From Moncton, New Brunswick: a bus story from Bill Jarvis

Bill Jarvis drove a bus for 25 years in Moncton, New Brunswick. He shared this bus story with me in a recent email, and when I asked, gave me permission to post it in This Week’s Featured Story. It came just in time for Christmas.


It was a Saturday evening about 20 years ago, a couple of weeks before Christmas. I was just finishing supper when the phone rang. On the line was the general manager of Tours to Remember Inc., for whom I drove on a casual, part-time basis. “Air Canada just diverted a plane from Saint John to Moncton because of the weather. Could you take 232 to Moncton Airport and deliver the passengers to their hotels in Saint John?” I agreed, then looked out the window to see that a heavy snowstorm had just started.

Fleet number 232 was a 1977 GMC P8M-4905A, a 47-passenger coach, with a 4-speed standard transmission. If I had to be on the highway on a stormy evening, I knew from experience that there was no model of bus that handled better in snow. (Previously, one of the company’s senior drivers had told me, “They’ll plow snow to the headlights.”)

When the passengers and their luggage were loaded, and we were under way, I picked up the microphone. “Your plane overshot the Saint John runway by about 170 kilometres. Now it’s up to bus people to get you safely to your destination. This trip usually should take about 1¾ hours, but with tonight’s driving conditions I expect we’ll need 2½ hours. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the Christmas lights on homes we’ll pass.” 

As the trip progressed, I occasionally let the passengers know how we were doing, and made a few more comments hoping to make the trip more pleasant.

Once in Saint John, the passengers were taken to three or four hotels. The last passenger to get off at the last hotel was an elderly lady. To my surprise, as I gave her her luggage, she handed me a $5.00 bill and said, “Sir, you are the first good thing that has happened in a very long and very bad day.”

I was thanked many times over 25 years of bus driving, but I don’t remember many times where it was for helping someone’s bad day get better.

From Richmond, Virginia: Driving Richmond: Stories and Portraits of GRTC Operators

A multimedia project— photographic portraits by Michael Lease, text panels based on interviews conducted by Laura Browder, and sound portraits by Benjamin Thorp—that draws on the experiences of Greater Richmond Transit Authority bus operators.

The stories they told us changed the way we looked at the city. (Read, see, and hear more here.)

From Oshodi, Lagos State: “The Love Story of a Unilag Babe and Bus Conductor,” by Roy Ofili

Something interesting happened on my way to Oshodi this morning. At the park this rough mean-looking conductor also known as “agbero” in Yoruba was screaming for passengers, his vernacular oscillating between Yoruba and pidgin English. (Read more here.)

From NYC: "Daily What? NYC Bus Driver Steals Own Bus," by Christopher Inoa

You probably recall the story of the JetBlue flight attendant who grabbed two beers, pulled the emergency slide, and left his job in a blaze of glory. Well, this story takes that up another notch. (Read more here.)

Busboy's Annual Pass: Was It Worth It? Spreadsheet for November.

Not bad considering we were out of town for nine days. See below for the cumulative totals since January 1.

You can find out what this is all about here.

From Karachi, Pakistan: "Story time: An unforgettable bus ride," by Muhammad Areeb Nafeyuddin Siddiqui

It was crowded to the brim, yet the conductor said to the passengers standing on the bus stop “Khali hai, aajao, bohut jaga hai…,” (“It is empty, there is lots of space.”). (Read the whole story here.)

From NYC: "Dear Ones -- a Story," by Elizabeth Gilbert

Years ago I was on the midtown cross-town bus in NYC, in evening rush hour, in January, in the sleeting wind and rain.

Yeah, it sucked. (Read more here.)

From St. Louis: "Thursday, October 23," by emrsster (Today's Bus Story)

On the bus, the driver called out, Does this bus turn on Delmar or after that? (Read the whole story here.)

From a reader in “Ask a Manager,” by Alison Green

...my new office is now aware that I take the bus to and from work. This seems to really bother them. (Read the whole story here.)

From Walnut Grove, Alabama: "Adopted," by Tom Brandon

A first grade girl, that usually got on the bus full of excitement, set down behind me and I heard a deep sigh. There was a pause then in a small soft voice she said, "You know Mr. Brandon, my Papa died." (Read more here.)

Busboy's Annual Pass: Was It Worth It? Spreadsheet for October.

Nothing especially remarkable about this month.  See below for the cumulative totals since January 1.

