Bus Report #51
Mission Street & 16th Street, last night.
Our bus was pretty empty and we were making good time, so of course something was bound to happen on this corner. Our driver had the light, and started through it when this guy walked right out in front of the bus. Our driver had good reflexes and narrowly missed hitting him.
Instead of cursing out the driver and continuing on his way, this guy cursed out the driver and stood squarely right in front of the window, threatening and gesturing and banging on the window. And he stayed like that for several light cycles.
Our driver called the police. A collective sigh of resignation by the passengers. One woman, who works at the Anchor Steam Brewery, suggested hitting him anyway. A few people laughed uncomfortably.
The couple sitting behind me were talking about how they desperately needed to get home. The husband got up and went to the front of the bus. He said something to the driver and the driver let him out. Everyone else craned their necks to see what was going to happen. We heard some shouting. The man's wife quickly went to the front of the bus and said, "that's my husband." but the driver wouldn't open the doors.
A moment later, I heard a cheer from the people in the front of the bus. The doors opened and our hero stepped back on.
As befits a hero, we gave him a round of applause. People said stuff like "thanks, man," and "good job" and he and his wife sat back down.
He had told the man that the cops were coming, and that he could either wait for them and get "a free ride downtown" (I'm not making this up) or he could walk on and there'd be no trouble. Crazy man, but smart enough to chose the second option.
Happy ending, 10 minutes after unhappy beginning.
Our bus was pretty empty and we were making good time, so of course something was bound to happen on this corner. Our driver had the light, and started through it when this guy walked right out in front of the bus. Our driver had good reflexes and narrowly missed hitting him.
Instead of cursing out the driver and continuing on his way, this guy cursed out the driver and stood squarely right in front of the window, threatening and gesturing and banging on the window. And he stayed like that for several light cycles.
Our driver called the police. A collective sigh of resignation by the passengers. One woman, who works at the Anchor Steam Brewery, suggested hitting him anyway. A few people laughed uncomfortably.
The couple sitting behind me were talking about how they desperately needed to get home. The husband got up and went to the front of the bus. He said something to the driver and the driver let him out. Everyone else craned their necks to see what was going to happen. We heard some shouting. The man's wife quickly went to the front of the bus and said, "that's my husband." but the driver wouldn't open the doors.
A moment later, I heard a cheer from the people in the front of the bus. The doors opened and our hero stepped back on.
As befits a hero, we gave him a round of applause. People said stuff like "thanks, man," and "good job" and he and his wife sat back down.
He had told the man that the cops were coming, and that he could either wait for them and get "a free ride downtown" (I'm not making this up) or he could walk on and there'd be no trouble. Crazy man, but smart enough to chose the second option.
Happy ending, 10 minutes after unhappy beginning.
posted by Rachel at 8:24 AM
2 Comments:
That is bizarre! Things in San Francisco are never normal, apparently.
If this happened on the London Tube, there would be an announcement in a soothing voice telling you: "Expect delays, due to passenger action"..." This is my favorite of the many, many excuses the Tube has for delays, both because is it completely meaningless, and also because it sounds vaguely like an innuendo (as in "passenger girl-on-girl action").
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