By Eilene Lyon
(for SB)
My recent trip to California included a four-day stay in Berkeley to do research. My hotel was a few miles from the UC campus.
I don’t often take public transportation – it isn’t an option where I live. I asked at the hotel desk about the bus to campus. It stopped within a block and so I made my way to the curb in the morning.
When I boarded the next 51B to come by, I was confronted by the fare machine and a kind-faced driver, a black woman. Not small, not large, a good size, lush eyelashes curled heavenward.
“Can you tell me which stop I need to get off at to go to the library on campus? Near the clock tower?”
She pondered the matter carefully, not seeming the least inconvenienced or impatient. “I think you want to get off at College Drive – that’s where I turn around. Yeah, I think that’s the best place.”
I thanked her, put my $5 in the fare machine for an all-day pass and took a seat near the front.
As we got further downtown and closer to UC, the bus filled up quickly. Soon it was standing-room only. An older white woman boarded – maybe early 70s, hair dyed black, looked like a woman I met on my last trip to California (oh geez, I hope it wasn’t her).
She took a place standing not far from me.
A short time later, the driver pulled over to the curb and parked the bus. She released her seat belt, got up and walked back to two young women.
“Ladies, these seats ah reserved for the older fokes. Get up and let this woman here have a seat.”
Sheepishly, they complied. Raven-hair and I exchanged a look. I got it. But she dutifully took one of the now-vacant seats.
But what really charmed me by the time I had departed the bus was this:
Everyone who exited the bus – front or rear door – said “Thank you” to the bus driver. Surprising enough, but then…
She warmly replied, “You’re welcome!” to Every. Single. One.
Myricopia 
A very nice story that let’s hope resonates. We writers always aspire to inspire after all. 🙂
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Thanks, Susannah. You do inspire me.
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And you me…:)
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I haven’t ridden on public buses in years. Not an option where I live. I’m charmed by the polite exchanges between driver and disembarking passengers. Nice to read about real people being kind.
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Thanks! It was a pleasant experience using public transportation in the Bay Area. The streets in downtown Berkeley were torn up, one way, crowded…
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What a delicious slice of life!
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Thank you. It was an unexpected treat.
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I have ten brothers and sisters which means my mother was “always” pregnant and she impressed upon me that being a young strong boy, I should surrender my seat to pregnant ladies, or old people or men who had been working hard all day and needed a rest. (Note the distinction here between blue and white collar).
The thing is, years later, when I faithfully follow that tradition, people are shocked.
And that is shocking.
As an aside, one day (too soon) I fear some young woman, maybe even a pregnant one, will stand and offer me her seat. 🙂 🙂 🙂
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Hahaha. It could happen! Note, the bus driver sure wasn’t gonna ask me to get up.
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This is a very typical story from your country where a couple of years ago in San Francisco a driver of a bus/tram got up from his seat and told a young woman to vacate a seat so my wife could sit! We were shocked, pleasantly so! I’ve written before about the manners of US folks and blogged about it more than once https://thetwodoctors.wordpress.com/2017/04/29/in-praise-of-america/
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Manners go a long way. I’ve come to learn they are a wonderful currency.
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They do make the world a more pleasant place to be.
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So true.
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An engaging slice of life, Eilene, I enjoy your travel pieces , particularly the ones about the outdoors and nature. But you can do urban too! Vancouver has a good transit system and I use it a lot….the etiquette around giving up seats resonates! JIM
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Thanks for the compliments, Jim. I don’t spend much time in cities, so it’s an unusual experience for me. Most of my public transportation experiences have been in Europe, not the U. S.
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I never know whether to be flattered that I don’t look 70+ or annoyed with young people, but here in MN (supposedly where the “nice” people reside) I have never been offered a seat on a crowded bus. Young people here seem oblivious, or simply ignorant. Good story, and I’m glad to see that things are different in my home state of CA.
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Accept it as flattery!
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Cute tale and people need to be “guided” if they don’t have intrinsic politeness/common sense. 🙂
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I like that she went out of her way to teach a lesson.
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That is a great story! And I’ll say not only good for the driver but good for the two young women who were chastised for accepting the counsel. I wonder if that would work in the high-stress/aggressive Northeast. I hope it would!
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Berkeley was a very different type of city than I’ve been in before. I think the University is a huge presence there – a young population overall. Thanks for reading!
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My pleasure!
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I haven’t ridden public transportation in years. Glad to read your story. And to have it be uplifting in a simple, lovely way.
Hope your research was successful.
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The research yielded some great bits, but not necessarily where I was expecting. I wish I’d spent more time in the newspaper room and reference stacks than in the archives. Guess I’ll plan another trip!
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Glasgow bus drivers are notoriously grumpy! I always thank them, as do most other peop,e,but rarely get an acknowledgement. I do get offered a seat on public transport sometimes and try, if unsuccessfully, not to feel too offended.
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Just assume you are being offered a seat because you look like royalty. 😆
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Ha ha! Inbred and over-privileged?
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No no – not UK royalty! You can be more exotic. Ummmm?
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Over the years I’ve learned that a “thank you” is earned by everyone in public transportation – After all, they are getting you from A to B safely.
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Good point! And saving us from potholes and stuff.
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Sad when some have to be told to offer their seats to a senior, but nice that there are seats designated as such. I haven’t ridden on a bus in a really long time and would probably miss my stop.
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Me, too. Especially after Amsterdam last year when I misread the train table. What should have been a 5 or 10 minute trip took over an hour. Had to get off the train and catch one going back the way we came!
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Oh No!
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Oh wow, what a great story! Little niceties just make a good day better, don’t they?
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It really was a good episode to start the day. Thanks!
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Ah! A good reminder to just do the kind thing!
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London bus drivers are a mixed bag. Some do greet you, and others just ignore you. It seems like the single decker drivers are friendlier than the double decker ones – some of them have said “you’re welcome” to me when I thank them, instead of just ignoring me. Most people do thank the driver when they get on and off, though I can’t quite bring myself to refer to the driver as “driver” like many older people do, as in “Thank you Driver!”
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Yeah, that does sound a little odd. Glad to hear there is politeness going on in the big city.
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I love the end–it sounds like where I went to college! Although we did have our fair share of oblivious students, too, I guess. (I’m hoping I was never one!)
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I don’t think my colleges were anything like Berkeley. My favorite of the three is the one here in Durango, a small liberal-arts school called Fort Lewis College.
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Lovely story! We have drivers like this in Vancouver as well … and definitely where I live, on the Sunshine Coast. We always say thank you and at least some of the drivers will respond 🙂
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Thank you. I don’t have a lot of experience with public transport, so this was an eye-opener for me.
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I really enjoyed your story a lot, Eilene, and you did a great job of sharing it. As a Bay Area resident, I found it espec. lovely. I thank every driver as I am getting off a bus, ferry, train, or whatever, often they will respond with a “you’re welcome.” I have not, however, ever seen a bus driver pull the vehicle over, walk back, and make behavioral order among riders. You had a special moment and a special driver.
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She really made my day – as you could tell.
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