Dear Bus Driver: Thank you

Maybe I'm a sucker, but if a stranger says good evening to me, it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

"Good evening." That's what my bus driver said today when I got off the bus. That was a first. Most bus drivers don't speak to you at all, and then there are the ones who aren't very nice or drive so aggressive it's scary. She was the nicest bus driver I've come across, by far. She was even nice to the people causing her trouble.

This was the 316 fast bus, which skips some stops that the 16 makes. We stopped at a red light and some people tried to get off the bus at a 16 stop. "This isn't a stop," she said. "You can't get off here. You need to read the signs when you get on." Then she let them off or they pushed the door open anyway, and she still ended her lecture with "thank you."

She elicited thank yous from almost everyone who got off the bus. Some had a specific reason to be courteous, like the guy who has asked what stop was closest to the 16 stop he usually gets off at, but others hadn't said a word to her but still said thank you when they got off the bus. All I can figure is that it was an unspoken acknowledgment for making their bus ride a pleasant experience, for infusing the bus with a "lets all get along" vibe. Well, she had me at hello (actually she said good afternoon when I got on the bus). So when I got off downtown with only a few passengers remaining on the bus, I felt bold and yelled "thank you" from the rear exit.

I e-mailed MTA customer service tonight to let them know how pleasant and respectful she was. I didn't get her name but I told them the route and time so hopefully they can look up who was driving. She deserves some recognition because Metro needs more drivers like that. It would be great to have that kind of experience all the time because it really did put me in a better mood.