You can find out what this is all about here.

From St. Louis: "Friday, October 3," by emrsster (Today's Bus Story)

Pershing and Skinker: It’s around 5 pm, and I’m waiting for the #16 to get to daycare, where I will pick up M and then wait for R. I’m on the phone with my sister discussing Important Family Stuff, when a guy approaches the stop. (Read more here.)

From Seattle: "Dirt on Blue Sleeves, " by Nathan Vass

I hear the second man muttering. They're the only people on the bus– it's my last trip, a late-night short 49 to close out the evening. The pair strike me as first-generation African versions of the Odd Couple, or maybe Laurel & Hardy, except this time Hardy's not tall and heavy, but the short squat fellow. (Read the whole story here.)

From San Francisco: "Bus Report # 840," by Rachel

Last night on the 2 Clement, on the way home...

I got on the bus and quickly walked past the man sitting in the front. He is a familiar face around the neighborhood, always talking loudly to himself and to people who I don't think exist, often saying threatening things. He always seems agitated, wraps rubber bands around the cuffs of his pants, and reminds me of a feverish scarecrow. I know he's got some problems he can't solve on his own, but he frightens me anyway.

He sat in the front of the bus and talked to nobody, at least, that's what I thought. (Read more here.)

From The Bronx: New York City bus operator Ronald Ruiz remembers one of his passengers.

“So I ran back to the bus, and I said, 'Sweetie, your restaurant is right here.'”(Listen to the whole story here.)

Busboy's Annual Pass: Was It Worth It? Spreadsheet for September.

81 boardings is a new monthly record. The previous record was 52 in April and May. I can account for 21 of those new boardings: three trips (six boardings) to a DVD rental place, two trips (eight boardings) to the birdseed store, one trip (one boarding) to my car repair shop, and another two trips (10 boardings) for some bi-monthly meetings which I began attending in September.

The eight trips left over must have been joy rides...

See below for the cumulative totals since January 1.

You can find out what this is all about here.

from New Haven, Connecticut: "From The Valley To New Haven And Back—In 12 Hours," by Jodie Mozdzer Gil

If I aim to use public transportation — and Friday I most certainly did — catching this bus is my one chance to get to work on time to teach journalism at 8 a.m. at Southern Connecticut State University.

So my heart sank and my feet sprang to action when I saw the bus. I was still about a block away from the stop, which is around the corner in front of French Park on Spruce Street. (Read the whole article here.)

from Walnut Grove, Alabama: "A Boy from the Past," by Tom Brandon

He paused to take a look in the mirror before he went to sit down. Pulled out a comb and started working on a style of hair cut I had not seen on a young boy for a long time. (Read more here.)

From Seattle: "Eastbound 3, 4:30 PM (or, Learning to love sardines)," by Carla Saulter (Bus Chick)

As a veteran bus rider, I have had to deal with my share of unpleasant travel experiences. Like most sane people, I dislike bad bus rides. But—and I preface this comment by acknowledging that I have a rather unconventional world view—for me, it is often the “unpleasant” bus experiences that reinforce everything I love about the bus. (Read more here.)

From Chicago: "A bus ride reminded me how great Chicagoans are," by ABmartin

Earlier this week I was on the longest bus commute ever, it seemed, when I was reminded how great this City and its people are. (Read more here.)

Busboy's Annual Pass: Was It Worth It? Spreadsheet for August.

A notable falling off this month compared to the last seven months, but very good considering we were out of town for half the month. See below for the cumulative totals since January 1.

You can find out what this is all about here.

From Dunedin, New Zealand: Dr. Lynley Hood in a letter to the editor of the Otago Daily Times

I feel sorry for the poor solitary drivers cocooned in the isolation of motor vehicles.

They don't know what they're missing. Conversations with total strangers at bus stops have taught me many things.

Here are some of them: (Read more here.)

From San Francisco: "Bus Report # 828," by Rachel

The bus stopped at Turk and a tall, older, white-blond guy got out, followed closely by another guy carrying a freshly dry-cleaned Giants jersey.

They had barely walked three steps when the blond man yelled, "Hey, you've got my wallet! He stole my wallet!" and he ran after the dry-cleaning guy to get his attention. (Read the whole story here.)

From Los Angeles: "That Time I Took the Bus and Everything Was Great," by Nathan Deuel for Gawker

The other night, I was going to the launch party for my new book, but the hosting bookstore happened to be on the other side of town, in Los Feliz, while I meanwhile was a new resident of Venice, an hour's drive away—or more in mid-afternoon traffic—so I considered my options. (Read more here.)

