Some of you may be shocked that many New Yorkers will say "thank you" or "goodby" to MTA bus drivers on departure as they're going out the front door. and the driver often responds in kind. But to illustrate cultural differences, we have a friend who's a German expat, and he's commented to us that he can't believe New Yorkers often do this, that it's simply unheard of in Germany to thank a bus driver (who I imagine he thinks of as some type of servant) for doing what they're being paid to do,