Public transportation is all around us. Yet, it’s easy to miss the next bus, oversleep while your plane is taking off, or for a cab driver to unintentionally ignore your gestures to get him or her to pick you up. Even just understanding a train schedule can be a complete disaster.
A 22-year-old college student from Italy named Giada Collalto found herself in a transportation-related fiasco herself. Collalto was staying in Bilbao, Spain while she was taking a European language studies course. But the C*********s erupted, and in mid-March, her college campus was shut down. She then found herself unable to get back to her home in Venice.
Returning to Italy led from one disaster to the next. Initially, the college student had plans to take a plane from Madrid to Paris to Rome and then from Rome to Venice, expecting her return date to be on April 8.
Although she had already made arrangements for the flights, she was told that the Italian government already had very strict traveling restrictions in place. This meant that she could no longer fly by plane. She found herself stuck in Madrid, a city that was completely foreign to her.
Rightfully so, Collalto was frustrated.
“I was desperate and angry, my parents were worried but couldn’t do anything to help me. I called the embassy and they told to me to send an email. All hotels in Madrid were closed, with no public transport to go back to Bilbao,” she said.
Then she lucked out: a 22-year-old taxi driver named Kepa Amantegi was more than willing to pick her up to take her to her 900-mile-away destination.
“He immediately said he was available to come to pick me up and he drove nine hours from Bilbao to Madrid and back.”
Although Amantegi had confirmed he’d drive her, they wouldn’t be leaving until the following morning, and unfortunately, Collalto’s apartment was already unavailable. That’s when Amantegi invited her to stay the night in his family’s home.
“His parents and his two sisters welcomed me as a member of the family, I will never forget their kindness,” Collalto said.
The next day, Amantegi and his passenger headed off to Venice. And not to worry, Amantegi was legally allowed to make the trip during social distancing orders.
“We called the local authorities and, as incredible as it may seem, we got all the necessary authorizations. I was allowed since I was traveling back home and he, as a taxi driver, was allowed because of his work,” Collalto explained.
To the girl’s surprise, not only did Amantegi go the full distance as he promised, but he refused to take any cash after dropping her off.
“I insisted on paying him but he said, ‘I don’t want to get advantage of you, I see you are in a difficult situation, don’t worry about the cost,'” she said. “It’s something I will never forget, I was a complete stranger to this young man. I think this pandemic can bring out the best in people.”
Talk about a major act of kindness!
Here’s a picture of the selfless cab driver and Collalto:
