Hail to the bus driver

So last week my car broke down, don't worry people it's fixed now, but it got me thinking: How did I go so long relying on the Norwich Bus service?

Don't get me wrong the 25 and 35 are almost always sometimes reliable, but what about those of us who live outside of the clutches of the university route?

The bus that I need to get in the morning is supposed to come every 20 minutes, but you can guarantee that the only time it actually will be on time is the time that you are late. It's bad for us students who are running late to their lectures like always, but what really gets you is when you're standing next to a kind old lady who looks like she's about to turn blue. Then there are the cold winter afternoons where all is dark by 4 and you need to get to riverside so you grab a bus, and lo and behold there are chavs playing annoying music from their terribly lo-fi phones, yelling to each other about their sexual exploits (even though they only look 14,) and then for some reason telling a 20 year old of the same gender that they are sexy (I didn't know whether to be flattered or afraid.)

Even for the handy uni buses, some of the drivers seem to hold a grudge against students for being younger than them and not on a bus all day long. I've had some odd comments from a driver, from "That bus pass doesn't look like you!" to "University?! I wish I was going to University" and even the creepy beckoning over and whispering "Stop looking so grumpy, you'll make me sad." The best, and weirdest moment I've ever had on a bus was the bus driver who was paused in traffic half a meter away from the bus stop who wouldn't let me on, when he finally relented then reproached "What do you think you are doing, getting on the bus in the middle of the road? Does this look like a bus stop?" To which I had to hold my tongue in replying "Well the bus is stopped....just after a bus stop."

I have a theory, these drivers try to get our attention in weird and wonderful ways because they are not Clive Ashcroft and will never be! The more downbeat drivers have come to terms with this but some still hold out hope that there is room for more than one legend in the Norwich First Bus world, but these bus drivers need to realise there will only be 1 Clive, but then that's a realisation we all need to come to one day.