From Milwaukee: “The Zen on a City Bus,” by Ellen Kozak for WUWM Milwaukee Public Radio

Although I take public transportation all the time when I’m in New York, I hadn't been on a Milwaukee bus since I got my driver's license at 16.  But half a century later, I’m old enough to get a discounted fare again, so when work took me downtown on a regular basis last winter, I decided to bury my old prejudices and take the bus. (Read more here.)
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From Seattle: "Bus Story: Vanishing Reason," [a Top Ten Bus Stories nominee] by Richard Isherman

Over and over, she tells him that she did exactly what he asked and she’s pissed that he doesn’t appreciate her. But he said he can’t rely on her, so she’s telling him, over the phone, for all of us to hear, exactly what transpired. (Read more here.)

Busboy's Annual Pass: Was It Worth It? Spreadsheet for July.

Two new routes this month, the 140 and 141 -- both quite familiar to me from my working days. See below for the cumulative totals since January 1.

You can find out what this is all about here.

From Harlem: "Women’s Hats on a Harlem Bus," by Yanina Garbarg

Dear Diary,

This is my first time on the bus since I’ve moved here, and the women of Harlem are heading to church. (Read more here.)

From Seattle: “The Glow II” by Nathan Vass

"Congratulations again," I say as she's getting off. "You have the glow!"  I emphasize the line with a hand gesture, hoping she knows what I mean.
She looked at me for a moment. In a few short minutes we had reached a space where it felt comfortable to say such things. "Oh, thank you! You too, you do too!"

I suppose I meant the glow of being pregnant. Sometimes we find people who absolutely radiate vitality– it seems almost reductive to call it positive energy, though I guess that's what it is. They might be pregnant, or engaged, or children, or just those rare souls whose well-being explodes out of them for reasons too large to decipher.

(Read the whole story here.)

From Portland, Oregon: "THIS WILL NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN," by Nickareeno

I always pay my Max fare -- always, always, always. There have been a few times - and I mean a few - when I found myself standing on a moving Max car and realizing I had not paid the fare. (Read more here.)

From Birmingham, Alabama: "The people of MAX: some of the people I've met riding the bus," by Ian Hoppe for AL.com

Most of my friends, family and acquaintances, after finding out that I am riding buses in Birmingham, lead their line of questioning with something akin to, "I bet you've seen some crazy stuff, huh?"

For a variety of reasons mostly having to do with inexperience, a lot of people believe that the city's buses are a haven of revelry and mischief and that every bus ride is peppered with violence and illicit activities.

I hate to disappoint everyone when I reiterate: This could not be further from the truth. Apart from the initial excitement of a new activity, the bus rides are pretty mundane and quiet, as they should be. (Read the whole article here.)

Busboy's Annual Pass: Was It Worth It? Spreadsheet for June.

The numbers are down, but considering we were out of town for two weeks, the numbers are actually quite good. See below for the cumulative totals since January 1.

From Minneapolis-St. Paul: "Green Line: Bus commuters toast Route 144's last ride," by Frederick Melo for Pioneer Press

As the final Route 144 bus rolled south from Randolph and Snelling avenues, the women at Sweet Pea's Public House gazed with mixed emotion out the window, cradled their beers a bit tighter and broke out unabashedly in song. "The wheels on the bus go round and round," sang Irish instructor Mary Roguski, flanked by fellow members of the "144 Hoolies." (Read more here.)

From Albuquerque: New Bus!

Got my first look at the new buses today, and managed to get this shot of one of them at the intersection of Lead and Mesa. This one displays one of the we’d-know-it-anywhere bell towers of San Felipe de Neri Church in Old Town, one of eight Albuquerque icons to be featured on the new buses. I hope to be the first on my block to collect all 8.

From Monterey County, California: "A valued bus ride to prison," by Dave Nordstrand

Come June 14, River Road's Susan Sterrett will help children visit prison but only for four hours only and for a good cause.

"The fathers of these children are incarcerated," Sterrett said. "What we do is bring their children in from all over the state to visit them."

Sterrett is regional coordinator for Monterey County for "Get on the Bus." The annual Father's Day event has chartered buses from across California picking up the children -- the offspring of inmates -- plus their guardians. The buses then drive them through prison gates and onto the grounds of the Correctional Training Facility and the Salinas Valley State Prison outside Soledad.

