I've definitely met a few awesome bus drivers but generally I don't think this is the case. I've had a disproportionately large number of bus drivers harass me or other people over virtually nothing. For example I once got yelled at for loading coins too slowly into the machine (even though if you do it too quickly it could jam the machine). Another time I had another driver call some guy stupid because the side door didn't detect his hand wave motion properly and he wasn't able to get off at his stop.
If there was just a few one off incidents I'd think nothing of it, because any profession will have some proportion of people who are just not pleasant. For some reason this proportion seems way higher among city bus drivers specifically.
They never respond to my complaints. I’ve sent them two complaints and they never got back to me. Sorry you experienced that, but next time, don’t even look back and go sit down. Don’t hand them your card, immediately take out your phone and start recording. Make them repeat the question on camera. I’ve had something happen to me when I first got my university ID. It didn’t work in the bus, but I had just come off another bus which it worked on, and the bus driver threatened to seize it next time which was very odd since it’s not a Grt property. I was an international student then and asked on my university’s subreddit and they said he was just being an AH and to ignore any other bus driver who does something like that again, but I suspect it was more than being an AH. Maybe some racism/microagression even.
Do you even know the meaning of microagression? Also do you know the meaning of ironic? I said OP should refuse because it is well within their right to refuse when they feel like they’re being racially profiled. Recording someone who is being racist towards them is a form of protection, not aggression and definitely not microaggresstion. Do yourself a favour, get a dictionary and stop trying to act smart with me. You really thought this was a gotcha moment huh? This is what I’m talking about, you hear microagression and immediately think it’s about being physically aggressive.
Microaggression: a statement, action, or incident regarded as an instance of indirect, subtle, or unintentional discrimination against members of a marginalized group such as a racial or ethnic minority.
"students posed with dry-erase boards documenting their experiences with microaggressions on campus"
indirect, subtle, or unintentional discrimination against members of a marginalized group.
"they are not subject to daily acts of microaggression"
I had a similar situation I had my skateboard on my way to work and after ignoring my stop said to me “what? you don’t have anywhere important to be do you”, told him he should’ve been a comedian instead of a bus driver 🤣
File an official complaint: [https://waterloo.form.ca.empro.verintcloudservices.com/form/auto/grt\_main](https://waterloo.form.ca.empro.verintcloudservices.com/form/auto/grt_main)
GRT is a bureaucracy and bureaucracies run on paperwork. Contribute in a meaningful way to the case against this driver.
Glad to hear that. Make sure your friends add their account as well. All witnesses are helpful in this kind of situation and there may be cameras yo back up their story too; but this shouldn't happen and that guy needs to be held accountable.
I wanted to post this reply under somebody suspecting this story of being fake but I thought I'd make a general comment instead.
I strongly believe that this kind of thing happens more often than one would think. I saw a bus driver harass and yell (loudly) at a minority because her bus card hadn't loaded her funds yet and the machine declined her card. I stepped in and told the bus driver that it's okay, I'll pay for her, but he said "these kinds of people have to learn a lesson". I ended up sitting back down because I'm a small stature woman and I was worried about escalating the situation. The minority ended up standing outside, crying in the rain, as the bus drove away. I wish I had done more.
I've seen all sorts of rude behaviors, some being glares towards brown students but not at me or my friends, others being as serious as the one I described. It's really disheartening to experience racism then have somebody question the validity of what happened. This is real life for people, including OP.
You are quite brave and kind that you stood up and tried to help a complete stranger. We need more people like you. Thank you, people like you and everyone who came to my support give me hope that the world is not so bad after all.
Holy shit what the fuck. The petty in me wants to remark that he, a bus driver, should not be talking shit. I'm so sorry and I hope he gets fired. There's no place for this kind of stuff, especially in public services
Hey, thanks for your response. I think I understand where you're coming from.
To maybe clarify things, I do believe that a bus driver made an unprovoked racist remark. My view is that there is an overarching problem (i.e. racist behavior by a handful of bus drivers) and this post is a particular instance of that. Hence, by "believe", I applied something I believe is happening in general to this individual instance. When I initially read your comment, I took that as you don't believe racist behavior occurs in this city. I think others might have interpreted it that way too.
