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The driver’s license issue

The driver’s license issue

Renate Stockinger
Image: VOLKER Weihbold

“Did they take your driver’s license?” I must have looked quite irritated at the question, because the friend who just caught me red-handed at the bus stop immediately followed up with the explanation: “Only those who take the bus don’t have a driver’s license yet. Or no more.”

I still don’t know what surprises me more – that she thinks I’m capable of such a wild life that culminates in having my driver’s license confiscated, or the general assumption that no person with a driver’s license can ever use public transport – then there comes already my ride in sight. So I’m spared the decision, and the answer as well: “Well, I’ll have to continue anyway, goi,” the acquaintance says quickly and hurries away, as if she’s worried that someone might end up thinking she’s taking the bus. You have to be careful there, goi. Once seen at the stop, the driver’s license can already be gone according to the rumor mill, you can’t say “public transport” that quickly.

Today, almost a year and a half later, I still like to think back to this episode from my first days as a public transport user. I’m sitting in the bus and leaning back and relaxing while we’re rushing past the traffic jam from Puchenau to Linz, and it occurs to me: I could WhatsApp my friend for a moment. At this time it is usually part of the traffic jam. And the question of the driver’s license, we never resolved that.

Renate Stockinger went from being an enthusiastic car driver to an enthusiastic public transport user. With a wink, she looks at the small and large events of everyday life on buses, trams and trains in her weekly column.

Renate Stockinger
Image: VOLKER Weihbold

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