In a world where honesty is a scarce commodity, two MyCiTi bus drivers – Joseph Callaghan and Elias Qwadikazi, were guided by their integrity when they returned the electronic devices that two customers left behind in MyCiTi buses.

The two MyCiTi bus drivers, Elias Qwadikazi (left) and Joseph Callaghan (right), will receive the MyCiTian awards once the current lockdown period has been lifted.

Joseph was on Route 236 when a passenger handed him a lost cellphone. The passenger did not give her personal details, and the driver could have chosen not to hand the cellphone in at the lost-and-found section.

However, while waiting at Montezuma station, Joseph checked the phone for clues of its owner. He found an email address with a picture of the owner. After leaving the station, and on his way to the station kiosk, he saw the owner of the phone waiting for a connecting bus. He asked him about his phone, and the man told him he had lost it. At this point, Joseph handed the man his phone. Needless to say, the man was delighted.

Elias found a laptop that one of the loyal patrons left on the bus. When he returned from his trip, Elias spoke to the security guard at the kiosk about the laptop. He then took the laptop out of the bag to take a picture of it for his managers. At that moment, the customer walked in looking for his laptop. Elias was only happy to hand the laptop back to its rightful owner because he had put himself in the customer’s shoes and was worried that the person would be disappointed if he did not find it again.

‘Stories like these make my heart swell with pride. Often when someone loses a cellphone or a laptop, the loss is not so much about the device itself, but more about the information stored in it. These gentlemen have most certainly shown that that they are not ordinary bus drivers but men of integrity. They chose to do the right thing even when no one was looking. I commend the leadership modelled by their actions. These will go a long way, both for their careers and restoring faith in society, as well as the brand they represent. They are wearing the MyCiTi brand with pride and deserve to be honoured with a MyCiTian award. They’ve also shown that integrity knows no boundaries,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Transport, Alderman Felicity Purchase.