Bus driver stops at lemonade stand to treat his passengers

A Boston bus operator took a little detour to make an unexpected stop for his passengers.

John Lohan works as a bus driver at the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). During one sunny day last week, Lohan decided to treat his passengers to some fresh lemonade from a child-run stand.

His kind gesture not only surprised his passengers but the four young girls running the lemonade stand as well.

“The biggest thing I thought was that the children [running the lemonade stand] would have a story they can tell for the rest of their lives,” Lohan told CBS Boston. “And then afterwards, I thought, ‘Well so do the passengers.’”

The 49-year-old admitted that the stop at the lemonade stand “wasn’t a spur of the moment decision.” He had originally spotted the stand during one go-around of his bus route.

“All the stars were aligned,” Lohan told Boston.com. “The conditions were just right… Ninety per cent of the time, you can’t do that on the job.”

Lohan had a small number of passengers on board that all agreed to the lemonade stop, which was set up at the end of his route. It also wasn’t rush hour, making it easy to pull over.

In the bus surveillance video, Lohan is seen distributing the lemonade to his seven passengers.

“The lemonade only cost 50 cents and he bought seven of them. He gave us $10, so, he’s awesome,” 14-year-old Erin Starkey told CBS Boston.

The nearly 19-year veteran of MBTA didn’t expect much of his gesture but his passengers were incredibly touched.

“My passengers, as they got off the bus, each one of them said, ‘That made my day and thank you,’” said Lohan.