Was There Really a Humphrey Go Bart?
Yes, Virginia, there really was a Humphrey Go Bart. Here is the link that shows that we received some sort of transportation award way back in 1977.
Here is the link to a brief history of BART.
Here is the current version, called, unimaginatively, the Bear Transit Bus.
Here is the only picture I could find on the web of an old Mercedes D309, which is the bus in the middle. The Humphrey Go Barts did not have the destination display on the front, and had an air-conditioning unit on the back. Of course, they were not red, the hated colors of the junior university that must not be named! The Go-Barts were a cream color with very little decoration. I will keep looking for a picture.
I loved the diesel smell, and still do. Some do not share that affection for diesel. As a response to some complaints, one of our "experiments" was to add some mixture to the fuel that was supposed to make the diesel exhaust smell like roses. Alas, it was not very effective.
Now, aren't you just thrilled to know this?
posted by Captain GoBart at 3:18 PM
11 Comments:
As I recall they were blue and gold and had the Oski on the side. Never took one, since I lived in the Ehrman Hall and didn't need Bart. Interesting stuff.
Harvard@Cal
The Oski came later. The sides were simply lettered "Humphrey Go-BART" on a yellow body with white stripes.
I was the first replacement driver hired after the original first batch of GoBart drivers was hired in 1974. There were eight GoBarts, units numbered 71-78, operated by ASUC, serviced at the UC Garage on Oxford, managed by Tim Taylor, on two routes (Local and Express). Service was initally provided from 7:00AM to 7:00PM, subsequently extended until 2:00AM. I held shifts three days a week and washed the buses on Saturdays.
Unit 78 was the best performer; 74 was doggy, smoky and leaned right but had the best AC; 72 was always in the shop; 75 was permanently assigned to the Local because it couldn't climb the hill. One of the units - 71? - had no AC unit; it was sheared off in the ASUC Garage by Bob Hayes in an unfortunate accident in the first year of operation.
These were outstanding buses!
I, too, was a driver 1974-1977. My favorite bus was 78 - it had everything and everything worked! Favorite memories are almost too many to write. Bus 74 leaked so much oil from a crack in the block that there was a pool of it in the Zellerback underground garage. On rainy days the garage floor was wet and if you were the first driver in for the evening you could gun down the left hand aisle and spin your bus into its parking spot because of the oil from poor ol' 74! I was too chicken to do this. Somewhere in 1976-77 my future husband Kevin made a battery operated key that fit on the back doors and I would drive 78 through the campus with this windup key turning on the back, laughing my head off at the pedestrians' expressions. Once lost the brakes on 78 coming down the hill. Made it to the UC Garage on Oxford where one of the mechanics stood in front of the bus and had me pump the brakes. "Hold on," he said, and went to get the head supervisor. Coming back to in front of the bus he told his boss to stand just so, and then asked me to pump the brakes once again. Brake fluid squirted out and down the front of the boss! It also took the paint off of the front grill of the bus, exposing the original red underneath, so that 78 always looked like it was frothy blood at the mouth from then on! Should I tell about the races between buses down Dwight Ave after refueling at night or the jousting matches passing bus drivers would have with those little whisk brooms each bus had? I was driving the day the Stanford Band was taken out by the Cal football team! Great memories - possibly the best job I ever had!
Debra "Denni" Frerichs (now Medlock)
Memories!
I started working for the UC Parking Service, and was a gate attendant at the West (University) entrance to the campus. So during the 1976-77 school year, I got to know the GoBart drivers. I loved the parking service, and working the Cal football games, and the rest. Interesting stuff.
I applied for the GoBart job, and was hired in 1977. I lived in the same house as Tim Taylor down on what was then Grove. I worked as a student mechanic with Bernie Cuzzillo (sp?) at the Oxford Garage. I remember when the buses had to be serviced, they had to be driven to Fremont. Of course, people fought over who was going to drive them to Fremont, as that would mean getting them on the freeway! UC decided to train a couple student mechanics to do routine maintenance, so Bernie and I were it. He did the glamour stuff, I changed tires!
My favorite bus was 76 for some unknown reason, but I think I always found it reliable.
I think it was Mike Edmonds who sheared off the AC unit on one of the buses, and it was never right after that.
I wound up as a shift supervisor, and helped with scheduling. I drove several nights a week, and always loved making the run to the Donut Shop on the north side, as they always made their chocolate old-fashioned's at 1:00 a.m.
The worst was I had a Sunday night shift (6:45 p.m. to 2:15 a.m.) followed by a Monday morning shift (6:45 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.) I usually parked the bus and slept in it.
I was dating a woman who I later married who lived on Regent, and I would always drive by and honk the horn late at night.
