Bus Driver Abuse

Once upon a time before cellphones. What can I say? Fine, but we should not abuse men and women on the job: bus drivers.

She missed her stop because she was on the phone. You couldn’t miss her. She was on the phone when she entered the bus, both hands full with plastic bags. She put them on the floor. She sat on one of the front seats, a bad idea because they are reserved for parents pushing baby strollers, wheelchairs, walkers and senior citizens with walking problems.

We forgot about her until the bus entered the bus terminal. As usual, people emptied themselves to catch connecting buses. The driver re-started the bus. She went to him and asked him something. We couldn’t hear what the problem was until she demanded that he stop the bus, which was already in the tunnel.

“Why didn’t you stop when I told you I want to get off?”

We remembered her collecting her parcels and going to the front of the bus. Did she address the driver and told him she wanted to get off or she was talking to someone on the phone? Apparently, she missed a stop mostly used by students because it has buses going to one of the two local universities.

Cellphones. I cannot afford to be glued to my phone if I’m going somewhere, I’ve never been before. I’m not supposed to be on the phone if my hands are full with plastic bags. I definitely have no right to shout at the bus driver for pain I inflicted upon myself. The bus driver has a great responsibility driving carefully, so that we get to our destination in one piece. His concentration should not be disturbed by a phone addict who doesn’t know where she is going.

Nonqaba waka Msimang

Blogger Without Borders