A bold plan from a hopeful romantic who left a phone number for a 'fit bus driver' has almost paid off. Donna Suter's eyes were drawn to a handsome man behind the wheel of a 531 bus as she sat outside a café in Whitefield with her pal Ryan Mendelson.
The mum-of-two gave a 'call me' hand gesture to the mystery bus driver while Ryan tried to chase the bus down, but after the bus pulled away the pair left a note on a bus stop which read 'HEY FIT BUS DRIVER CALL ME', along with a phone number. Since Donna came forward as the note's author yesterday (July 4), the bus driver has made contact with her.
She told the Manchester Evening News that the driver is 'such a lovely guy' and the pair have got along well since messaging each other. But sadly for Donna, there is no blossoming romance, as the bus driver is already in a relationship.
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She said: "After yesterday I've gone into my mailbox and seen a message from him. I know it's him because of his photo.
"He said 'I'm the bus driver, it's me'. But unfortunately, he's taken."
Donna had been discussing dating while enjoying a Sunday dinner with her mate Ryan at Two Birds and One Stone, on Radcliffe New Road, and when the 531 bus drove past it almost seemed like fate. The pair left the note for the driver, with a specific number Ryan uses for dating apps.
And there are no regrets for Donna, whose optimistic attempt at finding love almost worked. She said: "He actually said to me 'you seem an absolutely lovely girl, if I wasn't in a relationship I would have stopped the bus'."
Donna, who has been single for five years and says she hates dating apps, even joked that she might try her luck at 'a train station or the airport next time'. "It's my personality all over," she added.
"Being out there and living life, not following the dating apps, it's not my style. Maybe it will change the way people treat each other in the dating world."
The driver, who works for Vision Bus but asked not to be named, said his colleagues have 'all been talking about it, guessing who it could be'. "But the finger was pointed at me so I told them it was," he added.
"I've found it highly amusing. I've laughed all week about it."
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