A day in the life of a bus driver
Operating a motor vehicle in a city is an activity familiar to most people. A bus driver is someone who transports people between a variety of places including work, school, shopping, and across the country. Imagine transporting thousands of people each day via narrow, hilly streets, facing innumerable obstacles under inexorable pressure to keep to a strict schedule, knowing that the slightest accident could result in injury to a passenger and jeopardize your job.
Drivers are responsible for the safety of their passengers and vehicle. The alarm rings. It is at six o’clock. A bus driver gets up wearily. It is the start of another day ferrying school kids to and from school. The traveling public never witness a transit operator’s daily “start-up” procedure. Some drive regular routes, and others transport passengers on chartered trips or sightseeing tours.
At six-thirty, after a hurried bath, a bus driver, suppose, his name, Maniam starts his old 22-seater bus and moves off. He goes along a regular route picking up children to send to various schools. By seven, all the regular children, except one who is ill, is on the bus. Maniam drives carefully through the busy roads.
He stops at four different schools, dropping off some children at each. He plans his drive carefully so as to reach the last school by seven-thirty. Otherwise, some children will be late for school and he gets the blame.
At seven-thirty two, his bus is empty and the roads are magically less congested. Most of the children are in the classrooms. Maniam stops by at a stall to have his breakfast.
Come eleven-thirty, he picks up other school children for the afternoon session. By twelve-thirty he has sent all the children to the schools safely.
At one o’clock he collects his first batch of children from a school. Then he proceeds to three other schools to collect the others. After collecting the children he sends them home.
A bus driver has lunch at home and takes a nap. At three o’clock he cleans up the bus.
At six in the evening, the bus driver goes on his last round of collecting the children from the schools. He safely sends them home by seven-thirty. Then Maniam goes home, takes a bath, has dinner and watches television for a while before retiring to bed. Thus ended yet another day in the life of a bus driver.
Generally, School bus drivers transport students to and from school and other activities. On school days, drivers pick up students in the morning and return them home or to the designated bus stop in the afternoon.