(Read more here.)

From somehwere between Vara and Lidköping, Sweden: "City Bus Driver Ditches Vehicle Mid-Route And Not A Single Passenger Could Complain," by Sara Gates for HuffPost Good News

A bus driver in Sweden made an unexpected stop on a roadside last week. But, instead of picking up a passenger, the driver hopped out of the vehicle.

As riders looked on, the intercity bus driver, who was identified in Swedish-language reports as André Grandin, knelt down on the ground and comforted a young girl who was crying. After a few moments, Grandin reportedly returned to the bus and drove on without a word. (Read more here.)

From Washington, D.C.: "Deer leaps on top of woman at D.C. bus stop, knocks her out" (ABC7)

Kicked by a deer. That is the description of the bizarre incident that occurred this morning to a woman after a leaping deer crashed into her, knocking her to the ground in Southeast. (Read more here.)

From Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina: "Tune in to ‘As the Bus Stops’ — a transportation-themed soap opera," by Lori Aratani for the Washington Post

Triangle Transit could be the first transit agency in the United States to score a Daytime Emmy.

Okay, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but folks at the transit system, which serves the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area, has come up with a clever marketing/education campaign to tout the virtues of their bus system. (Read more here.)

Busboy's Annual Pass: Was It Worth It? Spreadsheet for May.

See below for the cumulative totals since January 1.

You can find out what this is all about here.

From Wiesbaden, Germany: "My Local Bus," by R. Hammond

Although I live only three miles outside of the city limits of Wiesbaden.....there's only two city bus routes that run through my village.  I'm kind of familiar with both....knowing the limitations of getting into town, and catching the right bus back to my village.

From Monday of this week....one of these bus lines had a bus making the trip out of the city, and was almost at the city limits (leaving town), when an strange event happened. (Read more here.)

From Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina: Triangle Transit Presents "As The Bus Stops."

January 3, 2014: In the season premier of As The Bus Stops...will Sebastian spill the beans about Erika? Will Erika change her commute for Prescott? Will Alexus pay her bus fare?!?! As The Bus Stops: Episode 1

February 6, 2014: Last time on "As the Bus Stops," Alexus tried to pay her bus fare as Erika struggled to keep her commute change a secret from Prescott. Did they succeed? Or is drama bringing their lives to a standstill like traffic on I-40? Find out on As The Bus Stops: Episode 2

February 20, 2014: In the season finale of As The Bus Stops, will BOSS be there when Erika needs *shoulder* to cry on? Can she stop Prescott's wedding? Is Ambrosia a ventriloquist or just a loud thinker? As The Bus Stops: Episode 3

ABQ Ride policy on Bikes Makes No Sense, by Annette Chartier

Photo by Busboy.

The following article appeared in the second issue of a new Albuquerque newspaper, ABQ Free Press. The paper does have a website, but none of its articles are posted there -- and may never be if I correctly understand the gist of its motto, “The future of print is print.”

This article is about ABQ RIDE and bicycles. I’ve taken the liberty of transcribing and posting it here.


ABQ Ride policy on Bikes Makes No Sense

by Annette Chartier


So you want to do a bike/bus combo to get to work? Good luck.

ABQ Ride has a bike/bus policy that makes it impossible to know whether you’ll get to work on time in the morning or home again at night.

Every day, cyclists pressure bus drivers to make split-second decisions as to whether or not to allow bikes onboard if the bike rack on the front of the bus is full. Drivers know that if they make the wrong choice and someone gets hurt, the buck stops with them.

So, most drivers simply say no, leaving the bike commuters waiting for the next bus, or the one after that, or the one after that.

Although there is a city policy on bikes and buses, an ABQ Free Press Inquiry found enough contradictions to undermine any rational claim that Albuquerque is, or is becoming, a multimodal city.

Let’s start with policy.

“Right now, the policy is that if the bicycle rack is full and if the wheelchair area is unoccupied, then the bicyclist will be allowed to bring the bicycle on the bus and stand with the bicycle in the wheelchair area,” said Bruce Rizzieri, head of ABQ Ride. The ABQ Ride website has said pretty much the same thing for years.

But that’s not the reality.

“In this city, it’s just easier to stay on your bike and keep pedaling than it is to wait for a bus and hope that you’ll be able to get your bike on that bus,” said Jennifer Buntz, president of the Duke City Wheelmen, a bicyclist advocacy group. Her sentiment was echoed by bicyclists at bus stops and in bike shops.

