When a missed bus equals a free ride

A true and twisted tale

Aug 01, 2024

Furious rapping on the side of the bus. Everyone looks up as we’ve pulled out of the stop and are now at a red light. I’m straining to see the source of the ruckus when the bus door swings open and in charges a woman, defiance in every stride.

“Asshole!” she curses in the direction of the driver. Then, instead of going up to pay, she finds an empty seat and sits down, still swearing.

The driver pokes his head out and glares at the woman who’s now complaining about the “asshole driver” to her neighbour, who looks a little scared. Everyone else is holding their breath and praying whatever confrontation results doesn’t delay their journey home.

Seconds tick by. I imagine the driver mentally playing out scenarios. Finally he decides one fare isn’t worth the trouble and turns his attention back on the road. The light turns green and we continue on our way.

The woman is beaming, triumphant. I turn away before she sees the distaste on my face.

A grave injustice

A short while later, the woman receives a phone call. At a volume high enough for the entire bus to overhear, she asks the caller to please send her some work report, profusely thanks them, then animatedly recounts the “grave injustice” she’s just suffered at the hands of the “asshole driver.”

She had run to catch our bus but didn’t make it to the stop in time. She then caught up with us at the red light and banged on the door to be let in, which she was. And this grievous incident somehow gave her licence to snag a free ride and verbally abuse the very person who had just done her a favour.

A few stops later, the woman reaches her destination. I’m half-hoping for the driver to refuse to open the door until she pays, but he lets her go scot-free. She exits smirking.

What a life she must lead.

Toxic belief for a toxic life

For the rest of my bus journey, I’m racking my brains to identify what toxic belief led this woman to her unshakeable conclusion that an event as banal as missing the bus is a “grave injustice” that justifies her flouting all the rules.

Is it a belief that she can do no wrong? That everyone must bend to her will? That just because she ran to catch the bus, the driver must wait for her even though he has left the stop and isn’t supposed to pick up stray passengers for safety reasons?

Admittedly, my character assessment is based on a single observation, yet I can’t help but see her as incredibly entitled. No matter that I’m five seconds too late, I have a right to be on this bus because I ran for it.

This sense of entitlement then led her to leave the safety of the pavement, follow us all the way to the red light, bang on the door to be let on, refuse to pay, then badmouth the driver to everyone of sound hearing in a ten-metre radius.

Not that entitlement, by itself, is the problem here. Everyone is entitled to basic human rights like freedom from slavery, the right to education, presumed innocence—things fundamental to living a dignified life. It’s when you start feeling entitled to every little thing that you become the woman on the bus, throwing a tantrum like a child refused a toy and embarrassing everyone but herself.

And just think: if she’s making such a fuss out of missing one bus, how much more incendiary will she be if she gets stood up by her date, is denied a promotion, loses her home?

What a tiring, toxic way to live.

What do you think?

If you run to catch a bus and miss it, would you do what this woman did? Would you believe you’re entitled to take whatever action is required to right this wrong?

Of course you wouldn’t.

But what about when you don’t get a promotion you think you deserve? When a friend you’ve always been good to refuses to help you the one time you ask? What then?

Do you ever cry “injustice” when something doesn’t go your way? Feel entitled to right that wrong in less than honourable ways?

Be honest. We’ve all been there, done that. Please hit “reply” or leave a comment—I read every response and I’d love to hear from you. If you want, share this post with a friend you’ll never refuse to help.