Passive Agressive Bus Driver

This morning I decided not to risk walking the quarter mile or so over sidewalks covered in blocks of ice to the corner of L and East Broadway to catch the 7, but just hopped the 9 which stops a block away on either side of our building. I was able to find a seat when I hopped on at H St; however, there was a boatload of people waiting to board at F St.

Some people stubbornly refuse to move towards the back of the bus when others are boarding. They press themselves against the seats and try to become as thin as possible in order to avoid moving back to the standing room section on the upper platform. As a result, there's usually a rider pig pile near the driver and people are in front of the yellow line. Some drivers just ignore the over-the-line-yellow line offenders, while others enforce the rule but shouting and shaming people into moving to the back to make room for the others.

This morning our driver was an Enforcer. After the last person had squeezed onto the bus, the standees practically had to inhale in order for the driver to close the front door.

Ding. Dong. Ding. I heard a series of tones overhead. "When boarding the bus, please make room for other passengers and stay behind the yellow line," a cheerful, yet stern automated female admonished. I hadn't heard that one before; a nice alternative to the male automated voice.

No one budged. Ding. Dong. Ding. We heard the same message again and still no one moved. Ding. Dong. Ding... The driver sounded the polite (and now incredibly annoying) message about 5 times before people finally got the hint and moved to the back of the bus. Give me a shouting angry bus driver any day; a loud threat "not to move this bus until you are behind the line!" is much more effective. There's no room for niceties on the bus.