Dear Edinburgh bus drivers, Merry Christmas, you're a great bunch! – Donald Anderson

I was walking the dogs beside the Morrisons store on Gilmerton Road on Thursday last week.

Edinburgh's bus drivers have impressed Donald Anderson for years with their care for passengers (Picture: Scott Louden)

Most mornings I see a frail elderly lady walking to catch the bus there, presumably off to see a loved one in her lockdown bubble.

On Thursday, she was a little late and I thought she was going to miss the number 29 at the bus stop.

But the sharp-eyed driver had spotted her and kindly waited some considerable time whilst she slowly and carefully made her way over the road and to the bus.

It is one of those acts of kindness that really warms your heart and brightens up your day.

I was reminded of the kindnesses shown to my own mother by so many bus drivers as she used her bus pass through her twilight years to explore east central Scotland.

As dementia started, she could get a little confused. On one occasion, she boarded a bus and simply declared to the driver to “take me home” – which is pretty much what he helped her to do.

One time she escaped from her care home and managed to board a bus on Minto Street. The driver quickly worked out something was wrong and kindly walked her back to the home and to safety.

We know we have a great bus service in Edinburgh, but we have great bus drivers too.

So Merry Christmas to all those drivers, and special thanks for so many acts of kindness. They’re a great bunch.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.