Stories Matching 'Public Transportation' Tag (33)Environment Research New Ideas Public Transportation Children Inspiration Teachers Seniors OnThe Road Grocery Store Money Workplace Animals At Home Anonymous Friendship Kindness Kindness of Strangers Courage Small Acts of Kindness Health and Wellness Generosity Sharing Family Respect Neighbors Reconciliation Smile Cards Advice Good Samaritan Giving Money Giving Ability School Church Youth Collective Arts Creative Kindness Random Act of Kindness Homeless Travel/Vacation College/University Holidays Internet Birthday Sharing Food Emergency/Disaster Community Relationships Paying-It-Forward Coffee Shop/Restaurants $100 Kindness Idea Smile Decks Thank You Serendipity Lost in the Airport--posted by Smile Man, on Jan 14, 2006
comments (19) | email this | print | permalink London Cabbie's Payment-in-Kind!--posted by T.S., on Apr 25, 2006
Last week, I was running a little late on my way to my first day at a new job in East London. I had injured my achilles heal a couple of days before and didn't want to put too much pressure on it by running to the tube station so I decided to jump in a cab just to get to the station. comments (7) | email this | print | permalink A Little Bit of Love is the Price of the Fare--posted by hpotter, on Sep 21, 2006 As I waited for the bus, a shuttle rickshaw came by. It was headed towards my destination,and since it was pretty much the same price as the bus I jumped in. Inside, I found a mother sitting with her daughter. The little girl was absolutely precious. She was all dressed up in a new outfit, her hair done, new shoes and a purse on her lap. I've been taking lessons from a lot of inspiring sources and knew this was the perfect time to meet some strangers. I began talking to the little girl. They were headed to her aunt's house to ... comments (17) | email this | print | permalink Kindness for a Cancer Patient--posted by allexie, on Nov 25, 2006 I'm having chemo at the moment and got on the bus feeling rather weak and sick. A little old lady got up to let me sit down saying "I know what it's like." She was glancing at my headscarf which covers my baldy head. Full marks to her for consideration and KINDNESS XXX comments (7) | email this | print | permalink Giving Grapes For Bottled Water--posted by guin, on Mar 2, 2007 Where I live, it is highly unsafe to drink water from taps; so most people buy packaged water when they run out of their own. The other day I did a really tiny kind act: this lady who seemed kind of poor (she wasn't wearing shoes) sat next to me on the bus home. She mumbled something to herself in a cross way about not having water, how the bus fare has been increased, and about how she needs to buy water now. Generally passengers never interact with each other, but I thought I could make an exception. I reached into my bag and gave her a packet of mineral water I had bought. After receiving this unexpected gift, she looked quite happy. We chatted for a while and before I left, she gave me some grapes that she was carrying with her. She wouldn't let me leave the bus until I took the grapes! It reminded me that sometimes those who have less are so much more generous than those who have a lot. :) comments (12) | email this | print | permalink Difficult Choices Bear Deep Rewards--posted by guin, on Mar 17, 2007
comments (21) | email this | print | permalink Unspoken Contract With A Rickshaw Driver--posted by keymaker, on Aug 29, 2007 "Where to?" the rickshaw driver asks me with his mouth full of tobacco. "Vijay Char Rasta," I say. I'm headed to meet a few friends to talk about the purpose of life and things like that. :) After some light conversation, the rickshaw driver and I quickly become friends. "Are you from Ahmedabad?" he asks me. "No, I'm just visiting a friend." "Just a visit?" "Yeah, he's opening a restaurant and he wanted my parents to inaugurate it. I'm helping him launch the café." "Café? You mean, it's like a Barista?" he asks showing his knowledge about the ... comments (36) | email this | print | permalink Dare to Care--posted by David Servan-Schreiber, on Sep 7, 2007
comments (19) | email this | print | permalink Gypsy Girl On a German Bus--posted by swirly023, on Nov 13, 2007 While we were riding the old German bus in Tirana (Albania), a gypsy girl entered. Seven years old. Most gypsy kids have a 'dead' look in their eyes. Hardened by the world, by what they have experienced. The Albanian gypsies live in slums, their children beg on the streets so that the parents can afford to buy alcohol and continue their addiction. Girls as young as twelve wash car windows at the stoplight, holding a baby with their other arm. Little kids lay down on the sidewalks of Tirana to catch some sleep and rest their dirty limbs. Everytime we ... comments (17) | email this | print | permalink The Karma Bus--posted by alieneeeter, on Sep 8, 2008 A few weeks ago I missed my bus (actually the driver wasn't paying attention and drove past me!). It was really cold that day, so I went to this little diner a block from my bus stop while I waited for the next one. There was only one slight problem: besides my bus money I had a whole 35 cents on me and they didn't take credit cards. The waitress was super-nice and offered to buy me a cup of coffee, and we chatted a little while I was waiting. A week later I missed the bus again, but this time I ... comments (20) | email this | print | permalink On the Way to a Job Interview--posted by Molly, on Sep 10, 2008
