What's It Like to Be a City Bus Driver?

And its not much different right here in Portland:
It never occurred to me that a job as simple as driving a bus would require so much abuse, leadership and complexity. Incidents like these are one of the reasons why I avoid taking the bus whenever possible. The first time I boarded a public bus in Los Angeles, I found myself trapped next to a homeless man who carried four bags of decaying trash along for the ride. He had snuck on the bus through the back exit and had refused to leave, despite multiple requests from the driver to "please pay your fare or exit the bus." The stench was so unbearable that I found myself heaving over a trashcan after getting off. When this driver threatened to call the police, the man shrugged off the threat. He intuitively knew that the bus driver would not congest the entire bus line to wait for "the po po" to arrive.

 Clara Tsao: What's It Like to Be a City Bus Driver?