We found the same thing firsthand.

Over seven days of riding the bus with and without a bike, we questioned 17 drivers on six routes about the bike policy. We didn’t identify ourselves as journalists; we simply asked drivers questions, such as, “What’s the policy on bikes and buses?” and “Can I bring a bike onboard if the rack is full?” Most of the drivers we talked to said: No bikes inside.

“This route is too busy to let bikes on,” a driver on the No. 66 bus at San Mateo told us. “Even if the bus is empty at this stop, it may fill up at the next. I won’t allow bikes on some other [of his assigned] routes, either.” Another No. 66 driver said her supervisors forbid bikes onboard.

Still another No. 66 driver apparently sets his own policy. “I never let bikes on my bus, if the bus is empty or full,” he said. “No bikes.”

The farther you get from Central, the better your chances. A driver on the No. 11 Lomas bus said, “If the bus is relatively empty, then I will let you on the bus, but you have to go in through the back door.”

On a rush-hour No. 140 bus at Jefferson and Osuna, a driver said, “Most of us out here will allow bikes on the bus because it’s not very crowded out here -- but in the back of the bus only.”

On the No. 157 Montaño/Uptown/Kirtland route, however, a driver told us one Saturday afternoon, no bikes inside, period. “Even if it’s this empty?” “Yes,” she said.

On the bus were five people: the driver, us (two people on bicycles) and two friends who had boarded at the same stop with us but had left their bikes at home, knowing they’d be denied boarding because of lack of rack space. Many buses have only three bike racks. On this day, one of them would have been denied boarding.

Phillip Torres, a transit safety officer, said the policy is written the way it is “so there is a loophole” to allow a driver to deny boarding to a bicyclist to prevent an injury to other passengers. Liability should come first, he said, because a driver will have to defend or explain his or her decision.

Another transit safety officer, Elizabeth Maestas, wants to see the policy rewritten. “It would help the complications we have with passengers,” she said. “Then we’d have an administration that’s going to back us with the decisions we make.”

Torres said a manager has told drivers to allow bikes only in the back of the bus, which conflicts with the bike policy but apparently is being followed by drivers off Central, even though it violates a broader policy to keep the aisle clear in the back of the bus.

ABQ Free Press asked ABQ Ride spokesman Rick de Reyes about safety. He said he was unaware of injuries or lawsuits stemming from a driver’s decision to allow a bicycle on a bus.

When we asked a media relations manager in the mayor’s office for comment from Mayor Richard J. Berry on the state of the city’s bike/bus policy, we were referred to Rizzieri, with whom we had previously spoken.

Rizzieri said the current policy, adopted in 2006 during former Mayor Martin Chavez’s last term, was written before demand for bikes on buses increased. After we revealed our findings, he said ABQ Ride is looking at possible revisions to the policy and a move toward a Bus Rapid Transit system using roomier buses with more space inside for bikes. During the reporting of this article, ABQ Ride unveiled its proposal for a BRT system.

Sign of a Deeper Disconnect?

Bob Tilly, a City of Albuquerque Transit Advisory Board member, thinks there’re more than just a bus/bike policy disconnect at work in Albuquerque.

“I think it’s a perception disconnect,” he said. “In America, we like one answer. We drive our cars, or we take the bus or we ride a bike.

“Bicycles should be about transportation You should be able to go to school, to the grocery store, to work and to the bar on your bike, Cities used to be mixed use. When you separate uses you need a car.”

When we asked about the disconnect between the existing policy and the reality bicyclists face, Rizzieri said upper management already is working on the problem.

If they are, they apparently are doing that work on something other than computer screens or paper.

In late April, after being referred by de Reyes to ABQ Rides’s records custodian, we asked for copies of any memos, letters or other records -- including management directives or work rules -- reflecting when bicyclists may take a bike onboard. That search, we were told, turned up only a single copy of the policy: the text on the city’s website.

Rizzieri said ABQ Ride will be arranging meetings with bicycle organizations to discuss bikes on buses, bus driver education and sharing the road. But bicyclists are skeptical about the city’s commitment to bicycle travel.

“Mayor Berry has some vague ideas about bicycle friendliness, but he doesn’t get bicycles as transportation,” said Buntz of Duke City Wheelmen. “It’s a shame; it’s really gone backward. It wasn’t that good under Chavez, but it’s really gone backward.”

