Aussie expat's 'mortifying' bus mistake leaves her cringing: 'Heard a loud thump'

An Aussie expat was left red-faced after a "mortifying" mistake almost forced a bus full of passengers to be evacuated and likely cost the transport company over $300 in damages.

Ally Rigby, who has been living in Vancouver for over two years, was carrying a new frying pan back to her accommodation in her bag last week when she bent down to get her bus pass out of her wallet.

"I had the bag with the pan in it under my right arm, the handle was sticking out... I swung back around to tap on, and it was when I swung back that I heard a loud thump!" the 30-year-old, who is originally from Sydney, told Yahoo News.

The noise was so loud it made Rigby jump and she turned to find the glass in the driver's door "completely cracked". "When I first heard the noise I froze and it took a moment for me to even realise it had been me who had made the sound! Then when I saw the cracks I was so horrified," she said.

A video of the Aussie cringing while still onboard the bus has since gone viral, racking up close to 400,000 views.

Bus full of passengers almost forced to evacuate

Rigby explained the driver would have been forced to evacuate all of the passengers if the smashed glass had fallen, however, it managed to stay upright — allowing the bus to continue its journey and get everyone to their destination. However, the driver had to call for another bus to be dispatched as the first was deemed unsafe.

"I was absolutely mortified... because he had a bus full of people and if it actually fell down he said he'd have to make everyone get off the bus so thank God that didn't happen," she told Yahoo.

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Aussie dodged repair costs as driver 'knew it was an accident'

The damaged door will likely cost upward of A$300 to repair, Rigby estimated, but the driver confirmed she won't need to pay a penny thanks to the bus being insured.

"I think I apologised to the driver at least 20 times, [I] asked if he was sure he'd be okay to open the door because I didn't want him to get glass on himself... I had to write down my details for the incident report but he was very sweet about it and said he knew it was an accident," she said.

Overall, Rigby felt reassured by the bus driver, commending him on the kindness that Canadians are famously known for.

"He seemed more sorry for me though honestly because he could see how embarrassed I was so he was trying to make me feel better. Canadians definitely live up to the stereotype!"

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