Last Wednesday evening around 7pm, passengers on the 165 Weston Rd North bus didn't think much about the driver stopping at Finch Ave near Tim Hortons. Drivers do this often - stepping out for a coffee break if they're ahead of schedule isn't a big deal. But it is when the driver doesn't return.

Shane Munro, 24, who was on the bus at the time, informed me of what happened. "I overheard someone else asking the new driver what the deal was. He said there was no shift change, and they don't know what happened to the other driver. He just up and left!" he explained. The passengers were left on the bus for almost 40 minutes, until another driver came by and continued the route.

The new driver was courteous enough to still charge everyone the YRT changeover fare despite the lengthy delay and no explanation whatsoever. Nice customer appreciation.

I spoke with Brad Ross, Director of Corporate Communications for the TTC this morning, and he had no idea anything had even occurred. He gave me a number to call for TTC customer complaints, and said, "I do apologize though, these kinds of things shouldn't happen and it's certainly not acceptable."

Well no, it sure as hell isn't.

So what really happened? Is this simply a case of one driver covering for another? I'm not sure that we'll ever learn.

UPDATE: Since this post was published, Brad Ross has since looked into the incident and has provided us with some rather interesting information:

- data tracking software equipped on all TTC busses recorded the time traveled from Wilson Ave to Steeles was 28 minutes.

- the expected travel time is supposed to be 17 minutes, meaning there was a recorded delay of 11 minutes.

- both drivers involved are being questioned regarding the stop.

I'd like to personally thank Brad for being so accomodating regarding this issue. However it was still claimed that the delay was much longer than 11 minutes. Hopefully we'll all have a final answer soon.

As for the 40 minute wait time, Brad also noted something which I'm sure we can all relate to: time goes by a hell of a lot slower when you're pissed off.