My neighbor changed how I see the bus stop line

I was waiting for the 7:15 bus yesterday morning, same as always, and got into a chat with an older guy who rides the same route. He pointed out how everyone stands about three feet back from the curb, even when the bus isn't there yet. He said, "We all make our own little invisible line, don't we? The bus pulls up to the same spot whether we're on the curb or not." It hit different because I never thought about it. I just copied what everyone else did on my first day. Now I'm wondering why we do that. Is it a safety thing, or just a habit we all picked up? What's the deal with your bus stop?

2 comments

2 Comments

nathan19312d agoMost Upvoted

Wait three weeks before someone told him? That's wild.

elizabeth_ramirez12d ago

We had this weird thing at the stop by my old apartment. The official sign was on one corner, but for years everyone actually waited on the opposite corner, a full twenty feet away. The bus drivers all knew to stop there instead. A new guy moved in and started waiting at the actual sign, and he kept getting left behind because the bus just blew right past him. It took three weeks before someone finally told him the real spot. We just get these routines stuck in our heads and never question them.