Says thanks to bus driver

[hesnearly3]

Why do ppl do this? Why thank for a journey that u have paid for? And the driver hopefully drove safely but that's their jobs. So why say thanks? I don't get it

Op
I have to say it's very rare for me to get angry at a thread.. But yours has succeeded today.
You are magnificently ignorant.
Maybe read this and you might think twice about having some basic manners and courtesy.
www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-56404444

@hesnearly3 I just wanted to say thank you for starting such an interesting thread

In Wales you have to say ‘ cheers drive’ , it’s the law

If you get off a bus in Wales without saying ‘cheers drive’ , consider yourself judged .

"In Wales you have to say ‘ cheers drive’ , it’s the law"

"If you get off a bus in Wales without saying ‘cheers drive’ , consider yourself judged ."

Go to north Wales and call the driver by his job title and you will be considered quite strange.
Say thank you of course.

Because it's a nice thing to do.

Some bus drivers are curmudgeons, determined to make your day that bit harder,or drive like maniacs. I tend not to thank those ones.

I expect that someone has already said this but there's a new road in Bristol called "cheers drive" after what you say when getting off the bus locally

Been on quite a lot of buses in North Wales, cheers drive was always received with a smile.

On the rare occasions I get a bus, I always thank the driver.

I thank the postman too, when I see him, and checkout staff in supermarkets. All sorts of people, really. I just think it's nice to acknowledge people when they're providing a service, even if I am paying for it.

Manners cost nothing.

Good manners cost nothing but say a lot about a person.

I always thank them if they have not done anything wrong.

If they have, I either get off in silence if the offence is already over (though I might contact the bus company later, depending what it is), or say something (e.g. point out the speed limit is 20mph here).

The ‘offence’?

If I were driving buses I’d be doing more than 20 going by you at the bus stop. A great big puddle would be a bonus.

Read Serena1977’s post at 2001.

Think of what they have to deal with (not even considering working through Covid) without some person who is too cowardly to do other than to go sniping behind their backs about perceived ‘offences’.

What a miserable post.

I have some truly miserable old git drivers in my area and I always greet them with a cheery "morning " or whatever time of day it is just to piss them off..we have some great Polish and Baltic States drivers too who are all happy to do the job in a friendly manner ..and all get a thank you driver too.

@IamaBluebird

Been on quite a lot of buses in North Wales, cheers drive was always received with a smile.

Yes, I'm sure they could tell you were being polite, same as if a big city person gets into a taxi and sits in the back seat instead of the front, but it's still not the norm.

Do you not say thanks to people in shops, offices, pubs, restaurants, doctors, dentists, solicitors? Why should thanking a bus driver be any different?

My relatives overseas always notice this when they visit me here, they absolutely love it and get excited about thanking the driver when we get off the bus. I think it's really lovely we do this here too and I'm quite proud of this now

It's not something I noticed when I left the UK in the mid-2000s, but that could well have been because the exits on London buses aren't near the driver.

I found it utterly charming that it's a thing in Melbourne, where buses are single deckers and you're nearer the driver. It's a simple courtesy, so why not?

While I'm here, it's common for students to thank their teacher as they leave at the end of the lesson.

Just about everyone here says it. I say hello when I get on & thanks when I get off. Just courtesy I suppose, just like when someone serves you in a shop etc. It’s manners.

Wow - you sound very entitled. Just because someone has been paid to do something doesn't mean you can't extend them the courtesy of thanking them, it's basic good manners. Do you think everyone is your servant?

More to the point, why wouldn't you? Small courtesies like this make everyones life better

It's a local custom, surely?

I do this in some cities/villages (mostly the ones where the buses are small enough/quiet enough for the driver to hear you!) but I don't do this in London. I tried it when I first moved to London, but people (including the driver) just think you're weird.

Same reason I ask everyone at the beginning of a conversation "how are you?"

@81Byerley

Do you not say thanks to people in shops, offices, pubs, restaurants, doctors, dentists, solicitors? Why should thanking a bus driver be any different?

Because in your examples, it's typically a one-to-one situation, where you're in close contact.

With a bus driver, often you disembark away from the front of the bus, so you kinda have to shout 'thank you', which doesn't really work if it's a crowded bus and/or if you're getting off at the back.

(Obviously crowds are a pre-Covid thing.)

It would be different if you got off at the front of the bus, i.e. if you were to pass the driver's cab and be within speaking distance.

Very late to the party.

It was a thing here until the buses got the exit nearer the back. People still shout if it's not crowded though.

And to the OP. Round here the death rate for bus drivers from covid is really high. So s thank you maybe wouldn't go amiss.

It has become more common in recent years I think. It's seems like a nice gesture to actually notice a human being is delivering a service. Like saying thank you to the cashier at the supermarket or the lady in the bread shop.

It also depends where you live - it us more common in the north of England as well.