Description

I am a new student at USF and I moved into the city just a few days ago. I used the Hart bus on 8/1 for the first time ever (I've never ridden a bus in the U.S. before). My younger sister was turning 16 on the 2nd so I wanted to bring her to Adventure Island for her birthday and since I do not have a car, we had to take the bus. I was terrified of using the bus because I was afraid that I would mess up. Thankfully, things did not go as horrible as I had imagined and we made it back to the University Transit Center after having a blast at Adventure Island. We got in the 42 bus to go home, but last minute decided to take bus 13 and go downtown. We just went around an entire loop without getting out because it was too late and we were scared to walk around downtown by ourselves. We actually were held up for about 20 minutes at one point because a crippled passenger had overdosed on something and paramedics had to take care of him in the bus (welcome to Tampa huh). When we had made the loop, we found bus 42 and boarded ready to go home after a long day. After we had left the station, I had a bad gut feeling so I asked the bus driver if he was going to Reflections Apartment. My heart dropped when he told me that he was going the opposite direction and that it was the last bus. It was definitely my fault for not even asking before leaving, so I was just devastated. However, the bus driver (an African American gentleman I believe he had ponytail or long hair) reassured me and let us off at the bus stop for the bus 42 going the other direction. He could have just dropped me off anywhere, but he dropped us off a few bus stops after because it was a bad neighborhood and he didn't want us to be in trouble. He left us in front of a Starbucks at a busy intersection with clear instructions on what to do when we see the other bus. Thanks to him, I wasn't in panic mode anymore and we patiently waited for the other bus. After a while, we were approached by two men who were making racist and inappropriate comments to me and my sister. I tried to stay calm but my sister only 15 years old was terrified. One of them would not give up and continued to harass us and I became scared as well and I didn't even have anything to protect us. Suddenly, I heard a friendly loud voice and turned around to find that the bus 42 had arrived to our rescue. I believe that the bus driver had realized that we were in trouble and he purposely exclaimed loud at us and pretended to know us very well. This gentlemen (Caucasian with the fanciest mustache and long white hair) was in fact the bus driver that was in the previous 42 bus that we were originally on at the University Transit Center before we darted out to catch the bus 13 right as he was about to leave. So technically he did know us, but I cannot believe that he remembered our faces after hours had passed. Most importantly, I was so grateful that he scared off the two guys that were harassing me and my younger sister. When we boarded his bus, he did not say anything about the bad situation that we were just in, but continued to carry on a friendly conversation with us which quickly calmed me down and gave me less time to think about the scary men that could have hurt us if it wasn't for the bus driver. I did not let my emotions show because I had my younger sister to comfort, but by that time my entire guts were physically shaking uncontrollably and I felt like I was going to throw up because all the scared emotions that I was holding in was about to burst out. This driver however was so kind and he made us feel safe the entire way home. Tampa can be a very dangerous and scary place for young newcomers like me, and I think the roles of people like bus drivers are very important in making those people feel safe in public. These two men had shown incredible courage and kindness during our terrifying first bus riding experience and I did not get to thank them enough. Please let them know that they are superheros and that we are so grateful for their help on 8/1. Thanks to them, I now have full trust in the Hart bus system even though I probably will never ride the bus late at night anymore haha!