a hard time when I boarded the bus. Since there’s no designated bus stop anywhere near where I
and others board the bus, if I want to take the bus I’m expected to flag it down by waving my arm
in the air when it travels down the highway. And I did this without incident for four or five years.
But then one day when I boarded the bus the driver stopped me before I was able to seat myself
and complained that he was having difficulty seeing me on the side of the road. He told me that I
was virtually invisible and that if I didn’t begin flagging him down “more aggressively” (his words)
he might not see me in the future and might drive right past me without stopping.
That day was the beginning of me experiencing periodic hassle when taking the bus. The driver
knows me by name and I always knew I was going to get lectured when, instead of just letting me
seat myself upon boarding, he would look at me and say my name. The reason was because
whenever he said my name it wasn’t followed with a polite greeting, it was followed by him chiding
me like a little child.
His complaint went something like this:
“Uh, Cal,” he would whine. Oh boy, here we go again, I’d think to myself. “Could you wave your
arm more aggressively when you’re flagging the bus down in the future? You’re hard to see when
you’re standing there. And if I can’t see you I’m liable to drive right past you and not stop.”
Of course his criticism was total bullshit, he was just badgering me. Asking me to wave my arm
more aggressively was about the same as asking me to salute him when I boarded the bus. It was
ridiculous. He could see me just fine, like he always did, and this was demonstrated by the way
he’d activate the bus’s flashing lights and slow the vehicle down at least a quarter mile away when I
was flagging him down -- EVEN ON THE DAYS WHEN HE’D TELL ME I COULDN’T BE
SEEN!!!
And his invisibility charge was even more implausible considering the fact that I always had a bicycle
with me and my bike helmet in my hand. That’s right, I had a bike with me! So when you
combined the bicycle with me waving my arm in the air, there was plenty for his eyes to see.
As well, I always flagged the bus down at the exact same spot at Palmer Road where I boarded the
bus on a regular basis. When I was taking the bus steadily it was basically a given that I’d invariably
be waiting there at that identical spot at one o’clock almost every day the service was in operation.
Come on!!!
The driver’s senseless utterances reminded me of this time back in the ’90s when I lived in Surrey
and was commuting to Vancouver by car. I was stopped at lights on Cambie Street and a city bus
came up alongside me and stopped. As I sat there waiting I noticed that the driver of the bus had
opened up his front passenger doors and was looking at me through the opening. Knowing he
wanted to say something to me, I innocently rolled down my window so he could say whatever he
wanted to say. And what did he do? He started criticizing my driving, saying that I’d blocked his
bus on the road in some way. I was speechless. I’d been driving perfectly normally, the same way
I always had. I promptly rolled up my window so I didn’t have to listen to him anymore. Fucking
bus drivers!!!
But getting back to this Powell River bus driver, I think his resentment towards me may have had
something to do with the fact that I’m a cyclist. As a cyclist you’re different from other riders in
that boarding the bus involves placing your bike in the bike rack at the front of the bus. This sets
you apart from other riders who just walk aboard and I think it’s somehow psychologically difficult
for some of the more simpleminded bus drivers to handle.
Confirming this was another incident with a previous driver on the exact same route several years
ago in which, when the bus came to an unscheduled stop on Joyce Avenue, every single passenger
was permitted to disembark from the bus -- except for me! And the reason I was given was because
I was traveling with a bike.
And talk about unprofessional! It was absolutely preposterous for a supposedly skilled bus driver
to be divulging to a customer that he was unable to see a pedestrian AND a bicycle positioned on
the side of the highway, especially considering it was in the middle of the day in broad daylight and I
was standing directly next to the Palmer Road street sign. That sign is perfectly visible to all drivers:
AND SO WAS I!!! It’s his JOB to be able to see things -- especially people! -- on the side of the
road. He was full of shit.
And he didn’t just say this to me one time. While it was only necessary for him to give me this
message once, and if someone was being polite they wouldn’t keep saying something like that to
you over and over, it got to the point where about once a month when I boarded the bus the driver
would stop me before I was able to seat myself and repeat his invisibility accusation and demand
that I put substantially more effort into waving him down. He’d begun acting like a mindless zombie
with his repeated criticisms. It was as if he was an android that had been programmed to start
bugging me. Mind control anyone?
