If you ride the bus to class, Barracks Road, or back home late Friday nights, it is hard to imagine life without the University Transit Service. But what's life like behind the wheel? Working as a bus driver has a number of perks, including the opportunity to learn a new skill while gaining a tight-knit social group. Yet the job also comes with challenges, such as mastering sharp turns and dealing with demanding or odd passengers.
Training, in particular, is a time which fosters strong social ties among UTS drivers. Trainees are sorted into training "families," in which older trainers are "mothers" and "fathers," and fellow trainees become "sisters" and "brothers." Families often grow quite close and remain that way long after training ends, said third-year College student and UTS driver Laura Dodson.
UTS also holds a number of social events during the school year for drivers, including a Snow Ball semiformal, a Halloween party, rafting and beer-and-wine tasting.
UTS hosted a March 31 bus "Road-eo" with the University of Maryland and East Carolina University bus systems. Held in the parking lot outside the Student Activities Building, the event tested drivers' skills with a cone obstacle course. Though only a handful of experienced drivers competed, many bus drivers showed up to support their coworkers.
Even while on the job, some drivers find time to bond. Dodson said drivers become close via radio during the late-night shift, especially during breaks. Through "radio chatter," the late-night drivers have even acquired nicknames.
"Mine is Hamburger Helper," Dodson said. "There's also a Frodo, Dutch Oven and Loch Ness Monster."
Bus drivers also have numerous encounters, both positive and negative, with passengers, especially during late-night shifts. Dodson said passengers have patted her on the head, and students often try to flag down her bus as if it were a taxi. Fellow UTS driver Johnny Mazo, a third-year Engineering student, described a bus trip where "people were chanting 'UTS' all the way to the Chapel."
Rude passengers can make UTS drivers' jobs frustrating. For the most part passengers are polite, but they can also be "the worst part" of the job, Dodson said.
Seeing bus drivers at work sometimes inspires students to apply for UTS positions.
"I had always looked up to the bus drivers and saw it as a real opportunity," said second-year College student and UTS driver Charlee Ragsdale.
Drivers said the application process was simple, though certification was time-consuming and required drivers to learn multiple safety procedures.
The extensive certification process pays off in the long term, however, as Ragsdale said the UTS experience has transformed how she performs behind the wheel of her own car. When undergoing training, drivers learn to make increasingly difficult turns in a somewhat unwieldy vehicle.
"I'm better at knowing what my car can do," Ragsdale said. "Sometimes I get a little excited in my car. I was on a back, windy road that I had gone on with a bus and I took the turns too hard... stuff went flying in my car."
As well as skills, the job also offers some down time, during which drivers listen to music or attempt to finish homework. Most, however, just think and people watch.
"You're out and about," Ragsdale said. "You get to see a lot of people. I get a breeze while I work"
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