Big news in the bus world

No, it's not better conditions, or a pay rise.

I’ve resigned.

That’s right. After 459 days as a bus driver I have thrown in the towel. It’s a bittersweet moment, and for those of you who stay subscribed, I’ll be going into more detail about my resignation in a week or so.

In the meantime, this is an open invitation to come and ride with me. I only have nine more days driving until I finish on 16 August. That day is a rostered day off, so I’ll be handing in my cash box and probably my uniform (so I can’t impersonate a driver in my spare time).

Here’s my schedule:

My first trip of the day is a school run to St Mary’s College, Wellington Girls, and Queen Margaret College, so no public is allowed on that one.

My day really begins doing the #4 from Mairangi. The trip starts at the corner of Norwich Street and Wilton Road. It leaves at 8.50 am and goes via Kelburn, the University, The Terrace, through town via Lambton Quay and Courtenay Place, then up through Newtown, past the hospital, Kilbirnie, Miramar and then up to Strathmore Heights. I arrive at the terminus at 9.58 am and then turn around and do the same trip in reverse leaving Strathmore at 10.00 am.

Then it’s my break until I start again at 3.19 pm. That’s a #21 from Courtenay Place, except because of road works, it starts outside the Wesley Methodist Church at the bottom of Taranaki Street. The 21 is a great route, turning up Ghuznee Street, then past Vic Uni, Kelburn, through the tunnel, up Birdwood Street and winds through the backblocks of Karori before arriving at the stop near the Karori Library on Beauchamp St.

I have a 30-minute break before I make the return journey back into town. This is the #21 that leaves Beauchamp Street at 4.20 pm.

I drop passengers off at the bottom of Taranaki Street because there’s currently no right turn into Courtenay Place.

The next trip is the #21 back to Karori, leaving Taranaki Street at 4.50 pm.

Then I do another #21 from Karori back to the city, leaving Beauchamp Street at 5.26 pm. That has hardly anyone on it so it’s a fun ride.

My final trip of the day is #13 from Brandon Street, leaving at 5.57 pm. It’s seldom that I ever leave on time for that one, so I could be running up to five or six minutes late. This is the ‘express’ bus to Mairangi. It goes along Lambton Quay then straight up Bowen onto Glenmore, past the Botanical Gardens, through the Karori tunnel, then up to Northland and through to Mairangi, final stop at the bust stop on the corner of Mairangi Road and Norwich Street. I get to the end at around 6.20 pm

It’d be wonderful to see you, especially those who have been so supportive of my writing. If you do hop on, and we’ve never met in person, please introduce yourself and sit up the front. It really is the best view in town.

I have a few other stories to tell before we wrap this up, so don’t unsubscribe just yet.

And you may well ask what I’m going to be doing as ‘not-a-bus-driver’. Well, my better half and I are heading over to Portugal to walk the Portuguese Camino from Porto to Santiago de Compostela. It’s only 260 km. How hard can it be? I’m hoping to write about our pilgrimage here on Thanks, Driver! as well as share some illustrations and photos as we go. If you are into that then stick around.

When we get back, I’m not sure what I’ll be doing. Watch this space.

In the meantime, honestly, I’d love to see you on the bus to help me celebrate my time as a mover of people. I’ll give you a warm welcome, and a hearty farewell.

Hugs from the bus! Peace.

P.S. There are no free rides, so please bring cash, your Snapper Card, or your SuperGold Card (for those old enough).

From 16 August 2024 I’ll be Not in Service.