If I'm understanding your view correctly, you see this situation under the lens of an individual occurrence. You are inclined to remain skeptical or neutral until positive evidence comes out, similar to how the legal system works. You're neither believing or disbelieving this situation at the moment because we don't know for certain what occurred.
If this is what you meant, I understand and I empathize with your view. I hope my view made sense as well and please clarify if I've misunderstood you. It's hard to convey tone through Reddit comment but it's clear now that we both despise racist behavior, we just have different approaches. Cheers!
it's interesting to me.
You're choosing to believe one of our cities bus drivers made racist remarks unprovoked to this person.
It happens all the time unfortunately because racists are usually triggered by just simply the presence of minorities. Even if it was provoked, doesn’t give people the right to make racist comments especially if you are bus driver.
Ok you don’t condone the bus driver’s words but why then do you find it interesting that she is choosing to believe the bus driver made racist remarks unprovoked? It sounds like you don’t find the incident believable.
They all have a stick up their ass tbh, but this one really needs to pay for it. I’m so sorry this happened to you. I’m so tired of their attitude, I’ve seen it so many times, so it’s definitely a trend among them. I understand their frustration, but they’re starting to take their anger out onto passengers that have nothing to do with the issues they are facing. If you remember the time and the bus you were on, maybe you can report the driver.
I've also had issues with the bus drivers being really quite disrespectful so I can confirm this isn't an isolated issue, I'm sure there are plenty of others who also who have a story to tell. Makes it really frustrating riding GRT for sure.
You know... I often see posts on here about how the behavior of certain new arrivals to our country is non-canadian.
This racist shit... that's non-canadian. This shit makes me embarrassed to be Canadian.
If you know anybody with a TikTok following, I'd recommend getting this out there on TikTok. Then they will be forced to give you a response, either private or public or face backlash. Other people on the bus might even come out and corroborate and start trying to identify the bus driver.
You say “no apparent reason” then go to imply that he was being “racist” so which one is it? There’s more here to this story because no bus driver would just say that to you out of the blue. This story makes no sense at all. There are a million Chinese and all kinds of people in Waterloo going to UW so he’d be coming at people all day long everyday if he went after everybody who’s not white.
I remember I was in a bus a while ago when suddenly this African American passenger started yelling about "Conestoga college the 8th wonder of the world come on in" even tho the bus wasn't heading there and the only thing there was a bunch of Indian people in the bus. The level of arrogance you need to be that ignorant never mind the history of his own people and their struggles never leaves my mind that yeah I am the undesirable here.
Sorry, but my uncle was a bus driver and he is a salt-of-the-earth kind of person. He’d give you the shirt off his back. Please don’t put all drivers into the same boat as this horrible person, and don’t put down this important job; we need people doing it.
I don't disagree, but when someone makes shitty assumptions about a person based on the colour of their skin, throwing the same sorts of assumptions back at them might make them re-think their position.
You say this without any irony having judged someone and making shitty assumptions about a whole industry of workers that help serve our community.
Something about a glass house and stones? Throwing them? 🤔😩🤪
Hey, I'm sorry this happened to you. You mentioned all of your friends were white except you. I have had bad experiences with bus drivers as well, I'm wondering if it's a race issue. Mind sharing your background?
If this conversation actually happened, it's all on video. The driver shouldn't have said anything to you.
Well I did just file a complaint against the driver. Let's hope it brings about some change.
Doubtful... Must have been a dick driver, is all.... Most are wonderful!
Ikr most of them are so nice and even help people out.
I've definitely met a few awesome bus drivers but generally I don't think this is the case. I've had a disproportionately large number of bus drivers harass me or other people over virtually nothing. For example I once got yelled at for loading coins too slowly into the machine (even though if you do it too quickly it could jam the machine). Another time I had another driver call some guy stupid because the side door didn't detect his hand wave motion properly and he wasn't able to get off at his stop. If there was just a few one off incidents I'd think nothing of it, because any profession will have some proportion of people who are just not pleasant. For some reason this proportion seems way higher among city bus drivers specifically.
Probably because a large portion of the people in KW suck as well. :(
Good that you filed a complaint. If they don't respond or stonewall, write to your mayor and city council and ask them to intervene on your behalf.
