Being a bus driver is a tougher job than you might think. Long hours spent in the driver’s seat. Having to constantly focus so you don’t crash. Keeping to your strict schedules. And ensuring that the passengers are behaving themselves. These employees deserve a lot more thanks than they get.

Unfortunately, some folks don’t understand the meaning of basic manners. Redditor u/Unthanked_Bus_Driver shared how they dealt with a verbally abusive passenger to teach them a lesson they’ll never forget. Scroll down for the full story. Bored Panda has reached out to the author of the story for comment via Reddit, and we’ll update the article as soon as we hear back from them.

Bus drivers deserve to be treated with politeness and respect. Unfortunately, some people can’t do even that

Image credits: Danny Lines / unsplash (not the actual photo)

One driver shared how they got back at a particularly abusive and rude passenger they encountered a while back

Image credits: Rich Smith / unsplash (not the actual photo)

Image credits: Oleg Bilyk / unsplash (not the actual photo)

Image credits: K8 / unsplash (not the actual photo)

Image credits: Unthanked_Bus_Driver

Being in close proximity with other people means that sooner or later you’ll have to face some rudeness and entitlement

For many of us, basic politeness and kindness are no-brainers. It’s common sense to treat others with at least some respect. Many of us understand that we should treat others as we ourselves would like to be treated.

Unfortunately, common sense isn’t all that common. And for some folks, rudeness—not courtesy—is their modus operandi.

The fact is that if you work a job where you have to connect with other people, you will, at some point in time, have to deal with rude, entitled, and problematic individuals. In rarer cases, the issues are even more serious, and you may have to tangle with verbally or even physically abusive individuals.

Let’s be clear—nobody, absolutely nobody, deserves to be abused for doing their jobs. Anyone throwing insults at bus drivers (or anyone else for that matter) needs to take a good, long look at their lives. Clearly, they need to rethink how they interact with people.

How someone treats the people who provide a service for them tells a lot about them as individuals and their values.

Drivers should do their best to stay as calm and professional as possible, no matter what happens

For bus drivers, their main priorities are their own safety as well as that of their passengers. So when they face unruly or abusive individuals, they should try to avoid direct confrontation as much as possible.

That means that de-escalation is usually the best approach. It requires staying cool, calm, and collected even under extreme pressure. The key is to avoid being provoked (even if the passenger is clearly in the wrong). Be polite, stay professional, and offer them some sort of solution to their problem.

That’s why a driver’s top skills aren’t just navigation, punctuality, and operating a massive vehicle for long stretches of time. They should also be good communicators and know how to resolve conflicts.

However, in some cases, diplomacy and politeness aren’t enough. If someone continues to be unreasonable, the drivers should follow whatever protocols their company has in place. In some cases, they might need to call their colleagues for advice or the authorities for help.

Hopefully, the companies the drivers work for cover their medical insurance and provide the ability to seek professional help after particularly disturbing experiences. A good therapist can assist with a different perspective on being the victim of abusive behavior and moving forward after that.

What would you have done if you were in the OP’s position, dear Pandas? Do you think they handled the situation the right way? What would you have done in the face of a verbally abusive passenger? How do you treat the public transport employees you meet on your commute? Share your thoughts in the comment section if you happen to have a spare moment.

The author of the post was happy to chat with some of their readers

Other internet users shared their take on what happened while others revealed similar experiences of their own

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