i get desperately,madly,irrationally pissed off by this
i live in a university town and it is (or would appear to be) common courtesy to say 'thank you' to the bus driver after he lets you off at your stop.
For reasons unknown to me this makes me very,very irrationally angry.
My problem is : "Why?"
Our drivers are rude,uncouth,a danger to the public in general and old ladies in particular,abusive*,ungracious** and generally unpleasant.
and to top it off it's an accepted social norm to say thank you for this teeth-clenchingly unsafe and impolite service?
If I had endured a taxi ride from a driver who randomly swerved at pedestrians,argued with me over where I actually wanted to go and berated me for being 'a bloody student' I certainly wouldn't smile and thank him,I'd tell him to fuck off.
why do we pay lip-service to the sometimes-appalling facility these dangerous morons provide?
Fuck them.

(Having said that,some of them are rather nice - usually the young ones).

*The aforementioned 'bloody students' episode.
** Our buses travel on a circular route at a fixed charge.one bright morning I tried to get a bus to uni and was told that the bus wasn't going there.I pointed out the aforementioned facts and recieved a rather rude reply to the effect that I would have to pay extra.I reaffirmed the company's position on the fixed rate.I was told to "fuck off,posh boy."
(Fuckpig "That's not even a pound a midget.", Tue 30 Jun 2009, 1:29, 8 replies)

simple
don't
( Want Bartender Time gentlemen please.., Tue 30 Jun 2009, 1:40, closed)

This shits me too.
People do it here too, though our drivers aren't as bad as it sounds yours are. But what I don't get is, even if they're not horrible bastards, why are you thanking them for doing their job?
I say thank-you when they do something nice - like wait for me when they see me running for the bus (they often don't wait around here) - but why thank them for doing an average job?

But what really really bugs me is when people yell out thank-you to the driver when getting off at the backdoor of a long bus. He can't even hear you, you idiot! Is it just habit that they don't think about? Are they deliberately devaluing a phrase that I like to think actually means something? Do I just not understand what's considered normal?
(xanthine, Tue 30 Jun 2009, 3:13, closed)

I see this where I live too
and have long believed that it's more 'Thank FUCK/Christ I survived THAT!'
No other explanation is possible.
(Juan Quar is clinging to her front teeth on, Tue 30 Jun 2009, 6:30, closed)

I do it as a way of injecting some politeness and civility into the experience.
However, I dont use buses very often. I'm sure if I used them daily I would quickly lose all sense of good manners.
( Colonel Dracula Two manky hookers and a racist dwarf, Tue 30 Jun 2009, 9:19, closed)

Common courtesy?
What's difficult about thanking someone? Why is it that people really have to earn a passing acknowledgment?

I totally agree that some bus drivers are rude, obtuse, and bad at their job. But I'm not going to assume that they're all bastards, because clearly they're not. To that end, if I think the bus driver has been pleasant and given me a decent journey, it won't exactly kill me to say 'thanks' as I go out the door.
( Rookie You'll have to speak up, I'm wearing a towel, Tue 30 Jun 2009, 9:24, closed)

I was about to have a rant, but this ^ sums it up.
Cheers

EDIT: Plus, if you're really annoyed by his attitude/driving skillz then add a twinge of sarcasm as you thank him. It's more infuriating than being ignored.
(TheColonel, Tue 30 Jun 2009, 12:53, closed)

It depends if he deserves thanks...
If the bus driver has gotten me where I want to be (within the confines of the bus route at least) in a pleasant and acceptable manner, than it is only polite to say thank you to him.

If he is a surly bugger, driving horribly and being rude to old ladies, then he doesn't deserve any acknowledgement of a job well done, because it wasn't.

Same goes to any public service, if someone has been nice to me I say thanks, whether they are pouring me a pint, selling me my shopping or whatever else...
(442, Tue 30 Jun 2009, 20:19, closed)

In Bristol
'tis customary to shout, "Cheers drive!" as one disembarks.

A quaint, charming local custom which enhances the Bristol bus experience.

Dktr S
(Dr Skagra glorious glargzhem, Wed 1 Jul 2009, 13:12, closed)