Real-Life Math
Math skills for a bus driver are "not particularly important," says
transit driver Heinz Hammer. "Communication skills should be a bus driver's
strongest attribute."
But that doesn't mean you won't have
to know the basics, he adds.
Bus drivers have to collect and keep track
of fares and keep to a time schedule. Some also have to write down how many
passengers used the bus during the day and maintain other records.
It's
early in the morning and you're parked in front of the hotel where you
pick up passengers to go to the airport. Because the airport is on the outskirts
of town, you drive a shuttle to help get passengers to the airport easily
and on time.
Everyone has piled on to the bus. You shut the doors and
walk down the aisle selling bus passes. A 1-way pass costs $11. A 2-way pass
costs $18. You sell the tickets, and then count the number of people in the
bus. You count 22 people.
Part A
If 10 people bought
a 1-way ticket, 8 people bought a 2-way ticket and the rest are using the
second half of a 2-way ticket bought earlier, how much money should you have
in the purse before you pull away from the curb?
Part B
You
pull away and start driving down the highway to the airport. The plane these
passengers are catching leaves at 7:30 a.m. You have to get to the airport
1 hour before their flight leaves. It's important that bus drivers always
stick to their schedule.
It is now 6:20 a.m. You are traveling at a
speed of 50 mph. You have 12 more miles to get to the airport. Will you get
to the airport on time?
Use this formula: Rate x Time
= Distance