>>1859719Was a thing in my city even before COVID-19.
It had a bit of signalling effect, since if the driver left the plexiglass window open it was probably bait to entice a confrontation, call transit police, and spend the next hour waiting for that to sort itself out rather than driving.
Or maybe they were extroverts who wanted to talk to passengers? Whatever makes them happy with a shit job, time theft or social interaction.