Thanking the bus driver
What it really means
In much of the UK, especially outside London, passengers say "Thanks!" or "Cheers, driver!" as they get off the bus. It's a small, well-loved custom. Nobody will be offended if you don't, but joining in makes you sound pleasantly local.
Context, tips & common mistakes
The custom has strong regional texture. It is near-universal in smaller towns, Scotland, Wales and northern England, where boarding without a "morning" and leaving without a "cheers" would feel abrupt. In Bristol and south Wales you will hear the much-loved local variant "cheers, drive!". London is the exception for practical reasons: on most London buses passengers exit by the middle doors, far from the driver, so the thank-you is rarer — though some passengers still call it out, and drivers appreciate it. The same reflex extends beyond buses: thanking a driver who stops at a zebra crossing with a raised hand, and a quick hand-raise to a car that lets you pass on a narrow street, are part of the same vocabulary of small acknowledgements. None of it is obligatory, and no one will comment if you stay silent — but it costs one word, and adopting it is one of the fastest ways to feel, and sound, settled in Britain.