Ricki Reid, the East London bus driver famous for blowing bubbles from his cab window, has said passengers are urging him to “keep on sharing the joy” after he was banned from the practice by his employer. Reid, who drove the 106 bus route between Finsbury Park and Whitechapel, was asked to stop by Go Ahead London a couple of months ago due to unspecified “safety concerns.”
Passengers react to the bubble ban
“A lot of people have complained to the company, and my managers told me that they're inundated with emails asking, ‘Why have I been banned?’” Reid told MyLondon. “I think the passengers just want me to continue sharing the joy.” The dad-of-six has become a local legend in recent years for his cheerful antics, driving what is known as the 'bubble bus'. Go Ahead London would not confirm the exact ‘safety considerations’ that prompted the ban when approached by MyLondon last week, but said he remains a valued member of the team.
The origin of the bubble bus
Reid began blowing bubbles from his bus cab years ago after noticing a small bottle marked 'reduced to clear' in a supermarket. A few hours later, during his shift, he began blowing bubbles while waiting at a bus stop, prompting a black cab driver to wind his window down and tell Reid he had made his day. From then on, Reid became the ‘bubble bus driver’ and upgraded to a gun to spare the difficulty of needing to open the bottle.
Recalling his most wholesome interaction, Reid said: “One guy came up to me shaking at the end of my route near The Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel. He said, ‘You’re a good man, you’ve got a good heart’. He said his daughter often rides my bus, and she’s very poorly with a terminal illness. He said she never smiles, but when she talks about me, she smiles. The guy then broke down and started crying in front of me, and I couldn't hold back my tears, and I started crying too. We were hugging there for a couple of minutes before he left the bus.”
Local legend and new role
Reid said he is humbled to be considered a local legend in East London, particularly because he knows many people who use his route, as he grew up in the area. Aldi has appointed Reid as their new ‘Ambassador of Joy’ so he can continue to spread cheer in his local community. “It's all fun, really, but [my favourite part of the route is] coming through Hackney Central, it’s my hometown,” Reid concluded. “When you pull up to the bus stop outside the town hall, you’ve got to have a bubble shower. Everyone sees it, everyone knows it, they say ‘it’s the bubble bus!’.”
