Image: Durham Region Transit.

In Toronto and the Greater Golden Horseshoe (and probably most other places), the most you ever hear from people about their bus or streetcar driver… is usually a complaint.

This Saturday, Saturday, March 18, is the day to change that during the annual Transit Worker Appreciation Day.

Consider this: For hours on end, transit drivers manage to keep a schedule, check fares, give directions, remember stop requests and more, all while safely maneuvering an extra-large vehicle through unpredictable traffic, adverse weather conditions and some really tight spaces. The fact is, transit drivers don’t have an easy job, they just make it look that way.

Celebrate the contributions of your hard-working bus and streetcar drivers and train operators! Honour the hard work of the thousands of other transit workers who keep vehicles and stations clean and functioning. That could be as simple as a smile and a wave when you board the bus or train and a “thank you” when you leave. You can also spread the word on social media, using the hashtag #thankstransit. And, don’t forget to submit an official commendation for a job well done, so your transit agency can formally recognize your transit workers for their efforts. (You can do that any time of year.)

OK, so maybe it’s not an official holiday… yet. Here’s your chance to help spread the word and make it a tradition.

School bus drivers have their day to shine, and so do truck drivers. Some riders in Seattle conceived Transit Driver Appreciation Day in 2009 and we think it’s a great way to honour the many hard-working men and women who keep us all moving every day.

Why March 18? That’s the day in 1662 that Blaise Pascal — mathematician, inventor, physicist, philosopher, author and general savant — started operating an omnibus service in Paris.

Image: TTC.