2023-09-10 10:31:00
It is midday to thirty when Layla Rifi gets behind the wheel of her bus, as she does every day. Her white painted nails, her fuschia lipstick and her multiple jewelry contrast with the sobriety of her dark blue STIB uniform. This followingnoon, it will operate line 60, which connects Ambiorix to Uccle Calevoet. The sun at the beginning of September is radiant, just like his smile. After making the necessary adjustments, she turns up the volume of the driver’s cabin microphone. “I always use the mic, so I always turn it up to the max.” she explains. A former executive secretary tired of her office work, Layla became an STIB bus driver four years ago. “I always loved driving. Sometimes I left home by car and drove without a destination, so I wanted to make it my job. I had the choice between taxi and bus, and I said to myself that the bus would be a greater challenge.” A surprising decision, although increasingly recurrent, since the STIB has seen an increase in the number of female drivers in recent years.
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Departing from Ambiorix, only two passengers are present on the bus, to the great dismay of Layla. Unlike his colleagues, his favorite lines are those where there are the most people. She says she hates driving empty buses because her role, she recalls, “is to transport people”. The two passengers got off at the first stop. Layla greets them with the microphone: “Gentlemen and ladies, I wish you a good sunny followingnoon, goodbye.” To which the two ladies respond with a brief “thank you”. From the next stop, the bus gradually fills up, to the great joy of its driver. From three, we quickly move on to five, ten, then fifteen passengers, whom she takes the time to greet one by one.
At the end of the fourth stop, an elderly lady gets on the bus. Layla is quick to compliment her. “You are so beautiful,” she whispers, before reassuring her. “Take the time to sit down, I’ll wait for you before we start.” According to her, these simple words have the power to impact the atmosphere in the vehicle. “On my bus there is often silence because people are surprised. Sometimes this also creates discussions between passengers.”
A former executive secretary tired of her office work, Layla became an STIB bus driver four years ago. ©cameriere ennio
“I had the impression that no one had seen me (…) I had neither a hello nor a thank you”
Layla assures that her bursts of good humor are a personal initiative and go beyond the basic politeness instructions dictated by the STIB. “When I got my bus license, I felt like I had done the impossible, so I was happy. A woman at the wheel of an 18-meter bus is not common. But I had the impression that no one had seen me, that no one had valued this work that I had done. I had dropped people off at school, I had dropped off lovers to meet up.. . and I didn’t get a hello or a thank you, and it hurt my heart. So I said to myself: ‘I’m going to show them that it was me who drove them.’ And that’s how it started.” Little by little, this resolution turned into a habit. “Not saying hello would be like forgetting to close the bus doors for me.”
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In general, the travelers return a “hello” or a smile, with the exception of the teenager with his headphones, who remained standing due to lack of space, and the elderly man who did not hear her. According to Layla, some sometimes go so far as to point out to other passengers that they have not responded, although she assures that it does not affect her personally. Other commuters, not used to such attention, even wonder if they have committed a misdeed, such as forgetting to clock in their season ticket.
Layla’s greatest pride is precisely the recognition her passengers give her. With tenderness, she recalls the vivid memory of an elderly lady who burst into tears at her kindness. “She told me that in 40 years of public transport, she had never been treated so well. It was during Covid, so it was difficult because I wanted to hold her, but I mightn’t might not.” This lady’s reaction remains, to this day, the greatest compliment she has ever received.
Layla’s greatest pride is the recognition she receives from her passengers. ©cameriere ennio
From bus driver to social media star
Several tens of minutes have passed since the start of the journey and the bus, which is now approaching the Flagey stop, is slowed down by traffic jams. An damaged car blocks half of the street, making it difficult for the vehicle to pass. The police are on site. Suddenly, an agent in his twenties approaches Layla’s window. “You don’t know me, but I know you,” he says with a big smile. She laughs. “Another one who recognized me from social media.” Thanks to her communicative good humor and her strong personality, the bus driver has become a real phenomenon within the Brussels public transport company, which has earned her regular recognition both in the streets of the capital and on social networks, notably TikTok, where she is followed by more than 112,000 people.
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