Should Have Taken The Window Of Opportunity

(I work as a bus driver. It’s early evening, and I have just had one of the windows smashed on my bus by kids throwing stones. I have pulled up just beyond the next bus stop, and am sitting there with the engine off, the hazards on, the destination screens blanked, and all the internal lights off. It’s a warm evening, so I have all the windows and the doors open, and I’m standing in the doorway talking on my phone. After I’ve been there for about 15 minutes, a man walks up and tries to get on the bus, having looked at the smashed window as he walked past it. He looks and sounds like he may be stoned. I block him getting on.)

Me: “I’m sorry, I’m not going anywhere.”

Man: “Why not?”

Me: “Um, because I’ve had a window smashed. I can’t take this bus any further, I’m afraid.”

(He steps off the bus and looks at the window again, which is mostly still there, but badly damaged.)

Man: *pointing along the road* “Could you not just take me to [Destination]?”

Me: “No, I’m sorry, I can’t move this bus anywhere for the moment.”

Man: “But I only want to go along to [Destination]!” *points again*

Me: “Look, I’m very sorry, but I am not allowed to move this bus from here because it has a smashed window. If you walk along to the stop which is just behind me, you will get another bus there which will take you where you want to go.”

(After another few minutes of this, he eventually got off the bus and proceeded to spend the next 25 minutes wandering back and forth along that short section of road, not getting on any of the numerous buses that passed in that time.)