How many times have you sprinted towards a bus only to watch the driver shut its doors in front of your face? One too many, I assume. Most of us spend so much time commuting, something bad is bound to happen sooner or later. But why obsess over your own failures when you can laugh at others? Some people on tumblr and Imgur have been sharing their funniest bus stories, perfectly describing the everyday life of both drivers and passengers.
Image credits: shrinkin’violet (not the actual photo)
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the average, one-way commute in the U.S. takes 26.1 minutes. So if you commute to a full-time job five days a week, that adds up to 4.35 hours a week and over 200 hours (nearly nine days) per year.
But the numbers might change a lot depending on the state you’re commuting in. For example, while an average one-way public transit (excluding taxis) trip in South Dakota takes 29 minutes, in Nevada it’s 57.2 minutes.
But sitting in traffic doesn’t have to be a drag. There are ways you can reclaim your commute. Those “who maintained small routines on the way to work—such as checking the news on the train or having a look at the calendar for the day—felt more excited about the day ahead, more satisfied with their jobs, and less stressed-out than those who had no set routine.”
And they should be. Rituals have been shown to produce all sorts of benefits, even for people who don’t believe in their value or effects. “They lower our anxiety before we engage in high-stakes performance tasks, increase our enjoyment of the activity at hand, and even help us recover faster when we experience failure or loss. So consider establishing your own commuting routines. You might buy a decaf latte from the same coffee shop every day on your way to work, for example.”
Oh I have a great one! Got onto a bus one day and saw quite a lot of blood on the entryway floor. Asked the driver what happened and he said an old lady had got on just before me, missed the step and scraped the front skin off her shin. He'd been trying to persuade her to go to the hospital. So I had a look at her leg and it was very bad - a massive flap of meat and skin had been cut open. Between us we convinced her to go to A&E. The bus route went past the hospital, but the driver went straight in and dropped us off at A&E. I helped her in and called her family for her & took the bus number so that they could thank the driver later. Never heard what happened to him but I hope it was something good. Sadly I did speak to someone who happened to be sitting in the back of the bus weeks later and she said people were complaining and saying the driver should be fired. WTF is wrong with some people? The guy deserved a recommendation.
Heaven forbid that they be late for whatever they had. It's so much more important than some old lady. That driver is an awesome human and shows that there are still compassionate people in the world.
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Since I now walk with at least one crutch and do not have the balance or strength to stand up in a moving vehicle I have been starting to notice people on busses a lot more than what I ever did before. Most of the drivers are okay but sadly the other people on board can be a pain in the butt for me. I am youngish and many people do not believe that I have troubles so some refuses to "allow" me to sit on the priorityseats, some have nagged at me to get up so others who" needs it more" can use it, there are always people who never bother to fold their legs so that I can pass without tripping on them, keeping bags up on seats instead of offering it. I´ve literally been yelled at by an elderly woman because according to her I lied to get the seat that she needed, I´ve walked off busses to wait for the next one to escape bad argumenting people and I´ve fallen on busses when I had to stand and noone helped me up. I cant deal with confrontation and I dont stand up for myself enough but still
I know someone in a Wheel chair. She broke her ankle and had to wear a plaster cast. All of a sudden people treated her like a human. ... She kept the cast , and on low energy days she wears it.
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We used to have a singing bus driver, passengers loved him, he took requests, had an amazing voice and was funny too The city decided it wasn't safe and made him quit singing, apparently singing is bad but they are ok to eat, read a newspaper, speed and blow through stop signs *sigh*
Bus driver (London double decker) once closed the doors on my foot as I stepped onto the bus. He then drove off, with my foot still stuck in the doors, dragging me down the road (only a few metres, but still!). He only stopped and released my foot because his passengers were screaming at him and banging on the windows. As soon as he released me he drove off fast without asking if I was okay... Makes a good story though.
The bus/trolley operators in my city are 95% good guys/girls. The other 5% should never work with the public.
The worst combination is people who should never deal with the public mixed with the public which are 90% a******s to begin with. It's toxic.
