Bus driver praised for stopping to tie up pensioner’s shoelaces on Edinburgh street

This is the heartwarming moment a bus driver stopped and got out of his vehicle to help an elderly man tie up his shoelaces.

Jackie Downie was driving the 416 Lothian bus in Edinburgh when he spotted the man walking along the street with a walking stick.

He noticed that the pensioner’s shoes were untied and rather than let him trip up, Mr Downie got out to tie up the man’s shoes for him.

Passenger Leah-ashley Brown posted a picture of the sweet moment onto Lothian Buses‘ Facebook page, writing: “Kudos to the driver on bus service number three for getting off to tie this elderly gentleman’s shoe lace.”

The company then shared the post themselves, writing alongside: “Well done Jackie.”

Commenters were quick to praise the Mr Downie’s kindhearted actions.

One user wrote: “Good to see, only takes 2 minutes but i bet this gentleman appreciated for rest of his day.”

Another said: “Well done! Lovely to see this! Bet there was passengers sat on his bus fuming cos they were waiting, can’t keep everyone happy, few seconds to be a a decent human.”

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Summing up everyone’s feelings, one person added: “Lovely thing to do.”

Leah-ashley Brown said of Mr Downie: “He is a lovely man and on the route a lot.

“Recently I was on crutches and Jackie would wait until I sat down until he moved off.

“Same with the elderly gentleman, he is always so nice and patient with passengers.”

Lothian buses said Mr Downie had been working for the company for 41 years.

A spokeswoman added: “We’re very proud of Jackie for taking the initiative to help this gentleman, he is a true asset to our business and it’s great to see that his act of kindness didn’t go unnoticed.”

Top pic: Facebook/Lothian Buses