The day my Muni driver stopped the bus

Jay is an Australian living in San Francisco. After hearing Jay’s Muni story, his friends and family in Australia might think that San Francisco is an even more awesome place than they previously realized.

Last Sunday afternoon I was on an almost full to capacity #1 California bus on its route to Van Ness and beyond. The bus stopped, which was not unusual, but then the bus driver got out and went around to the front. I thought that he might be checking the bicycle rack or that there was some mechanical fault he was investigating.

Eventually a lady standing near the front of the bus took a few steps forward to peer out the front window and announced, “Ahhh…there’s a baby bird that has fallen out of its nest and he’s scooting it off the road from in front of the bus and onto the grass!”

That was amazing enough but what really told me I was in San Francisco was when the bus driver hurriedly scampered through the door and back onto his seat. The entire bus, me included, spontaneously started applauding and cheering! You would have had to have been there to really appreciate the genuine warmth of the moment but I assure you it was an authentic instance of two random acts of kindness that I will never forget.

Got your own slice of life on the bus? Help us document what it’s like to live in San Francisco and send your stories to muni.diaries.sf@gmail.com!

Photo by @oopu22