It’s hot; the shuttle is vibrating and I hit my head on a rail. I’m anxiously counting down the minutes until my class starts and it smells weird. The Anteater Express comes to a screeching halt at UTC and I sit, waiting as other students stampede by me. I toss my backpack on and join the stampede, then hop off the bus, making sure to make contact with the curb and not fall on my face.
But right before I hop off, I encounter a moral conflict. No, I didn’t steal anything and no, I am not about to cheat on a test. Should I stay thank you to the bus driver? I have yet to reach a definite conclusion, so I usually manage to jumble out a hurried, high-pitched “thank you” about half the time, but I need resolution in this decision.
I know, it sounds trivial, but I go through this conflict at least twice a day. You think I would have made my mind up already, but I always ponder it for that flicker of a second on my departure, then brush it away as the tasks of walking to class or back home consume my immediate thoughts. Then I don’t revisit it until the next time I ride the mighty Anteater express, which sets my mind on an endless repeat – until I decided to write this article.
I’m not sure why I hesitate to say thank you every time to the drivers. I say thank you to every other service employee. I am a firm believer that how you treat those serving you is an absolute indicator of character. I say thank you to waitresses, bussers, taxi drivers, cashiers, tech support. If I say thank you to an uber driver or a taxi driver, why don’t I say thank you to the shuttle drivers 100% of the time? Is it because 95% of my peer riders don’t do it? Do the shuttle drivers think it’s weird for me to thank them? The drivers wave at each other when they drive by each other, should I wave goodbye and thank them as I get off?
If anyone has any shuttle driver friends, let me know what the general consensus is. I have decided that I should say thank you every one of my joyous rides on the shuttle, despite any hesitations I may have. But now my main question is: why doesn’t everyone else say thank you? Are we all rude, or are we all pondering this same moral dilemma, only to be eclipsed by seemingly more immediate, personal matters? If we all start saying thank you, will it catch on?
