather, or an accident, that could also cause a bus to be late. If you feel that a particular driver has been rude to you, stop for a moment and think about what that driver has gone through before you got on or off the bus he or she is driving. If someone had said something that driver didn’t appreciate hearing, chances are he or she is just taking it out on you or someone else. My suggestion would be to take a moment before you get on or off that bus and talk with that driver. Chances are good you’ll end up getting an apology if you find out what happened. Bus drivers are people, too, you know. They have good days, and they have bad days, same as you and I do. If it were up to me, I’d have the month of March, annually, declared Be Kind to Bus Drivers Month.

If you still wish to complain about STAGE and its drivers, here’s something else to consider: Carson City, the capital of Nevada, doesn’t even have a public bus system!

Debra C. Tussey

South Lake Tahoe