An unusual passenger

It is perhaps not unusual to see a cat on a bus, usually in a cat basket with its human nearby. It's somewhat more unusual when the cat gets on by himself, and informs the driver when to let him off. But that's what a commuter cat does who regularly boards the bus in St Budeaux in south-western England and then rides in the bus to the Plymouth city centre and back. This is all part of the daily routine of Casper, the tomcat of Mrs Susan Finden, and according to drivers on his bus route the travelling Tom has been doing it for months now.

Every day Casper waits patiently at the bus stop near his home. When the bus arrives, he hops on and settles down, usually preferring a seat at the front of the bus, for the eleven mile round trip. Once back at St Budeaux he gives a little meow to alert the drivers that his stop is coming up. The bus drivers know him well, so they make sure that he gets off on the right stop.

Mrs Finden was wondering for a while why Casper regularly disappeared for just over an hour every day, but she had no idea of his travelling ways until one of the drivers spilled the beans. At first Mrs Finden was shocked and rather concerned, but she was reassured that all the drivers know Casper very well and they always look out for him just to make sure that he returns home safely. There is also a notice in the drivers' rest room in Plymouth bus station asking the bus drivers to look after this rather unusual four-legged commuter should he happen to take a ride in their bus.

This story has been adapted from a BBC report which you can see here: news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8176971.stm