A 24-year-old woman from Kochi turned to Reddit for advice after a concerning interaction with a "friendly" bus conductor. In her post, she sought opinions on whether the conductor's behaviour was merely friendly or if it crossed into creepy territory. Her story quickly went viral, attracting numerous responses.
"Is the bus conductor being creepy or just friendly?" she queried, detailing the situation. The woman, who rides the same bus daily, noted that while one conductor only provides tickets, the other— upon recognizing her as a regular— began engaging her in conversation.
Initially, their interactions were limited to casual pleasantries. Over time, the conductor became more familiar, touching her arm and asking about what she was watching on her phone. Eventually, he requested her phone number, which she declined.
She described an incident where, after she refused to give her number, the conductor blocked her way when she tried to leave the bus at her stop. "So today when he came to say hi I just nodded and turned my head, however when my stop came he was blocking the way for me to get out of the seat (I was sitting near the window) and the lady sitting next to me had to push him," she recounted.
Despite her polite responses, she mentioned that the conductor, who is likely in his late forties or early fifties, continued to make her uncomfortable. She concluded her post by asking, "Should I be concerned, or am I just looking into things too much?"
See the viral post here:
Is the bus conductor being creepy or just friendly
byu/Sensitive-Ninja2324 inKochi
Since being shared on Reddit, the post has collected 250 upvotes and the numbers are only increasing. It has collected a range of comments and most users labelled the conductor as "creepy."
A user wrote, "The starting didn't seem creepy but towards the end of what you described, it surely is. If he blocked your way nd someone else had to push him out, that's suspicious af. Stay safe mam."
Another user wrote, "This is an awkward situation and the conductor is at the wrong here. Some middle-aged men start conversations like this and progress to do more. So, first thing, I thought it was my fault for smiling at them or replying to their hai's. It's not! He is definitely onto something else and slowly trying to reach there so that nobody will have any suspicions. So, tell him straight up the next time he pokes at your hand or let him know by actions that you won't entertain this anymore."
"Creepy for sure. You can try indicating this to the other conductor and see how it impacts. If that's not effective you may have to raise it further upwards. Show strength. Don't give an appearance of weakness. These people only target the weak," the third user commented.