comments (15) | email this | print | permalink All I Did Was Smile--posted by dewolfe, on Oct 3, 2008 One day I was going home and jumped on the LRT (train). There was one seat compartment that was empty except for a 'dirty' run down looking man obviously coming down off of something. Although there were two empty seats across from him, and one beside him, and the train was jam packed, no one would sit there. Me, being me, waltzed into the train car, sat directly across from him, looked him in the eye and smiled. The look of shock, shame and amazment on his face is a look I will never forget. He was obviously shocked that someone ... comments (29) | email this | print | permalink A Man Named Lawrence--posted by Madeline F., on Oct 31, 2008 This is a random act of kindness that happened to me on Sunday morning, as five of us got off of the 19 MUNI at Hyde and Fulton Street in San Francisco. It was at two in the morning, and we had just finished clubbing it up at a Persian Club and were trying to find our way back to Berkeley. There must have been this look of fear on our faces and in our voices as we were trying to figure out where the AC Transit stop was. As we nervously chattered amongst ourselves, a homeless man a little ... comments (15) | email this | print | permalink From a Flood to a Hug with Kindness--posted by wayfarer, on Dec 2, 2008 The late evening train from Glasgow was battling the worst of the winter weather and the driver was proceeding more on hope than anything. Weeks of rain had meant the line might or might not be flooded - and he wouldn't know until he got there! Well, it was flooded. So he backed up to the nearest station where we sat and waited for about half an hour with no one knowing what was going on. I didn't mind. I wasn't going home to anyone, I had music to listen to and it wouldn't be the first night I had slept ... comments (37) | email this | print | permalink A New Old Friend--posted by sailorgrl, on Feb 11, 2009 My daughter and I have recently moved across the country to the West Coast. I know no-one here other than my sister and her husband. I started feeling a little lonley and missing my friends and family back east. I have now started to go back to college and have been enjoying getting the education I should have gotten long ago. I'm an extrovert and I love to talk, that's why I enjoy going to school so much because it gives me the opportunity to meet new and different people. I think you learn the most from people and life experiences. I love ... comments (17) | email this | print | permalink Two Sides of Wisdom--posted by misscloud, on Mar 6, 2009 I was 16 years old, getting out of the train station with my father, and a woman came to him and said that her money had been stolen. She asked if he could lend her some money to go back home. My father gave her what she asked and told her not to worry about sending it back. I was shocked. How could my own father be so gullible? It was obvious to me that she was lying, staying in the station all day long to get the next patsy. "She was lying!" I exclaimed. "Why did you give her anything at ... comments (12) | email this | print | permalink Why Didn't I Help Her?--posted by captonjohn, on Jul 19, 2009
comments (39) | email this | print | permalink Kindness of Italian Grandmas--posted by earthling, on Sep 19, 2009 We were traveling in Italy recently and what really made our trip memorable are the encounters with Italian Grandmas. I had just crossed a busy road in Roma. A grandma right next to me sprinted across and came back with my toddler's missing shoe. I hadn't even noticed and she thought it would be easier to run twice than try to communicate with me through our language barrier :) Another time, I was looking for Fontana de Trevis and had wandered off in the name of looking at this and that. Out came a Grandma from a small cafe and she instantly ... comments (7) | email this | print | permalink Being "Present" and Spreading Smiles on the Train--posted by NEWJA, on Jan 3, 2010 I'm smiling happily and brightly, feeling grateful, standing in a packed local transit train during the afternoon rush hour in San Francisco. Looking around, I notice that everyone looks so heavy and somber. Then I say lightly and with a smile, "Everyone looks so serious." Several people nearby look at me blankly, and one person smiles. Then I say "Come on guys, this is San Francisco!" Suddenly a few more smiles. Someone who looked very somber moments before smiles and says, "It's worse in New York." Another person smiles and says, "It's worse on the BART train (another transit service ... comments (21) | email this | print | permalink The Bus Ride That Changed My Life--posted by maxx, on Feb 3, 2010 A few years ago I was an employee of an international company that sold computer devices. I had to travel a lot as part of my work. I remember that I was at a stage of my life where I only cared about how to make more money and how to solve technical problems. I was locked in my own world living as a robot that only worked in a mechanical way. On one of my work trips, I came to the airport to take a bus to downtown, as usual. It was the same routine: get into the city, take the bus ... comments (57) | email this | print | permalink A Bus Ride That Touched My Heart--posted by Jacinda, on Feb 24, 2010 Last night after work, I took the bus home. Now this bus ride was different then usual. The difference was that people seemed to be helping others at every chance they could! The bus was filled with people as usual and we took the usual route home. There is a blind lady who always gets on the same bus as me. We were just about to leave the bus station when a lady on the bus suddenly noticed that the blind lady wasn't on the bus that day and told the driver. When we looked out the window, we saw her sitting over in the corner ... comments (10) | email this | print | permalink Tandem Acts of Kindness in Two Cities--posted by GuessWhat, on Apr 3, 2010
comments (19) | email this | print | permalink Whole-Hearted Generosity From Those With Very Little--posted by luv4all, on Apr 5, 2010 This is a story about the kindness of the rickshaw pullers in North India. Rickshaw pullers are some of the poorest people in India and they work extremely hard. People sit on a carriage and the rickshaw pullers transport them by pulling the carriage manually (or sometimes with a bicycle). I recently suffered a knee injury and needed to go to physiotherapy every day. I was unable to walk much, so I had to use a rickshaw puller to take me there, wait for me and then bring me back. This was usually the only time I would leave the house each day and so I would ... comments (11) | email this | print | permalink Three Hours and Three Beaming Smiles--posted by monkeyinpajamas, on Apr 9, 2010 It was a hot weekday afternoon and I was on my way to volunteer at a reading session with visually impaired girls. I got in to a rickshaw and immediately struck up a conversation with the rickshaw driver. The rickshaw driver started telling me the story of his life. He related that he had grown up very poor and he and his siblings didn’t have much. He said he worked very hard so that he could make sure that his children had the opportunity to attend a decent school. He said that there were many nights when he would skip dinner ... comments (12) | email this | print | permalink A Profound Sense of Joy in Giving--posted by monkeyinpajamas, on Apr 11, 2010
comments (12) | email this | print | permalink Taken By Surprise By A Course In Miracles--posted by monkeyinpajamas, on May 15, 2010
comments (20) | email this | print | permalink A Generous Gesture That Made A Dream Come True--posted by GreenMBAGirl, on Jun 15, 2010
comments (8) | email this | print | permalink Smile Card Magic In The Sky--posted by Namaste, on Jun 27, 2010
comments (17) | email this | print | permalink Thank You For Doing The Most Important Job--posted by wayfarer, on Feb 17, 2011 I was heading to my writing group yesterday. Standing at the bus stop I decided to run back for a book to read on the journey. (Something I don't normally do.) While waiting for the bus, I flicked through the pages and found my place. Because it was an old book I didn't want to "dog-ear" the pages, so I searched in my pockets for something to use as a bookmark. All I had was a couple of ten pound notes, so I carefully folded one of them and slipped it between the pages. Sitting on the bus I took the book out ... comments (45) | email this | print | permalink A Bus-Load of Appreciation--posted by churchofthePIF, on Feb 19, 2011 The shuttle bus service I take to the airport is famously bad at customer service, but they are the only option for lots of travelers. I was sitting on the bus one day feeling disappointed by their shoddy service when a young soldier got on. He was in full uniform with his duffle bag across his shoulder and a ticket in his hand. But, guess what? The driver wouldn't accept his ticket! Apparently it was "the wrong format." It was probably a military issue travel pass but because the driver didn't recognise it or it hadn't been made out properly he was ... comments (17) | email this | print | permalink
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I was at the airport enroute to visit my parents over the holidays and was on the train heading to my terminal resting easy knowing that there was plenty of time before my flight. On the train I noticed that there was a gentleman helping a young mother who was travelling alone with a baby and didn't seem to know where she needed to go. The man asked me which gate I was going to and after realizing I was headed in the opposite direction decided he would help the mother. 
