GUIDE DOG LIFE | TRANSIT | VISION LOSS
A Guide Dog’s Opinion on Riding the Bus
This is about the bus driver who drives a race car in his spare time – told by the dog.
Bus driver or race car driver!
Pat and I take a lot of buses and usually the ride is smooth and the drivers are helpful, going out of their way to describe where an empty seat is.
I usually sit under the seat if I fit.
The drivers are pretty casual, even slow and amazingly enough, Pat knows which ones are Sunday drivers, don’t ask me how she knows.
So, one particular Tuesday we didn’t have a Sunday driver at all, we had a rush hour driver.
He took corners so fast I slid halfway across the aisle at every turn. Not just once – but every, single, uncomfortable corner and bend in the road.
It wasn’t only me being jostled. One lady’s grocery bag slid onto the floor and some apples rolled out. Another passenger picked up the apples and thanked the driver by name, apparently his name was Dick.
So, when the madness ended, we finally stepped off the bus, and the doors slammed shut behind us.
Pat said our driver, Dick, was practicing for the Indy 500, and she knew his name before the other passenger said it.
His name, sure, but I’d never have guessed how she knew what he did outside of driving a bus!
Then she said we were lucky that he had graced our humble transit bus with his esteemed presence.
He must have been a famous Dick at his part-time Indy job, I thought.
She’s got a sixth sense for people’s names and spare time activities?
Even though we have the occasional jostling ride, we like taking the bus.
Pat says because of the bus, she doesn’t have to bug anyone for a ride.
Sometimes we take an Uber and quite honestly, there are more Dicks driving them than buses.
Did I ever tell you about the drivers that left us standing by the side of the road?
One said No dogs, and the other just left.
After Pat called to explain the situation to Uber Dick’s boss, there have been fewer incidents.
Maybe it’s a coincidence, or maybe the boss sent a memo to clarify that guide dogs won’t cause a fuss in the car.
We just mind our own business and try to get our humans to places on time.
In conclusion and in all seriousness
Bus, train and Uber drivers don’t realize the important part they play in the lives of individuals who, through no fault of their own, cannot grab their car keys and go.
And sincerest thanks to the many courteous drivers who do realize.
About the above photo: during the pandemic when a lot of buildings were closed, we used this boulevard as a destination, and it’s next to two bus stops, so we could get here from anywhere.
A related story, scroll to, ‘Is that a dog?’