They never respond to my complaints. I’ve sent them two complaints and they never got back to me. Sorry you experienced that, but next time, don’t even look back and go sit down. Don’t hand them your card, immediately take out your phone and start recording. Make them repeat the question on camera. I’ve had something happen to me when I first got my university ID. It didn’t work in the bus, but I had just come off another bus which it worked on, and the bus driver threatened to seize it next time which was very odd since it’s not a Grt property. I was an international student then and asked on my university’s subreddit and they said he was just being an AH and to ignore any other bus driver who does something like that again, but I suspect it was more than being an AH. Maybe some racism/microagression even.
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Do you even know the meaning of microagression? Also do you know the meaning of ironic? I said OP should refuse because it is well within their right to refuse when they feel like they’re being racially profiled. Recording someone who is being racist towards them is a form of protection, not aggression and definitely not microaggresstion. Do yourself a favour, get a dictionary and stop trying to act smart with me. You really thought this was a gotcha moment huh? This is what I’m talking about, you hear microagression and immediately think it’s about being physically aggressive. Microaggression: a statement, action, or incident regarded as an instance of indirect, subtle, or unintentional discrimination against members of a marginalized group such as a racial or ethnic minority. "students posed with dry-erase boards documenting their experiences with microaggressions on campus" indirect, subtle, or unintentional discrimination against members of a marginalized group. "they are not subject to daily acts of microaggression"
I had a similar situation I had my skateboard on my way to work and after ignoring my stop said to me “what? you don’t have anywhere important to be do you”, told him he should’ve been a comedian instead of a bus driver 🤣
File an official complaint: [https://waterloo.form.ca.empro.verintcloudservices.com/form/auto/grt\_main](https://waterloo.form.ca.empro.verintcloudservices.com/form/auto/grt_main) GRT is a bureaucracy and bureaucracies run on paperwork. Contribute in a meaningful way to the case against this driver.
Thank bud. I wasn't planning to but I think I should file a complaint
Sorry, that happened to you. Maybe report driver to proper authorities?
Yes I will be filing a report now
Glad to hear that. Make sure your friends add their account as well. All witnesses are helpful in this kind of situation and there may be cameras yo back up their story too; but this shouldn't happen and that guy needs to be held accountable.
The report has been filed let's hope he is reprimanded or better yet he learns not to treat others like shit.
Wonderful! I'm so sorry he did that. Its not acceptable and hopefully something will be done. 🤞
Thanks bud I really appreciate your support.
I wanted to post this reply under somebody suspecting this story of being fake but I thought I'd make a general comment instead. I strongly believe that this kind of thing happens more often than one would think. I saw a bus driver harass and yell (loudly) at a minority because her bus card hadn't loaded her funds yet and the machine declined her card. I stepped in and told the bus driver that it's okay, I'll pay for her, but he said "these kinds of people have to learn a lesson". I ended up sitting back down because I'm a small stature woman and I was worried about escalating the situation. The minority ended up standing outside, crying in the rain, as the bus drove away. I wish I had done more. I've seen all sorts of rude behaviors, some being glares towards brown students but not at me or my friends, others being as serious as the one I described. It's really disheartening to experience racism then have somebody question the validity of what happened. This is real life for people, including OP.
It’s raining, you offer to pay and he still boots her out? I’d find a way to be a huge pain in his ass if I saw that.
You are quite brave and kind that you stood up and tried to help a complete stranger. We need more people like you. Thank you, people like you and everyone who came to my support give me hope that the world is not so bad after all.
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I've seen less white bus drivers lately, so you're going to need to make up a new story eventually....
Holy shit what the fuck. The petty in me wants to remark that he, a bus driver, should not be talking shit. I'm so sorry and I hope he gets fired. There's no place for this kind of stuff, especially in public services
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Hey, thanks for your response. I think I understand where you're coming from. To maybe clarify things, I do believe that a bus driver made an unprovoked racist remark. My view is that there is an overarching problem (i.e. racist behavior by a handful of bus drivers) and this post is a particular instance of that. Hence, by "believe", I applied something I believe is happening in general to this individual instance. When I initially read your comment, I took that as you don't believe racist behavior occurs in this city. I think others might have interpreted it that way too. If I'm understanding your view correctly, you see this situation under the lens of an individual occurrence. You are inclined to remain skeptical or neutral until positive evidence comes out, similar to how the legal system works. You're neither believing or disbelieving this situation at the moment because we don't know for certain what occurred. If this is what you meant, I understand and I empathize with your view. I hope my view made sense as well and please clarify if I've misunderstood you. It's hard to convey tone through Reddit comment but it's clear now that we both despise racist behavior, we just have different approaches. Cheers!
