I take a city bus to class on Wednesday and I had always had an uneventful ride until this past week. The bus stopped for me like usual, I got on like usual and found an open seat. He went around the corner and that was the last place he stopped. He blew by all the bus stops. He did stop at stop lights and slowed for traffic but that was about it. He weaved between the two lanes and cars managed to stay out of his way.
I was really freaking out by then and wondering if I was going to ever get off this bus. Finally, an ajumma (older Korean woman) started to yell at him and then the whole bus joined in. Most of the people on the bus were standing by now since their stops had been passed by. He finally stopped and we all rushed to exit the bus. He drove off to who knows where.
I told myself that the next time I got really upset, I WASN'T GOING TO CALL MY HUSBAND. I whipped out my cellphone and phoned him to mainly calm down. I was pretty scared and shook up. He listened and wondered if the driver had a seizure or some medical problem. I didn't know but he didn't slump over the wheel and he did obey traffic signs. I'll never know what his problem was and it doesn't matter know. My husband did ask if I could smell alcohol on his breath. Like I get THAT close to the bus driver. It did make me laugh.
I went onto class and explained to my teacher why I was so late to class. I had ended up about a 30 minute walk beyond my regular stop. She didn't seem surprised by my story which I had to tell with lots of arm motions because I don't speak Korean and she doesn't speak English.
The picture above is NOT the bus that was involved in this incident.
6 comments:
Never a dull moment with you!
This happened to me once. It was so scary that I will always remember the #33 bus in Ulsan - 8 years ago!!
My bus driver was a woman though - and cackled and laughed wildly while she wove through traffic at breakneck speed.
Glad you got out ok! :)
Was it really crowded on that bus? Also, is there a button you press to signal to the driver to let you off, or is it all just verbal...?
Maybe some of the other passengers called to report the driver. I hope so.
Holly: You are so right!
Melissa: I had heard of this happening in Seoul, not Suwon.
Autumnal Scent: There were about 30 of us. The button was pushed and lit. He just didn't care.
Sandra: I'm taking the bus tomorrow. Sometimes I wish I had my video camera on me at all times.
One explanation I have heard, though it's not a really good one, is that the drivers get paid based on the number of routes they perform in a day. If they don't meet a quota, they don't get paid.
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