From San Francisco: "The Wheelchair Cowboy," by Ricardo M

I had just left the Embarcadero terminal, heading south on Mission Street. I already had about 15 people on my bus. When I arrived at the Mission and 2nd Street zone, there were about six people waiting for me, including a man in a wheelchair.

As soon as I pulled my trolley bus into the passenger zone, the man in the wheelchair rolled himself right up against one of the open doors of the bus, reached out with his right hand, and grabbed onto one of the door’s side handles. He looked up at me as if to say something, but the people behind him had already started going around him, stepping out in front of him and going up the stairwell. (Read more here.)

From Nashville: "[Feel Good Friday] - The Long Way Around Edition," by Bus Rider X

I’m a very loud proponent of “reasonable driver discretion” as they are out there, every day. They see the same passengers, every day. They get to know people and their routes in ways that the boob at the desk who plans up routes, detours, and makes policy may just not get.

I take 4 buses a day: 2 to work and 2 home from work. My second morning bus goes by a state office building. There is a woman with limited mobility (she walks with a cane). This bus drops her off right outside the door.

Yesterday morning, the road was closed due to construction and the Official Detour had us going way off yonder and no where near this building. (Read more here.)

Busboy's Annual Pass: Was It Worth It? Spreadsheet for April.

I have a new record for the greatest number of rides this month. The previous record was 48, in February.

There are some new routes that show up for the first time this month: the # 2, the # 16/18 and the Blue Line (# 790).

Finally, if I keep my ridership at these levels for the rest of the year, my bus pass will be an incredibly good bargain. See below for the cumulative totals since January 1.

You can find out what this is all about here.

From Ljubljana, Slovania: "Stories from the bus," by Marushka Potepushka

When a person is forced to take a bus because his or her own recklessness (with the car) and resigns into his or her own fate, interesting things might happen. (Read more here.)

From Seattle: "On The Wing," by Richard Isherman

Together they sit, sunshine and condescension wrapped around them like a stadium blanket. (Read more here.)

From Madison County, Alabama: "Multitasking," by Tom Brandon

Pride is a tricky thing.  We encourage our children to take pride in their work and then we warn of the downfall of being too prideful. We brag on our kids and tell them how proud we are of them and then point out those that are too full of themselves.  It is a slippery slope. (Read more here.)

From Vancouver: "Putting The Dire Into Directions, Part 2." (Not Always Right)

(I’m boarding passengers at a stop.)

Passenger: “Excuse me, do you go to [street]?”

Me: “No, ma’am, I’m going in the other direction.”

Passenger: “Ugh! I was told that bus [number] goes to [street], but you’re the third one I’ve asked, and they all say they’re going in the opposite direction!” (Read more here.)

Busboy's Annual Pass: Was It Worth It? Spreadsheet for March.

Number of rides down a bit from February, but still enough rides to make the annual pass a bargain. See below for the cumulative totals since January 1.

Note that my cumulative savings since January have now paid for all my rides on the # 11.  Cool, ¿qué no?

You can find out what this is all about here.

From Boston: "A bus ride, a promise, and a dream fulfilled," by Billy Baker

The sequel to last week’s story, “Brothers Seek A Way Up And Out.”

Just after 5 p.m. Monday, the text message popped up on my phone.

“I got in.”

I was sitting at my desk in the Globe newsroom, and I started crying. (Read more here.)

From Boston: "Brothers seek a way up and out," by Billy Baker

George and Johnny Huynh want a better life - and they believe they can get it through school. They have to. It’s the only thing in their control.

Fourth in a series of occasional articles chronicling the people, and the world, of Bus 19. (Read more here.)

From Nashville: "Feel Good Friday," by Bus Rider X

The other day, my famous bus hat and I were sitting there – minding our own business. I was probably playing Tiny Death Star (awesome. You should be playing it.)

This older man gets on the bus and purposely sits right next to me. With gusto. With intention! He smelled like beer and cigarettes. So I was all like “great…” Then he spoke:

Man: Privet.

Me: Dobre den.

(Read more here.)

From Halifax, Canada: "Baby On Board (The Bus)" (Not Always Right)

(I am 27 weeks pregnant and starting to have contractions. I am on the bus on my way to the hospital. The driver is aware of this. I pull the buzzer to get off the bus and start walking to the door.)