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Used to take public transit home from high school. A bus full of screaming high school kids is a terrible route, I get it. But one driver would force us to pay the adult fare instead of the student fare if we didn't have our student ID cards. It was a Catholic high school and I had to wear a kilt...I understand trying to enforce a rule but c'mon buddy, I'm not wearing this uniform and carrying a back pack because I'm in a Britney Spears video...
If you are a woman, you don't wear a kilt. You wear a kilted skirt. Only men wear kilts.
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long time a go when i was still young I was going to a concert in a small town I've never been in. I used to travel around quite a bit and knew the best way to ask for directions was busdrivers, pizza guys or taxi drivers. It was already dark and there was only one bus parked next to the trainstation and it said "not in service" and the driver was eating his dinner behind the wheel. I knocked on his window and asked how to walk to the venue. He put down his food, and said "jump in, I'll take you there" and took me there :-D (thinking back about those days I was very lucky to always run into kind strangers)
One time I was going to the airport in Rome like 5am, ran to the bus stop to see him leaving it in front of me. I acted like praying him to stop with united hands, and he stopped right in front of me (it was empty, like 20 meters from his just left stop) opened the door and said "do that again!" because he found it funny, wich I did and he let me in.
The driver who wouldn't let the kid off could have been charged with kidnapping, among other things. Not a smart move.
I hope he was charged with that, this is a terrible thing to do to anybody, let alone a child!
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Most bus drivers I have encountered have been great. There has only been two that have been a bit douchy. On the way home from school one day we pushed the bell for the bus to stop at the next stop but he kept going. We then proceeded to call out to the bus driver to stop but he still kept going. Eventually he stopped and told us that he was teaching us kids a lesson for pressing the button when we didn’t need to stop. My brothers and myself only pushed the button for the stop we needed. Another time I was heavily pregnant and the bus driver started to drive off before I was sitting or even holding on to anything. Just managed to catch my fall.
When I was 17 we were on a really long bus ride from one town to the next. And I needed to pee. But we were in the middle of a really rough area. But I needed to pee. The driver stopped the bus and waited whilst I ran into a pub to pee and then let me get back on.
Bus driver did that too, here. Was a replacement bus for a broken train, and driver under a LOT of pressure to not stop, but he did :) ( it wasn't me but someone else ) And once he had stopped he asked if anyone else was in need. Good bloke.
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Not a horror story but it's happened to me a few times. There's multiple signs that say stay seated until the bus has stopped, and multiple people who risk their lives to get up, rush down the stairs before it stops and make a dash for the doors. Then sensible me gets up when it stops and a few times the drivers have driven off before I can exit (I'm literally only about 5 seconds behind the other person)
While at University I took the bus to travel to work. One night, it was negative seventeen degrees and snow banks of three to four feet. I am waiting at the bus stop (about 20 minutes) after my shift and the bus just drives right by me. I was practically standing in the street so I wouldn't be stuck in the bank around the bus stop bench. That was a long night.
One time the bus I was on stopped next to a super swanky limo at a red light and the bus driver opened the door and signaled to the rich guy in the back to roll down his window. After the confused and irritated businessman's window was down the bus driver yelled, "Excuse me sir! Do you have any Gray Poupon!?" As the man angrily rolled up his window, the whole packed bus erupted into laughter! Best. Driver. EVER!
I missed the train and didn't have enough money on me to buy a bus ticket and so decided to hitchhike instead of waiting for the next train (several hours). The very first vehicle to come was a bus going my way and just for fun, I stuck my thumb up in the air - and the driver stopped and let me hitch the ride! He had a good laugh at it.
When I was in school I had an evil bus driver. She wouldn't allow us to talk and she would make us have assigned seats, usually with someone we didn't like. She would yell and threaten us all the time, but when any of our parents came to collect us or talk to her, she then turned into an angel. I'm 33 and still remember Ms. Mercer, the evil bus driver.
That sounds like my bus driver from k-8. Her name was Mrs. Carr though. I got in a lot of trouble for throwing spit balls at her. I ran into her when I was in my 20's. She explained she was just always "so worried" about our safety. Didn't mean she needed to be Satan incarnate.
