StuntWomanInAPencilSkirt
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02:26:15 pm on February 1, 2010 |
Here are three stories about bus drivers and customer service.
Bus drivers are not merely chauffeurs. They are also front line workers for a city’s public transportation system.ONE:
Today was Ottawa’s first major blizzard and traffic was crawling. At first when I saw my OC Transpo bus parked at the stop, I wondered if it was stuck. When I got on the bus, I realized such was not the case. Rather, a passenger was completely drunk. He was falling in and out, of passing-out spells. The bus driver was waiting for OC Transpo emergency services to take the man to a hospital. He was also waiting for another bus to come and pick up the rest of the passengers who were waiting. As people waited on the bus to keep warm, some muttered that the driver ought to just throw the drunk off the bus and keep going. I think the driver did the right thing. He acted responsibly and took charge of the situation.
TWO:
A francophone friend of mine who is new to Canada and who just started learning English, was traveling on the last bus of the night. It was as cold as the Artic in Ottawa with frostbite warnings due to the wind chill. A newcomer, he was not very familiar with the bus route that he was on. So, in French, he asked the driver to let him know when he reached his stop. “No English”, was the drivers reply…even though the last time I checked, street names were not language sensitive. Needless to say, my friend missed his stop. When he arrived twenty minutes passed his destination, he realized he had gone to far. He asked the driver again for help, only to be let off at midnight in -30 degree weather with the wind. My friend walked for almost an hour in the dangerous cold that night.
THREE:
I was on a bus at rush hour in Ottawa’s downtown last week. There was a lot of traffic and a car almost sideswiped our bus. The driver managed to turn quickly enough and avoided a collision. The passengers all got a good jerk, and a startling wake up from the episode. Our driver pulled over at the next stop, stood up, and called out the following: “Is everyone okay? Nobody was hurt?” She acted responsibly, and then took it a step further.
So, who’s bus would you prefer to ride on? If all the drivers were like the one in story number two, environment or not… I think I would seriously consider buying a car!
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