Driver: *to me* “You sit back down!” *to the rest of the bus* “Is anyone going to need any of the next four stops? Because if so, I suggest you get off now, as we are detouring!”

(Read more here.)

From Walnut Grove, Alabama: "Chuckles, adventures of school bus driver Tom Brandon, nominee for Steve Harvey Show's Neighborhood Award," by Kay Campbell for All Alabama.

Tom Brandon, longtime teacher and coach at Walnut Grove School in Madison County, keeps a blog, "Mr. Brandon's School Bus," about experiences he has on his school bus route. Followers of the blog nominated him for the Neighborhood Award for Best School Bus Driver, an award that will be announced on the "Steve Harvey Show," in an episode taped in Chicago that will air the day after Thanksgiving. (Read more here.)

Busboy's Annual Pass: Was It Worth It? Spreadsheet for February.

Looking good for February. See below for the cumulative totals since January 1.

You can find out what this is all about here.

From San Francisco: "One Tech Worker’s Open Letter to a Muni Driver." (Muni Diaries)

“Tech shuttle” is such a loaded term in San Francisco these days. There are strong feelings all around, and at times, things have gotten out of control.

But one tech shuttle rider sent us a thank-you letter after a surprising encounter with a Muni driver.

(Read more here.)

From Carlisle, Pennsylvania: "Bus-riding Carlisle mayor shuns driving; wants more bus routes," by Eric Veronikis for The Patriot-News

The mayor of Carlisle stood there among dozens of others, waiting for the bus to take him home as snow squalls whipped around downtown Harrisburg. (Read more here.)

From Albuquerque! "For the First Time Ever, ABQ RIDE’s Most Senior Driver is a Woman." (City of Albuquerque > Transit > News)

Patty Sandoval

Perhaps it’s a vestige of the days when mostly men drove buses; the fact that throughout its history, ABQ RIDE’s driver seniority lists were always topped by men. It remained that way until late last year. That’s when for the first time in history, a female driver, Patty Sandoval, claimed the top spot on the seniority list. (Read more here.)

From Chanhassen, Minnesota: "In suburban isolation, ‘cookie lady’ built community at the school bus stop," by Bob Collins for Minnesota Public Radio

On the day Anne Tabat was born, her grandmother gave her a cookie recipe book. She’s been “the cookie lady” ever since.

“Cookies are destiny,” she says.

Every Friday, she’s met the school bus in her Chanhassen subdivision, with the notion of thanking the bus driver for his efforts. She came bearing cookies because, she notes, you can’t just give a bus driver a cookie and ignore the kids. She’s been at the bus stop every Friday ever since — 15 school years.

Tomorrow will be the first day without cookies.

(Read more here.)

Busboy's Annual Pass: Was It Worth It? Spreadsheet for January.

And we were out of town for a week, too.

You can find out what this is all about here.

From Portland, Oregon: "Here’s My Card" [a Top Ten Bus Stories nominee], by Bill Reagan (posted on Trimet Diaries)

I wear glasses . . . except I don’t actually wear my glasses. They fine tune my vision, but things within 10 feet are mostly clear without them, so I don’t wear them. What this means on the bus is that if I’m scanning to see if anyone I know is aboard, I have to focus for a second or two on each face, and that means I make a lot of eye contact. Being a friendly sort, this is fine with me, and usually, people I don’t know just glance back then we both look away.

When I hopped onto the #75 to get home last week, one woman who I didn’t recognize didn’t look away. (Read more here.)

Paul Kirchner's The Bus

Paul Kirchner.  Downloaded from Wikipedia.

I found a reference to this series on Muni Dairies. With the help of Google, I discovered Paul Kirchner is a writer and illustrator who originally published this series in the monthly magazine Heavy Metal, from 1978-1985. Wonderfully surreal.

From all around the world: "Legs bared around the world for annual 'No Pants' commute." (Agence France-Presse)

Bare legs and briefs filled train cars from Sydney to New York Sunday as passengers traveled trouserless -- provoking laughs and perplexed looks -- for the 13th annual "No Pants Subway Ride." (Read more here.)

From NYC's Grand Central Station: "Stainless, 42 Street (excerpt)," by Adam Magyar (video)

Stainless, 42 Street (excerpt)

From Boston: "Strangers on a bus" [a Top Ten Bus Stories nominee], by Sarah Kess for the Boston Globe Magazine

As we all listened to a young woman getting dumped over the phone, one passenger spoke up with a message I’ll always remember. (Read more here.)