The bum

A bum gets on my bus and asks "Can I have a ride, I lost my bus pass". "It's a fare paid zone, if you want to take the risk of getting a $173 ticket, then go right ahead" I reply. I never say yes or no outright. A lot of drivers will say no. I won't. Most driver assaults occur because of fare disputes so if I inform rather than enforce, and by doing so I reduce the chances of something happening to me. 



The bum gets on and takes a seat. I'm not deaf but I do have trouble hearing if there's a lot of background noise. I was driving a diesel bus (not exactly the quietest bus in the fleet) and since it was cold I had the heat and the fans on. The bum moves from his seat to stand behind me and says "I really don't appreciate you ignoring me, I'm a human being as well" "I'm sorry, sir. I just don't hear very well, can you repeat what you said" I reply. "I just hope that the people in this city learn a little bit more respect." he says. "Really? I thought most people in this city were fairly nice/respectful etc..." I say. "Where I'm from a bus driver would NEVER speak to me the way you just spoke to me. They actually have manners and understand that it's not our fault we're in this situation. Hell you should be paying me to ride your bus. I can't believe that you would speak to me like that. It's young people like you that are ruining the world." he rants. "Sir, I honestly did not mean any disrespect. I let you have a ride, most drivers wouldn't allow that but I did. I was just informing you of the risks you're taking by getting on the bus without a ticket. What if someone had got on and checked fares and you received a ticket? You could then blame me for not telling you that could happen. I just believe that everyone that rides the bus without a fare needs to know the potential consequences." I reply. "You fucking bitch. You think you're so high and mighty...looking down on people like me? You don't know what it's like!" he yells. He then got off the bus before I could even say a word. 



On one hand it is quite sad that there are so many homeless in the city but on the other hand I think a lot of them need to take more responsibility for their actions instead of blaming others. I do believe that the government needs to provide more low income housing instead of tearing it all down. And I know our minimum wage is too low to allow people to live above the poverty line. It's been frozen for four years; I think they need to increase it by at least ten dollars in order to give people a fighting chance. This is an expensive city to live in and they need to start realising that. Either raise minimum wage or provide more low income housing. It is hard for me to be sympathetic sometimes. I've gotten to know quite a few of these bums. Some of them, for instance the one that just reamed me out, just choose to not work. There are so many jobs to be had in the city where you don't need to have an education. A lot of them even pay more than minimum wage. I asked one bum why he didn't work, and he said it was too stressful for him. I know for a fact he's clean, sober and in his right mind. Maybe I'm just not getting it. To me, I would find it more stressful to be on the streets; constantly worried about where I'm going to sleep, where my next meal's coming from etc. I also find there's a certain dignity in hard work. Sure it can be stressful and not every job is going to be a tiptoe thru the tulips, some are just going to suck but in my mind the fact that you've worked hard for your money and that you're honest makes up for that. I don't know, I personally couldn't handle begging for money. I need to retain some shred of dignity.