My "bus anecdote" to add to the pile is that after nearly a year of not riding because of covid (first because my son was at home all day with us, and then because we walked back and forth to his daycare to avoid extra risk of exposure), the first bus we got on the driver recognized us and greeted my son _by name_ and we chatted and showed him the picture of the "MBTA bus driver" costume he'd worn for Halloween that year.
My son truly does love riding the bus, he memorizes all the stops and then acts out the bus route with his toys at home, calling out the stops in the "robot voice" of the announcer. I really wish we could get the investment and reforms needed to make it reliable, as 15 minute headway during peak evening time (not to mention they often skip buses so that ends up being 30 minutes) keeps us from riding in the evening as much as he'd like and we instead just walk home from school.
My "bus anecdote" to add to the pile is that after nearly a year of not riding because of covid (first because my son was at home all day with us, and then because we walked back and forth to his daycare to avoid extra risk of exposure), the first bus we got on the driver recognized us and greeted my son _by name_ and we chatted and showed him the picture of the "MBTA bus driver" costume he'd worn for Halloween that year.
My son truly does love riding the bus, he memorizes all the stops and then acts out the bus route with his toys at home, calling out the stops in the "robot voice" of the announcer. I really wish we could get the investment and reforms needed to make it reliable, as 15 minute headway during peak evening time (not to mention they often skip buses so that ends up being 30 minutes) keeps us from riding in the evening as much as he'd like and we instead just walk home from school.