Uncommon courtesy? Viral video shows Victoria transit riders thanking bus drivers
A U.S. woman's visit to British Columbia's capital city has been making waves on the internet.
A viral video by Corrin Carlson shows Victoria transit passengers thanking their bus drivers as they leave.
The video was uploaded to TikTok on Monday, and has garnered more than 6 million views and tens of thousands of comments in about 24 hours.
Subtitles also indicate another polite aspect of the post; drivers can be heard happily responding with cheerful goodbyes.
'INCREDIBLY ENDEARING'
Carlson was visiting Victoria with her partner, who is originally from the West Coast city.
"I had just fallen in love with the way that Canadian buses, or at least in Victoria, say, 'Sorry not in service,' which is something that I just hadn't seen before," she told CTV News from Minneapolis, Min.
"I used to live in New York City and I can tell you their buses never apologized for not being in service," she said.
BC Transit buses are pictured in downtown Victoria. (CTV News)
Carlson shared her appreciation about the "not in service" signs with her partner's friends, who told her to wait until she was on the bus and heard how people thanked the driver.
"So I went onto the bus prepared for this and I just found it incredibly endearing," she said.
"There was so much joy, certainly, but I tried not to be creepy about it. I didn't want to start giggling on the bus while people said 'Thank you,'" she explained.
Corrin Carlson is pictured on a bus in Victoira, B.C. (Corrin Carlson/TikTok)
Carlson says she was also happy to see that passengers from a range of different ages and backgrounds all thanked the bus drivers in Victoria.
"You can see the oldest person is probably in his late 60s, and you can hear from the youngest person that she was probably about five," she said.
'IMPORTANT TRADITION'
The province's transit operator has been watching the video catch fire online.
"The relationship our drivers have with our customers is really important to them, and that greeting when people get on the bus, and the 'thank you' when they depart, is greatly appreciated," said Jamie Weiss, senior media relations advisor for BC Transit.
"We realize this isn’t something that happens everywhere, and BC Transit wants to say thank you to all our customers who keep this important tradition going," he said.
Carlson is a travel and food blogger, as well as a content creator, and she says this video is her most popular yet.
"Whenever I do have a video that goes 'viral,' when you look at the comments just like in this video it's people saying, 'That's how I do it in my home.' Or, 'That's not how I do it in my country.' And people really enjoy getting to see how things are different or similar all around the world," she said.
Carlson says comments from across the globe seem to indicate that other residents also thank their bus drivers, including commenters from Australia, Hawaii, New Zealand, South Africa, and from "around Europe."
Even some Americans have said it's normal for passengers to thank their bus drivers in their community.
"It's just because I lived in New York and no one did it there," said Carlson.
At the same time, she notes that some Canadians have said "we definitely don't do this [over here]."
"As an American I just have this stigma, 'All Canadians are nice,' right? And so I see something that affirms that, I post a video about that," she said. "But I understand Canada is huge and it has many different regions, just like the U.S."
At noon on Tuesday, the video had 6.1 million views, 753,000 likes and 26,000 comments.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Most wanted fugitive in Canada arrested in Charlottetown, P.E.I.
The most wanted fugitive in Canada was arrested in Charlottetown, P.E.I., Tuesday night.
Poilievre unrepentant over calling Trudeau 'wacko' as his MPs say Speaker should resign
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says he does not regret calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 'wacko,' and now his MPs are renewing calls for the House of Commons Speaker to resign, this time over ordering the Official Opposition leader to leave the chamber.
How can I tell if I have norovirus? Expert explains symptoms
The highly contagious norovirus is spreading across Canada, with some symptoms overlapping with other viruses. CTVNews.ca spoke with a health expert to find out how you can tell you have norovirus, the most common form of stomach flu, and what to do if you have it.
Doctors dealing with at least 160 Canadians suffering eye damage possibly linked to looking at the eclipse
Nearly a month after the total solar eclipse, at least 160 cases of eye damage have been reported across the country.
Ontario's police watchdog continues probe of high-speed pursuit involving fatal crash
The investigation continues into a collision that killed two grandparents and their infant grandchild during a high-speed police chase on the wrong way of Highway 401 east of Toronto.
Stranded cruise passengers in Spain race to catch up with their ship
A month after eight Norwegian Cruise Line passengers were stranded in Africa when their ship left without them because they were late getting back, a U.S. couple – ages 84 and 81 – were also left behind by the cruise line in Spain.
Blair says he couldn't sell cabinet on meeting 'magical threshold' of NATO target
Defence Minister Bill Blair says he couldn't convince the Liberal cabinet that Canada's government needed to meet NATO's spending target in its recent defence policy update.
BREAKING London Drugs stores remain closed for 4th straight day after 'cybersecurity incident'
Dozens of London Drugs stores in Western Canada remained closed for the fourth straight day following a "cybersecurity incident."
No criminal charges after 4 newborn bodies found in Boston freezer
A prosecutor in Massachusetts won't seek criminal charges against anyone, two years after four newborns were found in a freezer in a South Boston apartment.