Every weekday morning we hop on the express bus (actually, climb with a great deal of effort due to the boot on my left leg) and ride an hour to work. I always swore I would never commute to work. So here we are doing volunteer work and COMMUTING. I hate to admit it but I enjoy the ride. I can sleep, read, study other passengers or just relax while someone else does the driving.
The only time this was a little less than desirable was when we had a new driver on a snowy morning. He asked for directions as to where the turns and stops were and then as we were starting down a long hill said, “I’ll take this a little slow. I’ve never driven a bus in the snow before.” Uh, I think I’ll get off at the next stop, thank you.No. This is not our bus. But it is what I visualized that morning.
The other day, as the driver was trying to pull away from the curb in the snow the back of the bus slid and hit a sign but he was getting his speed up so we just went right on up the street. What’s one sign more or less?
We had another driver who was a great guy. He was friendly, pleasant, greeted everyone as they got on the bus, but…. used a pumping motion on the gas pedal. Rather jerky. The ride, not the driver.
The female driver we had several time would announce every stop with great detail and chat with everyone as they got on the bus. As we got onto the freeway she’d turn off the overhead lights and tell us, “Settle back and relax. Next stop, Salt Lake City.” Then, as we left the freeway she’d wake us up and announce the first stop. I wonder if she has designs on being an airline pilot.
Our favorite is our currently regular morning driver who gets right over to the curb and kneels the bus down for us to get off. Bless you, bless you.
5 comments:
I can certainly relate to your commuting stories. The driver you are talking about who is very nice, but uses the gas pedal like a lagoon ride is, I believe, Steve. Yes, I know him well. When I ride his bus he says: "Hi Greg." My reply "Name's Ken." He replies: "Oh that's right!" Conversation repeats verbatim the next time he sees me.
Highlights of my express bus commuting include watching a guy who'd had a seizure being carried off the bus on a backboard (that was impressive), the bus that clipped the police car downtown and made me half-an-hour late getting home while the driver got a ticket, the bus that broke down three days in a row trying to make it over the point-of-the-mountain (you'd think they would either use a different bus that could make it or fix the one that couldn't), the time the car that ran into the back of the bus and was totalled (the bus bumper was only scratched), the time the bus pulled off the freeway and waited while a passenger ran into the convenience store to use the bathroom, and, of course, the time when I called the help number to find out where the bus I was waiting for was only to be told: "I'm sorry, sir, they forgot to schedule a driver for that route."
Thanks for sharing your highlights. Looks like we have many adventures still awaiting us.
My husband takes the bus to school every day, and sometimes he comes home with the funniest stories about the bus drivers. His favorite is the one who announces every stop in a rhyme. I think it is great how much people enjoy their job ... it makes our day a little brighter!
Thanks for the fun post. Right now my little two year old man loves this song. He is fascinated by buses!
So, after reading your profile, are you still in Montana? My cousin and her family just moved to Missoula for pharmaceutical school there. My husband and I drove through Montana years ago and our U-Haul broke down in Mile City. What I remember of the state was beautiful. Even Mile City wasn't too bad :)
We're now in Utah. Have been for a l-o-n-g time. Sorry about the U-Haul breakdown. I'm glad you can still say nice things about Montana. It really is beautiful there with lots of snow and cold in the winter. Makes the Utah winters seem wimpy. But we love it here.
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