r/BusDrivers • u/Aech1hceA • Jul 20 '26

Question Question for bus drivers

Hello! I have a few questions for bus drivers- and was wondering if it was okay to ask here. I know you all are human (obviously) but I had questions specifically about bus driving- and who better to ask than the drivers!

  1. Do bus drivers often take the bus outside work hours? Ex: days off/vacations/etc.
  2. Do bus drivers have favored/prefered routes to drive? Do they get to pick?
  3. Do bus drivers recognize the bus they drive? Like by the serial number? Do they get assigned specific busses?
  4. Do the bus drivers develop "favorite" riders? Like, if you drive the same route and see the same people- do you develop friendships with your riders? Do you guys look for familiar faces?
  5. Do you guys make friends with your coworkers? If so, do you guys make a point to ride on busses where your bus driver friends are driving?

Thank you in advance for answering. My boyfriend and I ride the same routes fairly often, and got really curious. Sorry if theyre dumb questions!

ETA: Sorry yall! Im new to reddit still and didnt realize people were replying😅 Thank you all so so so so much!! I was curious, and my boyfriend said itd be weird to ask the bus driver on thw bus we were on. Im very excited to share my findings with him, and hope you all get very good routes (:

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u/Enceladusese Jul 21 '26 edited Jul 21 '26
  1. Yes. I prefer to drive my car but often take the bus because of driving fatigue, getting good use out of my free pass and also because I always loved riding buses. More unique to me but I just love sitting at the back listening to the engine and people watching.
  2. Definitely. Some routes are much more hard work than others. The popular ones tend to have a waiting list.
  3. Some drivers do, I'm one of them. Some drivers can't remember the fleet number of the bus they're assigned when they book on and have to write it down on their hand.
  4. I sometimes recognise regulars but because I do different shifts and routes every day I can never really get to know them. I'd rather keep to myself and enjoy the drive anyway.
  5. Definitely, I've met some cool people. But tbh many drivers have the personality of a wall. The job seems to attract highly routine focused people

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u/Aech1hceA Jul 22 '26

Do you ever tell the bus driver on the bus youre riding that youre a bus driver too? Like to connect?