I’m on a bus. The driver is doing some sort of checks with paperwork. The bus is early and everyone seems to be okay waiting.

It’s a little bus, and I’m sitting right at the front, perfectly positioned to see a woman (around twenty or so) get on the bus with crutches; it looks like she has injured her ankle. She is cursing and muttering under her breath.

Woman: “One way to [Hospital].”

Driver: *Not looking up* “You need to get the next one.”

Woman: “What? Why? Kick someone off! I need to get to the hospital!”

Driver: *Flatly* “This isn’t your bus.”

Woman: “Because you’re some s***ty driver, you can bully people? I have every right to be on here!”

The driver sighs, putting down the papers.

Driver: “No, the bus to the hospital has ‘hospital’ written on it. It will be the next bus arriving. About five minutes.”

She scowls at the driver for a while, before he goes back to his work. She limps off the bus and sits at the bus stop, arms folded, face like thunder. The driver checks his watch, puts down his papers, and turns to the passengers.

Driver: “Thanks to everyone for waiting. We can leave now. Special mention to anyone hoping to get off at the hospital: leave now and wait for the next one. Although looking at the face on that one, I might suggest rescheduling the appointment.”

It got a chuckle from some of the passengers, which also caused many to turn to look out the window at her.

This only angered her more. While I couldn’t hear her, I can only imagine the language she was shouting at us all.

I once borrowed a copy of the Satanic Bible from a friend. I was on my way home on the bus when an older woman sat next to me and started chatting. For the first five minutes or so, it was all small talk. She then opened her bag and pulled out a big, very well-loved Bible.

Woman: “Have you found Jesus? Would you like to read my Bible?”

I opened my purse, pulled out the Satanic Bible, and said:

Me: “No, thank you. Would you like to read mine?”

She moved seats.

Way back in the early 1980s, this guy would almost daily take the same bus, and at the exact same departure time, too.

A single fare back then was two Danish kroner. He’d always try to pay with a five-hundred-krone note, but because the drivers didn’t have that kind of change, and because the banknote WAS legal tender, the guy would always get a free ride.

That is, until word reached the dispatch manager one day. Said manager drained the office safe for as many coins as he could find — the smaller the denomination, the better. The next day, the jerk tried to pull the same stunt. Imagine the combined smugness and glee on the face of the driver who could now report:

Driver: “Oh, good news, sir! I can actually break that for you today!”

The jerk ended up receiving:
12 x 20 kr. (240 kr.)
15 x 10 kr. (150 kr.)
19 x 5 kr. (95 kr.)
20 x 0.25 kr. (5 kr.)
20 x 0.10 kr. (2 kr.)
12 x 0.50 kr. (6 kr.)
TOTAL: 498 kr.

All his pockets were about to burst, and he rattled like a knight in shining armour walking down the aisle to find a seat. The jerk never tried to pull that stunt again.

I live in a very rural area of Wales. At the time of this story, I was sixteen and had just started college, which was a good hour and a half away. Thankfully, there was a special bus program that went through my village that consisted of two separate connecting bus routes.

I was on the second bus back one evening and my friend had gotten off, so it was me and a couple of random people. I had my headphones in and was zoning out when I suddenly realised it was taking longer than normal to reach my stop. I am very socially awkward, so I waited for a while, but eventually, I made my way up to the front.

Me: “When will we reach [My Village]?”

Driver: “This bus doesn’t go through [My Village].”

Me: *Shocked* “What bus number is this?”

He told me. It was the right bus route, but the driver insisted that this bus NEVER went through my village. We were already past the turning for the village, so I went to my seat and checked my phone. However, it was an old piece of garbage, and I’m a little forgetful, so it had gone dead. 

In the end, I got off at the next stop — a small town a ten-minute drive from my home. I planned to find a phone box, but the only one around was out of order, so I walked into a pub and asked to borrow their phone. The people were very nice and let me stay there until my parents arrived since it was pretty dark out. 

My parents were furious at the driver, and my mum called up the next day to complain. Turns out the bus only goes this route at certain times for the school run. The driver must have not worked that shift in a while and didn’t bother checking the route. I don’t know what happened to them, but hopefully, they will be more careful in the future.

When I was fifteen, I caught the same bus every Saturday to get to my flute lesson. I usually left early so I had some time to spare. One such Saturday morning, I left even earlier than usual. It was fairly cold and there was a light rain, so I was wearing an long, red coat and had a decent-looking umbrella. I’ve been told before that this outfit made me look around eighteen, so maybe that’s why the things that happened the way they did.

I made it to my bus stop and sat down to wait. The only other person there was a girl in her twenties. She was crying and clutching a single piece of paper. I also noticed that she wasn’t wearing anything warm, despite the weather. I felt really bad for her.

Me: “Are you all right?”

She looked at me, swallowed, and said:

Girl: “I just got some bad news.

Me: *Concerned* “Do you want to talk about it?”

That seemed to be the tipping point, and she broke down in front of me. She explained through tears that she’d gone to her doctor to check a lump on her neck and that she’d just gotten the results back. It was a tumour. She didn’t know if it was malignant, but her doctor wanted her back immediately for more testing.

I sat with her for about ten minutes. She told me that her friend was picking her up to take her to the appointment, but she didn’t know how long they would be. I didn’t really know what to do, but I just wanted to make sure she was all right. Then, my bus came. The girl waved me away, trying to smile, saying that she would be fine. Feeling guilty, I got on. I was the only person on board. The bus driver looked equally worried.

I didn’t even make it a single stop before I felt bad about leaving her in the rain by herself. I asked the driver to stop early. Since I was the only person there, he let me off, telling me to make sure the girl was all right. I ran the whole way back. Luckily, the girl was still sitting there waiting. She looked shocked that I’d come back but a little glad, too.

Me: “I really don’t think you should be alone right now.”

I sat with her for another ten minutes, talking with her and trying to distract her until her friend came. When her friend’s car finally appeared, she started thanking me profusely. Her friend pulled up and leaned over from the driver’s seat, asking what was going on.

Girl’s Friend: “Thank you so much for staying with her. [Girl] called me and I came as fast as I could, but the traffic was terrible. Do you want a lift since you missed your bus?”

Me: “No, it’s all right. I was early anyway. I just hope everything turns out all right.”

Girl: *Through tears* “Thank you. It really means a lot that you did that. I’m sorry to have just dumped it all on you. Thank you so much.”

Me: “It’s fine. That’s just something you shouldn’t have to sit alone with. I only did what I thought was best.”

Girl’s Friend: “Are you sure you don’t want a lift?”

I shook my head, wished [Girl] good luck, and waved them off. They thanked me again multiple times and then slowly drove away. Even though I ended up being a few minutes late for my lesson, I’ll never forget the way [Girl] thanked me for simply sitting with her and listening. [Girl], if you’re out there, I really do hope you’re okay and that everything turned out all right in the end.