The Hollies had a song about it, how a romance developed in the queue, and I have always derived pleasure from watching and mentally noting, the oddities of human nature at a bus stop. In years gone by, when an accepted mode of transport in the city was via the municipal bus service, the bus stop was where it all happened. Generally, the people who were ahead of time would arrive at the bus stop at a saunter and, having glanced up the road and checked their watch, would take a seat.
Usually more to the one side of the bench and not in the centre as this would give the appearance of dominance over the other people still to arrive. Sitting just off of centre, showed willingness to share and sitting totally to one side portrayed one as being inconsequential in the seating arrangement.
The next arrival would perhaps nod a greeting, without being too familiar, and take a seat away from passenger number one at the other end of the bench. Number one would now check the time and glance up the road. No bus in sight yet! A prerequisite at that time for people with school going children, was living along a bus route, so chances would be that a gaggle of giggling school girls would descend on the stop, and drop their bottoms onto the bench, taking the open space in the centre.
By virtue of this, any more adults arriving now would view the full bench and perhaps disgruntedly stand behind the bench and glare at the girls, in a smirky way, that the girls had the seating. By now passengers number one and two were now both checking watches and looking earnestly up the road, willing the bus to arrive as the initial quietness was now shattered.
Where is that damn bus? More passengers had now arrived and some, being bored and wishing time away, would start meaningless discussion about the weather or why the bus was late or merely scuffed their way around the bus stop, like chickens scratching for food. Where was that bus? The school girls did not worry too much, as this was a chance to copy over forgotten homework.
I am sure we all did that at some stage during our school career. There is the bus. Passengers one and two get to their feet, not too eagerly though so as not to startle the rest and stand expectantly at the kerb. Now the jostling part of the departure phase begins as the girls, being a group, use their smiles and bustling nature to forge their path onto the bus. Number one and two were wise to this and cleverly use the girl cluster to their advantage and get on to the bus first.
A few late comers race very untidily and clumsily toward the bus, whispering good thoughts to the bus driver to just wait a minute or more. Please wait. All are aboard and off we go.
The giggling girls have hardly missed a beat in conversation or homework cribbing. Tomorrow morning will be a repeat performance, with minor variations, of the bus stop pantomime. But that was then. No longer is this method of transportation safe or reliable, as this was an echo of a bygone era – never to return.
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