Bart van Leersum, a Transdev bus driver in Haarlem, the Netherlands has been working for Connexxion/Transdev for four years. He is a well-known social media personality where he shares his experiences as a bus driver on a regular basis.
He loves the social aspect of being a bus driver, the enormous number of passengers transported, as well as the big and caring group of direct and indirect colleagues. Bart loves working with people; people from all areas of society.
With the onset of the Coronavirus crisis over the past weeks, Bart’s experience at work has changed tremendously as it has for many Transdev team members around the world. Bart decided to share his thoughts with colleagues and passengers.
The past week has been quite… different. Empty roads, empty stations, empty busses. At least, almost empty. Our job consists of working with people, lots of people. And suddenly, the seats are almost empty - even during rush hour. Most people choose to follow the current guidelines to stay at home as much as possible. But there are many who don’t have that choice. People who must work in sectors that are crucial; now more crucial than ever. We, as bus drivers and other public transport personnel, have an obligation to keep bringing these people to their destinations. And that’s exactly what we are doing, despite the different measures taken in our vehicles and offices to prevent further spreading of this dreaded virus. And people are grateful for it. My coworkers and I get a lot of compliments, from people we know but also the passengers we provide transport for. If there’s one thing above all else that this crisis created, it’s a feeling of solidarity and togetherness. And in that spirit, I say we try and do our best to face this challenge, together. Good luck to all the colleagues in this sector in the coming weeks. We got this.
Bart van Leersum, Transdev bus driver