Load More Replies... My mom used to work for a school bus company and when they needed spare drivers she would help them out. One day she was done her route and heading back to where she had to return the bus and was passing by my elementary school and saw a bunch of my classmates walking in the rain to school so she gave them a ride (it was on the way). They showed up to class and were like....your mom picked us up in a bus!
My school bus driver used to buy cookies for the whole busload of 50 kids at the end of each term
One of the best things about being done with school is that I never have to ride a bus again! The bus was always overcrowded and I had a late stop and no one would ever let me sit with them. I got yelled at daily for still being standing when I should have say down, but this was a tough neighborhood and you didn't just *sit* anywhere. A girl got stabbed once. Terrible times
Thanks for the stories but many of these are not funny. Forehead smackers, maybe.
I remember when I was a teenager, I got on the bus and there was a man walking towards the bus (he had leg braces like Forest Gump) and everyone on the bus told the bus driver to stop but he didn't and he drove off. Everyone was so angry at the driver and he didn't even say anything!
I've experienced this, or the bus driver lets you on berates you for being late..he/she waited a whole 4 seconds. Much of this is related to the unspoken R word. yep...racism.
Oh my, wher to begin. First: i think this would be the most painfull job of all. Im not afriendl peronand i know a lot of unfriendly busdrivers, but i would curse the hell out of it, dontlet me even Start on kids! Best thing happened: daddy carry rhw newborn gets on the bus, coz its full, i have to go to the back door with the big brother sleeping in the buggy. It slams just in Front of US with my husband and newborn beeing in the bus of course it was feeding time. Even i could See my husband shouting at the driver and at least let him out, he pretended not to understand.. Took US 1h to unite again
My mom told me this one. We used to live in Ottawa and folks were notorious for taking up two seats. Well this one kid took up one of the available seats with his backpack on a crowded bus, not allowing an elderly lady to sit down. It was hot and in the summer time and there were some big, military dressed men on this bus. They reached over, took the kid's backpack and rolled it out the window of the bus, causing the kid to go run out for his backpack, then the driver, seeing karma had been served - drove off without him. I love that one.
Last time I ever took the bus, some bizarre guy was on it playing on his guitar. The moment my friend and I sat down he got up and sat right beside us. Started stroking my friends hair and then started playing on his guitar singing about how beautiful her eyes were and snuggled up to her and rested his head. I was laughing my a**e off while she curled into me whispering "help me!!!"
Not the bus, but I’m a cashier who does returns only. There was this lady waiting and a really old man in a wheelchair came to me to pay because my line take invalid priority. The lady got mad the old man in a wheelchair skip her
Oh I have a great one! Got onto a bus one day and saw quite a lot of blood on the entryway floor. Asked the driver what happened and he said an old lady had got on just before me, missed the step and scraped the front skin off her shin. He'd been trying to persuade her to go to the hospital. So I had a look at her leg and it was very bad - a massive flap of meat and skin had been cut open. Between us we convinced her to go to A&E. The bus route went past the hospital, but the driver went straight in and dropped us off at A&E. I helped her in and called her family for her & took the bus number so that they could thank the driver later. Never heard what happened to him but I hope it was something good. Sadly I did speak to someone who happened to be sitting in the back of the bus weeks later and she said people were complaining and saying the driver should be fired. WTF is wrong with some people? The guy deserved a recommendation.
Heaven forbid that they be late for whatever they had. It's so much more important than some old lady. That driver is an awesome human and shows that there are still compassionate people in the world.