I drove until 1979, then moved on to other things, as I finally graduated. I wish I could remember the names of the other drivers besides Bernie. I think there was Ethne, and Randy and Jeff (frat guys), and the guy who played rugby (big fellow), and Jennifer (from Alpha Phi), and Mike Edmonds.
Debbie, I think I remember you. Those are great stories. And there are lots more out there, I am sure. I agree with you that it was one of the best jobs I ever had. Those were fun days. Not many people got to be GoBart drivers. Alas, I had the yellow GoBart t-shirt, but in the many moves, it got lost.
Captain Go Bart - Can you give me a first name so I can make the connection?
I worked with Steve Lawton, Tim Bever, Ray (Perlman?)Amy Linden, another Tim, Meg, Kathline, Bob Hayes, friend of his with last name Gray, Phil, Bernie (who was absolutely crazy)and his friend Leo, who was a lab partner of mine in Physics. Tim Bever and I turned out to be neighbors and our sons went to school together and were friends. He's in Austin, Tx now. Amy's way high up in NY's MTA. Steve's ex-wife Adrienne became our real estate agent (twice). There was a Jeff who went to grad school in Canada for Chemistry. Rugby player was Mark Villa. My husband Kevin ran into him in Buttonwillow years ago and they both recognized each other! There was a fellow, Goodman last name, interested in police work. I am shocked at how much I've forgotten. It was way too cool a job! Lost my Go-Bart T-Shirt in the Oakland Hills Fire. Wish I hadn't! Steve Lawton has some pics posted - just goggle Humphrey Go bart.
My name is Jim Stochl, and I am now a pastor in Ceres, CA in the Central Valley.
I recall some of those names, and really remember Mark Villa. I cannot remember Jennifer's name, except she was from Alpha Phi and was on the Women's Crew team. There was a tall guy named Rob who was from the AGO frat. He must have been 6' 8". I got to be part of his wedding a few years later in Concord.
I remember Amy, and she was just leaving as I was coming on.
I think Mike Edmonds was the one interested in police work. One night, I heard over the radio that Mike was in his bus, chasing a guy speeding down Shattuck. He had passengers in the bus, but was still chasing this guy! He called the BPD, which monitored our radio traffic, and they responded and stopped the guy. This was about 1:00 a.m. Turns out the guy was a doctor rushing to Herrick Hospital for some emergency. Oops! Mike was always a little zealous. When he started, he began calling into the BPD about students who were jay-walking across Bancroft. In Berkeley! Can you believe that? The BPD eventually told him to stuff it, politely, of course.
I remember doing pool driving as well. Driving during Regents meetings. I got to drive President David Saxon to Regents meetings a couple times to Santa Cruz. Driving big yellow buses on field trips. I wound up filling in for the Berkeley-Stanford Library Shuttle when the regular driver was out. I even got to drive Edward Teller from Stanford to Lawrence Livermore Labs for about a month while his regular driver was out.
Bernie and I took the CHP bus training, and wound up becoming trainers of new drivers. The two frat guys (Randy Schaeffer was one, I think), were pretty cocky. So after a couple of days, I had them drive up into the narrow streets on North Side. The training bus was a cab-over, so the driver sat ahead of the front wheels. One of the frat guys forgot, and at one particularly narrow corner, turned too soon, and destroyed a VW Bug. Barely a scratch on the bus! We left a note, and Tim Taylor was none too happy!
Good memories.
Steve's pictures are here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/srlawton53/sets/72157631673192717/
Other pictures from Ian Stock (whom I remember) are here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ianstock/sets/72157604959272886/
Jim, I do remember you! You came on about the time I was leaving in Aug of 77. I got married and transferred to Cal Poly SLO where my husband was going. You and I often exchanged oranges and/or cookies while you were working the West Circle gate.
Oh, I once locked mirrors with a garbage truck on Shattuck, no other damage than that, but I had to off load a full bus of passengers and leave them to walk to morning classes! Not a happy group! No, Tim was not happy with that, either!
I had a career as an engineer and then taught astronomy at the Chabot Space & Science Center in Oakland, before we moved to the mountains near Mt. Lassen, in Fall River Valley to raise thoroughbred race horses. Go Bart was an amazing job. I still think a good book could be written about that time (if we change the names! LOL!)
Googling for Humphrey Go BART produced this link to a Flickr picture:
https://c3.staticflickr.com/3/2231/2477026567_c644d94185_z.jpg?zz=1
Go Bears! (I was class of '84, Genetics degree from College of Natural Resources)
In the beginning there was a contest to name the busses. It was won by a guy in my dorm (Putnam) whose name I believe was Keith Altschuler. Lots of people who rode the busses were not users of the BART system, we just used it to get around.
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