This morning I climbed aboard my usual GO bus, happy to see that my regular driver had returned. Last week, we had a new "spare" driver every day. Only one knew where he was going. Three of them tried to turn right onto Bloor Street in Oshawa instead of left towards the GO station which was met with a chorus of "Go left!" from people on the bus.
One driver had difficulty seeing the GO bus stops (I agree, the signs could be bigger) and drove past a few people who then had to run a good 300 meters to where he came to a squealing stop after passengers told him he had missed picking people up.
He missed the Oshawa Centre. I have no idea how one misses the Oshawa Centre, but he did. All of us were patient and gracious. We understand these temporary drivers are from other routes and do their best. It helps to have regular passengers willing to guide a driver to his destination.
Anyhoodles, back to this morning. I tapped my Presto card and moved towards a seat at the back. Within seconds of turning towards to the back of the bus I was assaulted with a waft of cooked cabbage.
So I turned back towards the driver, "What in God's name is that awful smell?" I asked him.
He sniffs and says, "The bus was just cleaned."
I said, "What were they using, cooked cabbage leaves? Is it a new Febreeze fragrance?"
He shrugged, claiming the bus smelled fine to him.
A man turned to me and said he could smell something funky, saying he thought it was just someone eating breakfast.
Gagging, I said loudly, "I honestly don't want to know what kind of breakfast that is... it stinks!"
I sat down, burying my nose in my scarf.
As the bus made its way towards the station, I was watching the reactions of people climbing onto the bus. We're so gracious as a society sometimes. People scrunched up their noses and made faces but no one other than me questioned the smell.
I am telling you, buy a cabbage, boil it and then carry the pot to a bathroom and shut the door. Go in after 20 minutes.
Worst smell ever.
I know this story is lame but I promised a few people I would try to write a post for today. This is all I've got - cooked cabbage on a bus.
Have you thought of creating a forum people could post to here?
ReplyDeleteIt could have various topics, like "stinky buses", "Presto card woes" and such for people to chat about.
The smell is one of the many reasons why I refuse to eat cabbage. Ugh. Not what you want to smell that early in the morning. Or well, ever.
ReplyDeleteThis is the forum. If you're talking about some kind of "board" or specific set-up, oh hella no. I do not have the means nor the time.
ReplyDeleteI do this for free. This is enough.
A few weeks ago a driver had the most foul smelling seat, you could smell it upon entering the bus. I described it as a comination BO and hockey bag smell. The only explanation is that the previous driver or mechanic must have had poor hygiene. I believe the current driver emptied a can of lysol over the seat...
ReplyDelete