Photo by Roshan Vyas
Muni rider Alex encountered a driver he described as an “angel” and “a gem.” Read on:
The driver I met on the 5-Fulton is incredible. A few stops went by after I boarded the bus, then a guy got on and told the driver he had lost his cell phone on another 5-Fulton. To my surprise, the driver let the passenger borrow his phone to try and call his lost cell phone. No luck. Soon another 5-Fulton came in the other direction, so the driver stopped to let the guy off to search the other bus. No luck again.
Our driver waited for the guy to reboard and told him that he might have a chance of finding it at the bus yard division on Geary and Masonic. The bus driver did everything he could to help this passenger. He told the passenger where to go: first go to coach cleaners, then to Dispatch, and then to Lost and Found.
I don’t know if this passenger ever found his phone. But if he did, it’s thanks to this amazing bus driver who went above and beyond.
Later that night, as we continued to go down Fulton, I chatted with the driver. We talked about why the 5 was a trolley line and how San Francisco is still one of the few transit filled cities. We talked about the Skoda buses, Owl lines, and transit in the East Bay. I told him about my school and he told me he wanted to go into the computer industry but he’s not sure which field specifically.
Linux, Mac, so many choices, he said.
I was enjoying chatting with him so much I considered going back to Ocean Beach on the 5 just so I could listen to him. But as many Muni rides tend to go, some unexpected drama had other plans for my evening. Once we got to Hyde, two passengers who got on were accusing another woman of stealing a wallet. The driver called 911, and soon police officers came.
I’m not sure what happened at the end of the night after I left, but this driver is now my favorite! I think I’ll be taking the 5-Fulton more often around midnight — at least it is more interesting.
Thanks, driver 3313, for being my hero!
