Lancaster bus passengers enjoy a bit of stand-up as dairy farmer turned comedian tells jokes on the move
Did you hear the one about the ex-dairy farmer who told jokes on a bus? He kept milking the passengers for laughs!
That was the amusing situation that awaited travellers when Kendal comedian Pete Otway performed on Stagecoach services in and around Lancaster to mark Catch the Bus Month and World Car Free Day.
After warming up his bottom-deck audience with an “are you ready to hear some jokes?”, Pete launched into his observational comedy routine and poked fun at everyday life.
Pete, 36, who worked on a farm in Australia aged 18, said: “I had a bit of nervousness around how telling jokes on a bus was going to work.
“But everyone seemed to get on board, and on every bus we went on there was one character, as is often the case, who was really into the idea of a comedy gig on a bus.
“I’ve done gigs at huge festivals, tiny pubs, ski chalets and on boats, but I can safely say a gig on a bus is the strangest I’ve ever done.”
Mum Nicky Hunt, who was taking her children, Shay, two, and Talia, three, to nursery, hailed Pete’s routine as a “lovely surprise”.
“I catch this bus four or five times a day going in and out of town – I love stand-up so it was a treat to hear some on the bus,” she said.
Fellow passenger Wendy Taylor added: “It was good fun, something different for a Monday morning and it made a change from the usual miserable faces!”
And Delia Hudson, 80, who was travelling to meet her daughter-in-law, asked Pete: “Are you always a daft bugger?”
Pete, who is a regular at comedy clubs and festivals across the country, including the Edinburgh Fringe, has also performed material on BBC Radio 2 and 4, and for local listeners on Radio Cumbria and Radio Lancashire.
Catch the Bus Month is run each September by charity Bus Users UK to encourage people – especially car drivers – to try using buses for work and leisure travel in an attempt to reduce congestion.
Meanwhile, World Car Free Day on September 22 has been an annual date in European cities since 2000 as a way to highlight the environmental benefits of walking, cycling and using public transport.
Tom Waterhouse, managing director for Stagecoach Cumbria & North Lancashire, said: “Firstly, I’d like to thank all our passengers, especially today [September 22] on World Car Free Day. Every time our passengers take the bus, they’re doing their bit for the planet.
“There are so many reasons to swap the car for the bus. Replacing car trips with bus travel reduces CO₂ emissions by a massive 42 per cent, according to Net Zero Nation.
“That isn’t the only benefit. You can make better use of time on the bus, perhaps by reading a good book on your daily commute or listening to an award-winning comedian tell jokes like today, and there’s a better view of the countryside from the bus, especially from our double-deckers.
“Even if you’re a dyed-in-the-wool motorist, I hope you’ll give the bus a go. You’ll be pleasantly surprised.”