03 August 2009

Yesterday you met Nora, the piano kitty. Today you get to meet Casper, the bus kitty. Known in England as the *Commuter Cat,* Casper lines up with other boarding passengers before taking his place on a seat for his ride.

The BBC Web site has a Casper video, along with this story:

Commuter Cat Is Star of Bus Route

A cat has become such a well-known user of a Devon bus service that its drivers know where to let him off.

Casper has been queuing with other passengers to get the number three service from his home in Plymouth for months, bus company First said.

It added that he often sat in the queue and then quietly padded on board and curled up on a seat for the ride.

Casper's owner Susan Finden, 55, who picked him from a rescue home in 2002, said he had always been a free spirit.

Mrs Finden said she named her pet after Casper the Friendly Ghost, as he has a habit of wandering off.

A spokesman for First said that drivers had been bussing Casper around for months, but Mrs Finden said she had only just found out about his use of public transport.

The care worker said: "He'd always go off and have a wander.

"Once I had to walk a mile-and-a-half with a cat basket to bring him back from a car park.

"He does love people, and I don't know what the attraction is but he loves big vehicles like lorries and buses."

A notice has been put up by First in the bus drivers' rest room in Plymouth bus station asking them to look after the rogue passenger if they spot him sneaking on board.


Another article mentioned that Casper has a preference for First buses over Citybuses, and he has become such a celebrity that some First-bus passengers use his picture on their computer desktops.

First-bus officials have no plans to collect retroactive fares from Casper. At 12 years old, in kitty years he would be classified as an *OAP* and get a free bus pass anyway. :)

[My thanks to my friend Stephen for sending me links to Casper.]

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