Shantini Klassen is a woman with many hats – not only is she an Operations Manager for the Vancouver Fringe Festival, but an actor and singer too!

She says she had the “best bus driver in the world” on Sunday, December 14 at 2:30 pm. Shantini recorded her own version of the holiday classic, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” with a unique spin on it as a ‘thank you’ to the driver!

Why was he the best? She tells us:

The funny thing about this man was that he didn’t do any major gestures. There was no singing or trivia or anything goofy. That’s a lot of fun and I enjoy that too, but he was just genuine and kind. He said ‘hello’ to everyone who came on the bus. He had a lot of strollers and wheelchairs to clip in, but for every person he took his time, patiently and graciously helping them. In addition to that, the bus was very full, and at one stop a man screamed obscenities at him. He just responded with a wave and a “Sorry!” It seemed like he had a lot on his plate, but he just continued to be lovely to everyone.

Shantini shared one piece of advice, in closing:

It might sound obvious, but it’s just so important to be kind to the people we meet in every day interactions. As someone who worked in customer service for a lot of years, it can be really tough – especially when people treat you like a machine instead of a human. Everyone should receive basic respect, regardless of how long the line was or how late and grumpy we are. A little kindness can make a big difference, so kudos to Mr. Bus Driver for changing the world one passenger at a time!

NOW, if you’re tired of all this mushiness, you can watch this ridiculous Christmas baking rap video that I made:

Shantini lives in Burnaby and works on Granville Island, so she takes the SkyTrain to downtown Vancouver before catching the 50 bus to Granville Island. She says she loves to bake, make silly YouTube videos and if you’d like to know more about her, you can check out her blog!

Author: Allen Tung