Raminder Chahal says he sees his parents and grandparents in all elderly people and just wants to help
Raminder Chahal says he stopped his bus to help a passenger to her door because he sees his own parents in every older person — and when his good deed went viral, his mom is the first person he told.
Chahal, who has been a Winnipeg Transit driver for six years, didn't realize someone had taken his photo and publicized his good deed until he stumbled across it on Facebook.
"I ran upstairs to my parents and my wife and told them, 'See Mom, someone appreciates my services,'" Chahal said.
On Oct. 20, Chahal was driving the 43 bus at Kildonan Place Mall when he spotted an older woman struggling with her bags at the bus stop.
"She was having a hard time coming to my bus because she [had] three bags of groceries and a printer, and I offered my help," Chahal said.
Amber Therrien snapped this photo of a Winnipeg Transit driver returning to his bus after
helping an elderly passenger carry groceries. (Amber Therrien/Facebook)
He picked up the groceries and the box and placed them on the bus while the woman, who walked with a cane, got on.
Chahal asked the woman where she wanted to be dropped off, and he wrote the address down on his hand.
Chahal said he watched the woman in his mirror as he drove and made sure not to accelerate quickly or make any abrupt stops because he didn't want her to fall out of her seat.
"In every older [person] I see my parents, my grandmother … and I try to help, do the best I can under my Transit policies and procedures. I try to help anybody I come across," Chahal said.
When he reached the location where the woman wanted to get off, Chahal said, he secured the bus, put the flashers on and took the bags and box to the woman's door.
Chahal didn't find out until much later that his photo and praise for what he had done made it to Facebook.
"I was just going through different posts on Facebook and I suddenly came across a heading that said 'What a saint,' and I saw it and thought, 'Somebody that looks like me,'" Chahal said.
It wasn't until he saw the post named the 43 bus that he took a closer look at the photo and realized it was him, and all the kind photos that followed were praise for his actions .
"I'm so thankful to each and every individual from the core of my heart that they like my services and I'm so much moved by those comments and likes."
Since the photo garnered so much attention, Chahal said, he's had other bus drivers come to him and say they try to do what they can to help people out as well.
He said he does these things not to gain recognition, but because he feels it is part of the job he does every day.