Genesis.

Many believe the origin of The Bus Loop is shrouded in mystery and has been relegated to the realm of folklore, however it was the following incident from whence The Bus Loop was born…

… as written by Danielle (@daniella_163):

It was early Monday morning. I was taking the SkyTrain to New West, like I usually do and this young guy got on at Columbia. He stood in the middle of the train by the doors hanging onto the centre pole. Suddenly, and without warning,  he began to pole dance. 7.30am – I wasn’t nearly caffeinated enough for an early morning show. I continued to watch, as he moved as if possessed by some tawdry 80’s music (Pat Benatar and Tina Turner come to mind). He began talking very loudly about his girlfriend, then the talking turned into singing. The topic of choice? How all girls, including his girlfriend (who was apparently cheating on him) are whores… He went on, but for fear of permanent scarring, I have blocked it from my memory.  It was a Crazy scene! Before exiting at New West Station, he pointed his index finger and thumb into a “pistol” and “aimed” at random passengers. No one took him too seriously, I noticed a few smirks from fellow passengers. Luckily, pole dancer dude was harmless – but also completely nuts.

I noticed he started to walk in the direction of Columbia Station but, didn’t really think anything of it. I was more concerned with seeing my friends as quickly as possible so, I could tell them about yet another crazy SkyTrain story. While I waited for everyone to show up, Sanda texts me to tell me she has a crazy story to tell me, as well… Awesome, my Monday morning just got slightly more entertaining.

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Sanda (@thebusloop) writes:

I’m on the SkyTrain. It’s sometime after 7.30am on a Monday morning and  I can barely keep my eyes open. I start dreaming about what I am going to order at Starbucks (Hmm, An Americano with oat fudge bar…) when suddenly, I get a text from my friend Danielle about some guy being a pole dancer. This is exactly what I need to wake up, a coffee and a crazy story. I can’t wait to hear about it!  I get off the train at Columbia Station and as I am walking down the stairs I hear someone singing at the top of their lungs. I turn the corner to see this seemingly normal-looking guy on the pay phone singing into it and doing the running man, seriously. I’m trying looking nonchalant but, I can’t help myself and I slow down and watch the scene unfold. As I walk towards the Columbia Street exit, I notice that he’s not really talking to anyone on the phone. In fact, there’s probably no one on the other end. He’s singing about how his girlfriend is a stripper, how he knows she’s cheating on him and how all girls are ho’s… All the while, still doing the running man. You wonder how I knew there wasn’t actually anyone on the other end of the phone? Because a phone is a less efficient form of communication when held upside down!  Anyways, the singing eventually turns to shouting, but the subject matter remains the same… Strippers, whores, and cheating girlfriends. He eventually ran off up the stairs, still yelling about his cheating, stripper girlfriend. Now I had a crazy SkyTrain story to share too!  This is going to be good…

…I barely had time to sit down and take a sip of my coffee when Danielle started me telling about pole dancing guy on the SkyTrain and then imitated him singing his song. I recognized the song immediately! Who could forget it? Apparently, pole dancing guy had done a loop, continuing his antics from one station to the next and back. Gotta love this small world we live in!

I figured that all these stories, crazy, funny, strange, would also be appreciated by the normal among us who also frequent transit. And so, The Bus Loop was created…

Field Reports: Crazy Comes Standard, Pt. 1

Story by Danielle Goss, @daniella_163:

Throughout my College and working life, taking transit has become routine for me.  The best part about it is the entertainment from random crazies no matter what time of day you ride the SkyTrain or take the bus.

I have had quite a few colourful interactions throughout my years of using Transit and some pretty scary experiences. I am generally very outgoing and once I’m awake (usually by noon), I enjoy talking to random people which can either make for a good story to tell or requires a restraining order. Unfortunately, I’ve had to find out the hard way! I do try to stay away from the dangerously crazy people but sometimes my chattiness gets the best of me and I don’t succeed…

My friend and I were taking the SkyTrain back from downtown at about 9:30 pm. Yeah, it was a pretty tame night, nothing too crazy. This guy gets on our train, obviously drunk but, not just drunk, Stupid-Drunk. Oh, and did I mention he was bleeding profusely from an open wound on his head?! He staggers over to where my friend and I are sitting and tries to hit on us. Awesome. Slurred speech is so not hot. Neither is being drunk and bloody. All the while he’s drinking a beer, still bleeding from the head and trying to chat us up. Of course, my curiosity got the better of me and I asked him what happened. He said he got into a fight… Well, no kidding! He started swaying closer to us and refused to get off the SkyTrain until we got off. Great, not only was this guy stupid-drunk, bleeding and drinking in public, he was Belligerent! My friend and I decided to get off at the next stop. We used the transit phone to call security. While  I was on the phone with Transit Security, stupid-drunk guy was still trying to have a conversation with us! By this point we were freaking out and I asked the person on the phone if he could see us on the security cameras. He said NO. Sort of scary, because anything could have happened and at that time there weren’t any cameras on the SkyTrain either. Anyways, Translink police eventually came and escorted stupid-drunk guy away so, my friend and I could go home, in peace. In one piece! I’ve noticed the newer trains have cameras which is an added security feature but, the security cameras just record the craziness. When there aren’t any Transit Security officers around, there’s still potential for a lot of crazy stuff to happen without anyone to help. Luckily, police officers came in time and stupid-drunk guy was more of a pain in the ass than a serious threat.

I have more stories, the next is funny, I promise! Anyways, stay tuned…

Bus Pants… Necessary or Necessity?

Recently the state of some of the SkyTrain cars in Vancouver has gotten me seriously considering the concept of “Bus Pants”…

What are Bus Pants you ask?

UrbanDictionary.com defines bus pants as, They are pants one wears over one’s regular pants when one sits on bus seats that other people have previously sat on. Or as seen in the following excerpt  from The Big Bang Theory. Season 4, Episode 12: “The Bus Pants Utilization”

Sheldon: All right, I suppose I’ll go put on my bus pants.

Leonard: What the hell are bus pants?

Sheldon: They are pants one wears over one’s regular pants when one sits on bus seats that other people have previously sat on. But perhaps from your lofty heights atop the corporate ladder, you’ve lost touch with the struggles of the common man.

Seriously though, if you don’t think Bus Pants are all that necessary, just read this article from the NY Times on the Bacteria found on seats of the BART trains! Kinda makes me itchy thinking about it…

Inspired by bus driver…

Today I experienced something on the bus that I had never experienced before… a funny, enjoyable and truly helpful bus driver who actually made the 10 minutes I spent on the bus today a joy.  It inspired me to search the internet looking for stories of other bus drivers who take it upon themselves to make the world a better place for their passengers.  This search led me to a story about Christopher Dolan, an opera-singing bus driver from New York City.

His story has given me an idea that can help save the world. If all bus companies would require the road-safe talents of their bus drivers to be displayed during operation (and train those whose only discernible talent is driving a bus to offer more), it would increase ridership, which would decrease congestion and carbon emissions and lower our reliance on fossil fuels. Wow, look at that, my first post and I have solved the world’s energy problems.

Anyways, you can check out the whole story here or a video of Christopher in action below (albeit, not on a bus).