Study: Greeting a bus driver has a positive impact on their happiness

In Britain, passengers are now being encouraged to say ‘hello’ and ‘thanks’ to bus drivers after research found that this increases the drivers’ levels of happiness and makes them feel recognised. Photo: 123rf.com

Most passengers believe saying hello has a positive impact on their bus driver, but less than a quarter bother to do so, according to research in Britain.

People were more likely to acknowledge the driver on buses which had signs encouraging them to, a pilot project by the University of Sussex, Transport for London (TfL) and social connection enterprise Neighbourly Lab found.