Load More Replies... Since I now walk with at least one crutch and do not have the balance or strength to stand up in a moving vehicle I have been starting to notice people on busses a lot more than what I ever did before. Most of the drivers are okay but sadly the other people on board can be a pain in the butt for me. I am youngish and many people do not believe that I have troubles so some refuses to "allow" me to sit on the priorityseats, some have nagged at me to get up so others who" needs it more" can use it, there are always people who never bother to fold their legs so that I can pass without tripping on them, keeping bags up on seats instead of offering it. I´ve literally been yelled at by an elderly woman because according to her I lied to get the seat that she needed, I´ve walked off busses to wait for the next one to escape bad argumenting people and I´ve fallen on busses when I had to stand and noone helped me up. I cant deal with confrontation and I dont stand up for myself enough but still
I know someone in a Wheel chair. She broke her ankle and had to wear a plaster cast. All of a sudden people treated her like a human. ... She kept the cast , and on low energy days she wears it.
Load More Replies... We used to have a singing bus driver, passengers loved him, he took requests, had an amazing voice and was funny too The city decided it wasn't safe and made him quit singing, apparently singing is bad but they are ok to eat, read a newspaper, speed and blow through stop signs *sigh*
Bus driver (London double decker) once closed the doors on my foot as I stepped onto the bus. He then drove off, with my foot still stuck in the doors, dragging me down the road (only a few metres, but still!). He only stopped and released my foot because his passengers were screaming at him and banging on the windows. As soon as he released me he drove off fast without asking if I was okay... Makes a good story though.
The bus/trolley operators in my city are 95% good guys/girls. The other 5% should never work with the public.
The worst combination is people who should never deal with the public mixed with the public which are 90% a******s to begin with. It's toxic.
Load More Replies... Used to take public transit home from high school. A bus full of screaming high school kids is a terrible route, I get it. But one driver would force us to pay the adult fare instead of the student fare if we didn't have our student ID cards. It was a Catholic high school and I had to wear a kilt...I understand trying to enforce a rule but c'mon buddy, I'm not wearing this uniform and carrying a back pack because I'm in a Britney Spears video...
If you are a woman, you don't wear a kilt. You wear a kilted skirt. Only men wear kilts.
Load More Replies... long time a go when i was still young I was going to a concert in a small town I've never been in. I used to travel around quite a bit and knew the best way to ask for directions was busdrivers, pizza guys or taxi drivers. It was already dark and there was only one bus parked next to the trainstation and it said "not in service" and the driver was eating his dinner behind the wheel. I knocked on his window and asked how to walk to the venue. He put down his food, and said "jump in, I'll take you there" and took me there :-D (thinking back about those days I was very lucky to always run into kind strangers)
One time I was going to the airport in Rome like 5am, ran to the bus stop to see him leaving it in front of me. I acted like praying him to stop with united hands, and he stopped right in front of me (it was empty, like 20 meters from his just left stop) opened the door and said "do that again!" because he found it funny, wich I did and he let me in.
The driver who wouldn't let the kid off could have been charged with kidnapping, among other things. Not a smart move.
I hope he was charged with that, this is a terrible thing to do to anybody, let alone a child!
Load More Replies... Most bus drivers I have encountered have been great. There has only been two that have been a bit douchy. On the way home from school one day we pushed the bell for the bus to stop at the next stop but he kept going. We then proceeded to call out to the bus driver to stop but he still kept going. Eventually he stopped and told us that he was teaching us kids a lesson for pressing the button when we didn’t need to stop. My brothers and myself only pushed the button for the stop we needed. Another time I was heavily pregnant and the bus driver started to drive off before I was sitting or even holding on to anything. Just managed to catch my fall.
When I was 17 we were on a really long bus ride from one town to the next. And I needed to pee. But we were in the middle of a really rough area. But I needed to pee. The driver stopped the bus and waited whilst I ran into a pub to pee and then let me get back on.
Bus driver did that too, here. Was a replacement bus for a broken train, and driver under a LOT of pressure to not stop, but he did :) ( it wasn't me but someone else ) And once he had stopped he asked if anyone else was in need. Good bloke.
Load More Replies... Not a horror story but it's happened to me a few times. There's multiple signs that say stay seated until the bus has stopped, and multiple people who risk their lives to get up, rush down the stairs before it stops and make a dash for the doors. Then sensible me gets up when it stops and a few times the drivers have driven off before I can exit (I'm literally only about 5 seconds behind the other person)
While at University I took the bus to travel to work. One night, it was negative seventeen degrees and snow banks of three to four feet. I am waiting at the bus stop (about 20 minutes) after my shift and the bus just drives right by me. I was practically standing in the street so I wouldn't be stuck in the bank around the bus stop bench. That was a long night.
