When Vancouver is hit with snow, there's often a lot of chaos on the roads, with commuters stuck, vehicles strewn on roads, and buses stopped across the region.
That included Ying Xu's bus on Feb. 28. She was on the 16 heading down Granville Street. At around 7:30 a.m. the driver of her bus, Graham, got a message from his bosses saying he was to drive no further, until a snow plow could come clear the road.
They were at 64th Avenue, nowhere near Xu's job preparing food at a store, which she's been doing for seven years, and it was clear she wouldn't be making it in any time soon.
Essentially stranded, Graham asked Xu if she'd like help explaining to her boss where she was. So he recorded a video to send to them to prove where they were, and why she was delayed.
First, he introduces himself, before explaining the predicament.
"The buses are stuck, the buses are ordered not to move," he says in the video. "Just to let you know what's going on this morning."
He goes on to show the order that he received to stop, and apologized.
"So if she's late for work, I'm sorry," he says. "There's absolutely nothing we can do. We're all stuck."
He finishes it off with a classic Canadian phrase.
"Sorry!"
Xu says her boss gave her the rest of the day off; she notes that the video wasn't asked for and her bosses are "sensible people," it was just a friendly offer from Graham.
"I was surprised and moved by his action. Couldn't stop smiling," she writes in an email to V.I.A. "Bus drivers in Vancouver go through a lot and I think they deserve more gratitude from passengers."
On social media, Graham's actions and friendly demeanour are getting lots of praise.
"You're one of the best kind of drivers, thank you, sir," wrote one person on Reddit.