And I remember one time the excuse he used for chastising me was not because he was having
difficulty seeing me, his excuse was that there was going to be a substitute driver operating the bus
in the future and it was that driver who might have difficulty seeing me. Sheesh!
And what made it even more obvious that he was targeting me with harassment was the fact that I
was the only person he ever complained about anything to. I never once heard him admonish
another rider, either for being hard to see on the side of the road when waiting for the bus or for any
other reason. On the contrary, while I was being told I was waiting for the bus improperly, all the
other riders were receiving cordial welcome greetings from him when they boarded the vehicle. I
can’t explain the agonizing depths of utter humiliation I wallowed in sitting there watching him
politely welcome every other rider onto the bus when minutes earlier he’d taken me to task for
waiting for the bus incorrectly -- even though I was doing it the exact same way as everyone else!
In fact, I don’t believe the other riders even had to wave him down, all they had to do was stand in
the general vicinity of the road and he would stop for them. Anyone who’s been bullied before will
know exactly how I felt.
The message I was receiving was that the driver disliked me and resented having to stop to pick me
up. I also noted that it was when he was in a bad mood or having a bad day that he would act out
this animosity by berating me when I boarded the bus.
The driver’s attitude towards me was the polar opposite of most every other driver I encounter on
the road in Powell River. Of course it was. Anyone who resides in PR knows that the people here
are the friendliest folks in the world. Automobile drivers are super courteous and many will even go
out of their way to help you. As a matter of fact, on several occasions when I’ve been riding my
bike in the rain in the winter I’ve actually had people stop their vehicles and offer to give me a lift to
my destination.
But I’ve found that while most people here are as kind as people get, there are a few bad apples that
balance out that kindness with rude behavior that is just deplorable.
And the thing was, I didn’t have any idea how to respond to the driver when he gave me his
irrational instruction that I put more effort into flagging him down. Even though it incensed me to no
end the way he was singling me out with his pushy comments, I had absolutely no interest in
challenging him on it. Facing off with him over such an insignificant issue was just not something I
wanted to do. Who wants to engage in an argument if they don’t have to? I certainly don’t. And
especially not over something as idiotic as flagging down a bus! Arguments always sap me of my
energy and put me in a shitty mood for days. As well, I made a vow to myself several years ago to
avoid all petty conflicts with people like him and try to ignore them and walk away from them. Tune
them out if possible. The hassle I was receiving from the bus driver was turning into a test of that
vow.
So the first couple of times he hassled me I simply nodded and said “okay” in dumbfounded
agreement with his bizarre instruction. But that just wasn’t good enough for him. Even though he’d
clearly relayed his message to me, he still continued to repeat the accusation that I was invisible --
even when he’d stopped the bus and picked me up as per usual!
So next I decided I’d just try to ignore him. As such, the following time he hit me with his
invisibility complaint I shrugged it off with an indifferent “whatever.”
But even THAT didn’t work! Yet again I was told he was having difficulty seeing me on the road.
So the next thing I decided on was to actually do what he said and be more lively when flagging him
down. That should work, right? Doing precisely what he’d instructed me to do? Then he’ll stop
nagging me, right?
So that’s what I did. When I was waiting for the bus I stood as close to the highway as I
conceivably could without getting hit by vehicles and I made sure to position my bike lengthwise
perpendicular to the highway so it was as visible as it could possibly be. Then as soon as I saw the
bus coming towards me off in the distance I’d point my right arm straight up above me in the air and
wave it over and over with long twelve o’clock to six o’clock sweeping motions at my side that
could be seen a mile away. I couldn’t have been more visible if I’d been doing jumping jacks on the
side of the road or shooting off a flare into the sky.
And that did seem to work. I wasn’t hassled boarding the bus when I did that so I relaxed and
assumed I was obeying his instruction to his satisfaction and he’d leave me alone.