I think that while some acts of kindness are easy to do or are done in a sort of planned way, there are other moments that test you.
In the face of hunger, suffering and misery, my mind begins to rationalise and justify why I shouldn't be helping. However, sometimes after the good fight, a sense of compassions wins and I do something. Otherwise my laziness or fear wins over and I just walk away.
Today I faced this kind of choice.
I had walked a bit of a distance from my University Campus to my bus stop. I did not have all ... 
Originally posted in Ode Magazine
It's Saturday night in the Paris métro. Two friends, Etienne and Sophie, are on their way to dinner. After sitting down in the crowded train, they discover the body of a homeless man curled up at their feet. How did he get there? How long has he been lying there? Is he dead? They look around: Everyone avoids looking at the body. Nobody has any idea how to handle this situation. Etienne and Sophie don’t know what to do either.
In a study done in the 1970s, young Christian seminarians were assigned to teach a course on ... 
[A letter to Abby, in her column last week.]
Dear Abby: Please let the world know that kind people still exist.
I was on my way to two job interviews. Not surprisingly, I was nervous, so before I got off my train, I took my phone out to check the directions to the first one. A short walk later, I reached the subway, but when I went into my purse for my wallet to buy a MetroCard, lo and behold, my wallet and new glasses were missing.
I retraced my steps and ran to the courtesy counter to ask if ... 
A few weeks ago, I was in a crowded local train in Mumbai. I was sitting in a window seat of the super-crowded ladies' compartment. I was lucky to find a seat as I had got in at the first station. In a few minutes, the seats were all taken, and most people had to stand jam-packed in the aisles. Anyone who has been in Mumbai knows how frustrating a crowded train can be.
In the middle of all this, I saw a young girl, about 10 years old, probably from a poor family. It was evident that she was used to the crowd, and the ... 
It was 7 in the morning. I was on a train to another city when I struck up a conversation with a young professional sitting next to me. I gathered that he came from a farming family and was now doing exceptionally well in the IT industry. He also revealed that he was stressed and disconnected from his roots.
He was kind enough to give me a window seat, help a co-passenger when he dropped his coffee, etc. Just small acts which showed what a good person he was.
I was pretty involved in reading my book - a biography on the Dalai Lama. Anyone ... 
Arriving in a new city last Thursday, I had the strangest first week of graduate school. I fell and broke my leg within 48 hours of arriving there! I was really amazed by the kindness shown by my new roommmate, someone who I had only just met. "We are family now", she said when she found me lying in my room with a swollen leg, unable to move, in a strange city with no family except across three oceans.
She took me to the student health center by cab to get my leg examined. The cab driver was so nice and said to me how lucky I was to have ... 
I was at Karma Kitchen, a gift economy project, when a volunteer asked if anyone could use some free drink coupons for a particular airline. I enthusiastically accepted, knowing that even though I don't usually drink, I could use those free drink coupons to "tag" someone with a smilecard. I loved the idea of "tagging" someone with a smilecard and a free drink coupon on an airplane!
Fast forward a month or two later, when my girlfriend and I were on a flight to Las Vegas as the first stop of a trip to the Grand Canyon. I had several drink coupons and smilecards ... | Home | About Us | Our Friends | Get Involved | Contact us |  |  |  |