Since starting college nearly two years ago, I've taken hundreds of bus rides. I would estimate that anywhere from 95-99% of those buses have been driven by men. On almost every occasion when there has been a driver swap, a female driver has been replaced by a male one but I cannot recall the other way around ever occurring.
Today, something I've never seen before happened: A female bus driver, at the end of her shift, was replaced by another woman. Yep, a long route I was taking featured only women at the helm. There weren't any men around to guide or pester them - the women were in charge.
I'm sure that female bus drivers do succeed other female bus drivers at shift endings more often than I've observed it happening but given that bus driving is a heavily male-dominated profession, I thought this was a fascinating event to witness. More female bus drivers would be highly welcome - the last bus driver I had at the end of the day was also a woman and an absolutely lovely human being. Unlike a handful of the men, all of the women bus drivers I've encountered so far have been happy and positive.
I've seen a few, none of them pretty.
ReplyDeleteTo be fair, the driving quality is the most important issue, as we need good drivers on the buses, but the ones I've seen have been pleasing to the eyes. :)
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