Always say thank you to the bus drivers

They work hard every day and they deserve our appreciation
By Jessica Berget, Opinions Editor

I have a lot of ways in which I judge people’s character based on what I observe. Are they nice to the cashiers or servers? Do they love animals? And most importantly, do they thank the bus driver before getting off the bus? If the answer is “no” to that last one, consider why you should be showing thanks to the person behind the wheel who gets you to school or work almost every day.

TransLink may have its faults (and that’s a lot of faults), but the person driving the bus shouldn’t have to work a thankless job just because most people hate the company they work for. It must be extremely stressful and tiring to have to drive a bus full of people all day, every day. It is the driver’s duty and responsibility to get you to your destination safely, and we should all be grateful for them. Without bus drivers, where would we be?

Sure, your bus might come late, it might stink, it might be full of people forcing you to stand, clinging for dear life onto those useless rubber holders they put on the metal bars. You could have the worst bus ride of your entire life, but it’s still important to thank the bus driver before you leave. Just because you had a bad experience doesn’t mean they don’t deserve to be shown some appreciation. They work hard so that you can get to where you need to go.

Just think, maybe you had a bad day or a bad bus ride, but the bus driver didn’t do anything to contribute to it (unless they were specifically being a dick to you, which can sometimes be the case). It’s possible they don’t realize they’re being mean because they are also having a bad day. I’m sure uttering a simple “Thank you!” before exiting the bus makes all the difference to them. I know in my experience of working in a coffee shop, having a friendly customer who showed their gratitude made dealing with all the rude customers a bit less painful.

Also, think of all the crap bus drivers have to deal with on a daily basis. Traffic, pedestrians, violence (physical and verbal), rude, drunk, high, and sometimes batshit crazy passengers are all in a day’s work for these people—and on top of that, they have to be on time for the next group of riders waiting for the bus. Next time you’re on the bus, thank the driver, even if they were a little late.