Albanians have been arguing on social media to keep a bus that crashed off the road over a river in the capital, coming to rest as an impromptu bridge. 

The Green Line bus veered off the road on April 29 when it was involved in an accident and shot over the Lana River, stopping with one end on each bank. 

As photos of the bus bridge were shared on social media, Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj – a frequent and savvy user of social media networks – started polling citizens on whether the bus should be kept in place as a warning to drivers. 

“Fortunately, the strange accident in a century in the capital was without consequences for life! But while we were preparing to remove the bus over the Lana many people proposed to leave it as an installation for care at the steering wheel and an alternative bridge over the Lana! What do most people think?” asked the mayor on Twitter. 

Responses to his poll were overwhelming positive, with 69.1% calling for the bus to be left where it is, against 23.7% who said it should be removed because it “spoils the look”. 

One of the commentators described the idea as “pretty cool” and suggested converting the bus into a greenhouse or a space that “teaches kids about growing herbs”. 

Another appealed to the Tirana authorities: “Let it remain part of the stories of the city. A bridge maybe?” And yet another hailed the Albanian capital as the "most interactive city on earth”.