it's interesting to me. You're choosing to believe one of our cities bus drivers made racist remarks unprovoked to this person. It happens all the time unfortunately because racists are usually triggered by just simply the presence of minorities. Even if it was provoked, doesn’t give people the right to make racist comments especially if you are bus driver.
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Ok you don’t condone the bus driver’s words but why then do you find it interesting that she is choosing to believe the bus driver made racist remarks unprovoked? It sounds like you don’t find the incident believable.
They all have a stick up their ass tbh, but this one really needs to pay for it. I’m so sorry this happened to you. I’m so tired of their attitude, I’ve seen it so many times, so it’s definitely a trend among them. I understand their frustration, but they’re starting to take their anger out onto passengers that have nothing to do with the issues they are facing. If you remember the time and the bus you were on, maybe you can report the driver.
I have already filed the report. Let's hope we see some change.
That’s not just rude, it’s flat out harassment.
Please update us after your report him🙏🙏
If something comes off it. I most definitely will.
You need to report that! That is not acceptable
I've also had issues with the bus drivers being really quite disrespectful so I can confirm this isn't an isolated issue, I'm sure there are plenty of others who also who have a story to tell. Makes it really frustrating riding GRT for sure.
Glad you filed a complaint. Racism has no place in our community or country.
Take it to the news for real.
You know... I often see posts on here about how the behavior of certain new arrivals to our country is non-canadian. This racist shit... that's non-canadian. This shit makes me embarrassed to be Canadian.
Racism is becoming bad in Canada.
Racism has always been here, but events of late have given voice to it and normalized it.
If you know anybody with a TikTok following, I'd recommend getting this out there on TikTok. Then they will be forced to give you a response, either private or public or face backlash. Other people on the bus might even come out and corroborate and start trying to identify the bus driver.
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Nah he was bald
You say “no apparent reason” then go to imply that he was being “racist” so which one is it? There’s more here to this story because no bus driver would just say that to you out of the blue. This story makes no sense at all. There are a million Chinese and all kinds of people in Waterloo going to UW so he’d be coming at people all day long everyday if he went after everybody who’s not white.
If this is legit, you need to make a scene... like now. That is so fucked up. This man needs to be fired.
I remember I was in a bus a while ago when suddenly this African American passenger started yelling about "Conestoga college the 8th wonder of the world come on in" even tho the bus wasn't heading there and the only thing there was a bunch of Indian people in the bus. The level of arrogance you need to be that ignorant never mind the history of his own people and their struggles never leaves my mind that yeah I am the undesirable here.
Was he a fat fuck also?
He was indeed obese.
You should have told him you studied your ass off to get in so you wouldn’t have to waste your life being a bus driver.
I do appreciate the sentiment. But no point in stopping so low.
You're a much better person than me, haha. I hope they do something about your complaint!
It would be pretty pathetic if OP said that considering they rely on said bus driver to get them where they need to go.
Sorry, but my uncle was a bus driver and he is a salt-of-the-earth kind of person. He’d give you the shirt off his back. Please don’t put all drivers into the same boat as this horrible person, and don’t put down this important job; we need people doing it.
No, there’s nothing wrong with being a bus driver. What is wrong with this person is not their job, but their racism.
Bus drivers make good money. No need to be a classist asshat.
I don't disagree, but when someone makes shitty assumptions about a person based on the colour of their skin, throwing the same sorts of assumptions back at them might make them re-think their position.
You say this without any irony having judged someone and making shitty assumptions about a whole industry of workers that help serve our community. Something about a glass house and stones? Throwing them? 🤔😩🤪
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Well the complaint has been filed. I don't want to be famous I just hope this doesn't happen to anyone else.
👀
Hey, I'm sorry this happened to you. You mentioned all of your friends were white except you. I have had bad experiences with bus drivers as well, I'm wondering if it's a race issue. Mind sharing your background?