One time the bus I was on stopped next to a super swanky limo at a red light and the bus driver opened the door and signaled to the rich guy in the back to roll down his window. After the confused and irritated businessman's window was down the bus driver yelled, "Excuse me sir! Do you have any Gray Poupon!?" As the man angrily rolled up his window, the whole packed bus erupted into laughter! Best. Driver. EVER!
I missed the train and didn't have enough money on me to buy a bus ticket and so decided to hitchhike instead of waiting for the next train (several hours). The very first vehicle to come was a bus going my way and just for fun, I stuck my thumb up in the air - and the driver stopped and let me hitch the ride! He had a good laugh at it.
When I was in school I had an evil bus driver. She wouldn't allow us to talk and she would make us have assigned seats, usually with someone we didn't like. She would yell and threaten us all the time, but when any of our parents came to collect us or talk to her, she then turned into an angel. I'm 33 and still remember Ms. Mercer, the evil bus driver.
That sounds like my bus driver from k-8. Her name was Mrs. Carr though. I got in a lot of trouble for throwing spit balls at her. I ran into her when I was in my 20's. She explained she was just always "so worried" about our safety. Didn't mean she needed to be Satan incarnate.
Load More Replies... My mom used to work for a school bus company and when they needed spare drivers she would help them out. One day she was done her route and heading back to where she had to return the bus and was passing by my elementary school and saw a bunch of my classmates walking in the rain to school so she gave them a ride (it was on the way). They showed up to class and were like....your mom picked us up in a bus!
My school bus driver used to buy cookies for the whole busload of 50 kids at the end of each term
One of the best things about being done with school is that I never have to ride a bus again! The bus was always overcrowded and I had a late stop and no one would ever let me sit with them. I got yelled at daily for still being standing when I should have say down, but this was a tough neighborhood and you didn't just *sit* anywhere. A girl got stabbed once. Terrible times
Thanks for the stories but many of these are not funny. Forehead smackers, maybe.
I remember when I was a teenager, I got on the bus and there was a man walking towards the bus (he had leg braces like Forest Gump) and everyone on the bus told the bus driver to stop but he didn't and he drove off. Everyone was so angry at the driver and he didn't even say anything!
I've experienced this, or the bus driver lets you on berates you for being late..he/she waited a whole 4 seconds. Much of this is related to the unspoken R word. yep...racism.
Oh my, wher to begin. First: i think this would be the most painfull job of all. Im not afriendl peronand i know a lot of unfriendly busdrivers, but i would curse the hell out of it, dontlet me even Start on kids! Best thing happened: daddy carry rhw newborn gets on the bus, coz its full, i have to go to the back door with the big brother sleeping in the buggy. It slams just in Front of US with my husband and newborn beeing in the bus of course it was feeding time. Even i could See my husband shouting at the driver and at least let him out, he pretended not to understand.. Took US 1h to unite again
My mom told me this one. We used to live in Ottawa and folks were notorious for taking up two seats. Well this one kid took up one of the available seats with his backpack on a crowded bus, not allowing an elderly lady to sit down. It was hot and in the summer time and there were some big, military dressed men on this bus. They reached over, took the kid's backpack and rolled it out the window of the bus, causing the kid to go run out for his backpack, then the driver, seeing karma had been served - drove off without him. I love that one.
Last time I ever took the bus, some bizarre guy was on it playing on his guitar. The moment my friend and I sat down he got up and sat right beside us. Started stroking my friends hair and then started playing on his guitar singing about how beautiful her eyes were and snuggled up to her and rested his head. I was laughing my a**e off while she curled into me whispering "help me!!!"
Not the bus, but I’m a cashier who does returns only. There was this lady waiting and a really old man in a wheelchair came to me to pay because my line take invalid priority. The lady got mad the old man in a wheelchair skip her
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