15 Passengers Who Had an Unusual Experience While in Transit

Many of us have learned from experience that traveling companions in a bus, train or subway can be quite unusual. However, some of us are also capable of amusing other passengers — for example, by telling poems. And when the driver is funny, it’s just great.

The article uses an image created by artificial intelligence.

• I’m on a bus, and see my ex. He’s smiling at me. I try not to look in his direction, but he sits next to me anyway. He starts digging in his pocket and pulls out a ring.
  I’m shocked, and he says without a shadow of embarrassment, “It’s a ring for my new girlfriend. She and I have been together for a year now. What do you think?” I get angry and reply, “You know, I always liked you better with your mouth shut.”

• One day I was late for work. I got into a bus, we were traveling. Suddenly, the driver stops and goes to a shawarma stall. The bus with its door open and passengers inside just stood there at the stop. We stayed like that for 10 minutes, waiting for him to order a shawarma, pick it up and eat it there.
  I was late for work. When I explained why this happened, everyone was very surprised. © LinaCorvus / Pikabu
• I once watched a man on the bus make a sandwich. And not a simple one, either.
  He took out half a French stick and a knife and sliced it longways in half. Then he took out a tub of butter and applied it to the bread. Then a jar of mayo and applied that. Then he took out a Tupperware full of salad with tomatoes, cucumber and lettuce and layered it in the bread, then out came another tub full of deli meat which went in the sandwich, and then he garnished with some olives from a jar.
  Stuck some toothpicks through it and proceeded to eat said sandwich. It was like a Mary Poppins’ bag, watching the stuff come out and back into his backpack. © A_Redheads_Ramblings / Reddit
• I was riding the subway the other day. A musician walked through the carriage. He was singing and playing guitar.
  A woman sitting next to me said, “He sings beautifully. Why is he in the subway, and not on stage?” I said, “As a musician, I know how hard it is to find work for us.” And so we got to talking.
  All of a sudden, a woman asked me if I’d go out with her son. What? Asked for my number, said it would be really nice to find her son a girlfriend like me. I’ve never had an experience like this before. © Not everyone will understand / VK

• One woman, like a dragon, didn’t let anyone get to the last free seat on the bus. The driver started the engine, and she said, “Wait, Helen is already running from the office!” We waited for her for another 5 minutes.
  But as soon as we started, the driver rebuked the woman, saying that this was not a taxi and not her personal transport, and that next time he would not wait for anyone. And I watched this scene and thought how much I still have to learn about the world. © Ellaneris / Pikabu
• I live in a big city, I don’t know all the city areas. When I go to a “new” place, I make sure to switch on an app with online maps so that I don’t get lost.
  Once I forgot to turn off the sound and a voice from my phone said, “In 300 yards, turn left.” To which the driver of the bus replied, “Er, no, there’s a traffic jam, we’ll go round it.” What can I say? Drivers know better. © Chamber 6 / VK
• I once saw a pigeon standing on the platform for the Chicago L train like he was waiting for the train. The train pulled up and the pigeon (perfectly lined up with the door) got on the train, walked calmly down the center aisle to the next door, then got off at the next stop. © mmmmmpopplers / Reddit

• A girl accidentally got into a regular train instead of an express train, and it had already departed, so it seemed that the situation could not be saved. But!
  Immediately a council of women gathered around her with the words of support, 2 men quickly compared the solutions offered by the ladies on their smartphones, and together they found the one that would ensure that the girl would not miss the plane.
  Coming out of the train, the girl said thank you to everyone. And I was sitting there smiling. How wonderful people can be! © Not everyone will understand / VK
• One day the bus pulled away from the stop, and a guy who had just got off ran after it. He was running along the road, waving his arms, signaling to the driver. It was good that the next stop was not so far away, the young man caught up, ran into the cabin and rushed to look for something. The bus, of course, went on its way.
  It turned out that the guy thought he had left his backpack. The backpack had been hanging safely behind his back all this time. Apparently, it was not particularly heavy, since in the haste and panic, he didn’t feel its weight while chasing the bus. © Scorpion Scorpion / Dzen
• I was about 4 years old. We were riding on the bus with my mom, I got bored, climbed on the seat and started reciting poems — all that I remembered, with expression. The bus was in a traffic jam and full of people. I read for a long time, but finally finished and sat down. I still remember a huge bright orange that landed on my lap — my first fee — and the applause through laughter. © Michal Morozova / Dzen

• I was having a really bad day and decided to leave work early. Midway through the subway ride home, I’m self-consumed and on the verge of tears when a man gets on with a boombox, a microphone, and an unidentifiable black box.
  He then proceeds to serenade the train with the Michael Jackson song “Black or White.” He starts dancing and holding up the microphone to random passengers to sign the chorus. The next thing you know, a sing-along has begun, and I can’t stop laughing with the stranger sitting next to me.
  For the grand finale, he presses a button on the black box and BOOM! Bubble machine — bubbles everywhere. He got off at the next stop. © littleawkwardturtle / Reddit
• For 2 months now, a woman has been traveling with my husband, a bus driver. She always gets in the front seat, pays a decent amount of money, and just rides all day. If there are children in the bus, she gets out and gives them sweets, and cheers up the adults. I don’t know why she does it. © Lisa the Beautiful / ADME
• We were traveling on an intercity bus at night. It was hot in the bus, impossible to breathe. Outside was freezing, snow and blizzard, you can’t open a window. We tried to ask the drivers, but they answered that their heater works either this way or not at all.
  Naturally, everyone removed all warm clothes. At the 30-minute stop, a crowd of people falls out of the bus to a snowstorm: some wearing T-shirts, others had put a light jacket on top of a T-shirt.
  We got cold, went into a shop, the shop assistants were wearing warm waistcoats, apparently it was not warm inside. They stare at us, and one of our men says, “We are polar explorers, and your climate is too warm here. Is there water in the fridge?” © Svetlana S. / Dzen

• A boy of about 8–9 years old with a backpack sat next to me on the bus. For a few stops, the cabin was quite empty, but then the bus got full, and all the seats were taken. At the next stop, a woman with a boy of about 11–12 years old comes in, comes straight to my young neighbor, pushing her son in front of her, and says, “Boy, give up your seat to a child!” © Voyager / Dzen
• It was 2018. At work, when I picked up the phone, I had to say, “Human Resources.” One day I was riding home in a bus, we were pulling up to my stop. I get up and shout, “Human Resources!” © Emel.yana / Pikabu

And here are stories from airplane passengers who had an unforgettable flight.