Do you say thanks to the bus driver?

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Aways. I always thank people doing any job that impacts me.

I tend not to thank Old Bill when they nick me.



But I do thank bus drivers.

 

[kabbes]

I tend not to thank Old Bill when they nick me.

I do.

 

[DotCommunist]

I do.

It's acceptable if your thanking them for fuck all

'thanks for fuck all then'

 

[kabbes]

No, I got a speeding ticket in New Zealand and I said thank you to the copper when he gave it to me. I couldn't help it, it was just too ingrained. I felt like a bit of a berk afterwards though.

 

[strung out]

usually

 

[El Jefe]

I think saying thank you to the bus driver is an out of london thing. I only picked up the habit after living in liverpool.

that's just nonsense, sorry

 

[electrogirl]

I don't get the bus hardly at all anymore, but when I did I'd always say thank you.

Having said that, some of the ones in Bristol seem to be right miserable, bitter wankers, I never say thanks to them.

 

[100% masahiko]

Yes I have manners.
I say thanks to busdrivers, waiters, doormen, the guy who cleans my ashtray in the beer garden, the fast food delivery guy.

Open doors to ladies. Help them carry luggage up stairs (this happens alot at Victoria Station).

Also acknowledge the homeless, big issue seller...

And apologise whenever I'm in the wrong.


Think all this common courtesy.

 

[King Biscuit Time]

"Cheers drive!"

 

[electrogirl]

"Cheers drive!"

 

[yardbird]

Always if I pass the driver when getting off.
Also to ticket inspectors on the train when they hand my ticket back.
Most people don't

Manners Maketh Man

 

[se5]

"Cheers drive!"

We used to do this on Badgerline buses in Bath in the 1980s and I have been trying to introduce the custom to London buses but so far with only limited success

 

[Griff]

Yes. Always used to in London (apart from being on a Routemaster naturally) and do on the single deckers going into town, although I hardly ever use them to be honest.

 

[Roadkill]

that's just nonsense, sorry

I think boohoo's right. Not necessarily because Londoners are rude, but because so many buses are centre-exit and most people don't shout their thanks down the bus as they get off, whereas most people IME do on front-exit buses, be that in London or elsewhere.

 

[baldrick]

yes. i like to start off a chorus of thank yous from the people behind when i get off the bus in town

 

[Madusa]

Sometimes. If I get off at the front of the bus, I do but if I get off in the middle, I'm not shouting down the bus to the driver!

 

[trashpony]

I do if they've been helpful. Too often they say that they can't fit me on the bus because they've already got two pushchairs (except there's room for 3 if they're small ones and you can offer to fold up but they still won't let you on). And most of them pull in just far enough away from the kerb that you can't get down into the road but can't quite reach the pavement with a buggy. So not much nowadays.

 

[boohoo]

that's just nonsense, sorry

Well in my experience of growing up in london the basic things we were taught were don't drop rubbish and don't flick elastic bands in case you take someones eye out, we were never encouraged to say thank you to the driver. Even queueing was still taught back when I was in school.

I don't even remeber my mum doing it and she's from the countryside.

But it is also part of how you get off the bus. On the routemaster you thank the conducter.

 

[In Bloom]

What kind of anti-social freak doesn't thank somebody who has just provided them with a vital service?

 

[salem]

most buses in London, you get off in the middle so there's no point. If i get off at the front, I always do

Exactly, most buses have to be twin door now and this combined with the fact that the drivers are locked away in their cabins is the main reason I don't thank them when getting off. They wouldn't hear.

 

[El Jefe]

But it is also part of how you get off the bus. On the routemaster you thank the conducter.

so it's got nothing to do with location and everything to do with bus design?

 

[RubyBlue]

On the routemaster you thank the conducter.

That's true enough but you're talking about a different type of bus - the driver of an old routemaster wasn't accessible. When you get on a bus where you have to pass the driver to pay / swipe your card I would view it as a bit anti-social to just ignore him / her. The point of this thread originally was when the driver made a point of stopping, when some drivers wouldn't have bothered, not 1 person getting on said 'thanks'.

 

[Kanda]

I used to shake the drivers hand and bid him good day when exiting the bus. Can't do that these days with all that perspex between us

 

[Me76]

I will always say thank you getting off unless the driver has been a complete nob head, and even then I will sometimes say thank you in a sarcastic way.

Getting on, especially in the morning I tend to still be asleep and also busy trying to elbow all the queue jumpers out of the way so don't tend to, although if the driver has held the bus while you are running to get it or re-opened the doors cos I got there a bit late I will always thank them then.

My Mum and Step Dad were both bus drivers so I know what a thankless job it is and how a bit of humanity can make a difference to the day - same as any public service job I suppose.

 

[Belushi]

I always say thank you to anyone who does something for me, my old man was dead strict about good manners so its second nature.

 

[Cid]

I usually burst into an impromptu rendition of 'hail to the bus driver', before twirling my cane and skipping gaily to the pavement.

 

[spacemonkey]

"Cheers drive!"

I was going to post that!! I've only ever heard it in Wales.

I was always say it really loud and over the top.

 

[veracity]

Always unless the driver has been rude which is pretty rare anyway.

 

[Mrs Magpie]

Most politeness is an out of London thing, people shove, push and are rude and have an overblown, increased sense of importance in shit city, they ignore people in distress with a "not my problem attitude" whereas most of them are ignorant tossers in reality.

Well, I'm a Londoner born-and-bred and I say "Thank you driver" to the bus driver, help people in distress and I queue. If anything it's an age thing, not a location thing.

 

[dlx1]

yes

Hello - then ask for ticket.
take ticket - thanks.
when getting off - bye.

It not hard to be pollight


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