"Behind The Wheel" article from the Vancouver Sun (Nov. 12, 2008)

[DKaz]

Found this article which I found intriguing. I've always wanted to be a bus driver as a kid but through the benefits of meeting interesting people and of course the fun of driving a bus all day long, the job is far from being a walk in the park.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/n...4-370d881eba46

Behind the wheel

As Coast Mountain Bus Co. calls for recruits, veteran drivers reflect on the city that's changed before their eyes

Mary Frances Hill, Vancouver Sun
Published: Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Angus McIntyre remembers with fondness the troublemakers of the good old days. They were so much more polite.

About 15 years ago, McIntyre, a driver with the Coast Mountain Bus Co., tried to calm a disruptive passenger on his Dunbar-Nanaimo route.

"[The man] looked me in the eye and said, 'Well, la-di-da!' " recalled McIntyre, who marks his 40th year as a driver next year.

Longtime bus rider, Doreen, 90, has known driver Angus McIntyre for some 40 years. Doreen rode McIntyre's bus every weekday from an East Hastings stop after her shift at the Woodward's lunch counter.

Today, McIntyre uses it as a quaint reminder of how things have changed for bus drivers in Metro Vancouver.

The "la-di-da" incident occurred before bus drivers were regularly spat at, sworn at or beaten; before they had to deal with the abusive, the mentally ill, the growing volume of passenger complaints, the ever-worsening traffic headaches.

As Coast Mountain prepares to hire the last of a wave of 500 new drivers of regular and community shuttle buses this year, the job description on the company's website differs vastly from the scenarios bus drivers find themselves encountering every day.

To become one of the 4,400 employees who help transport more than 600,000 -- and growing -- passengers a day, applicants must be 19 or older, with a clean driving record, no criminal record, a good grasp of English and good interpersonal skills.

In return, they'll receive a healthy wage with benefits, a pension, and perks such as a wellness plan and a retirement plan.

DRIVERS FEEL THE PRESSURE

Veteran bus drivers such as McIntyre can attest to the long delays that have riders lining up around city blocks waiting for their rides, frustration growing by the minute.

Bus drivers, too, feel the pressure.

Jim Houlihan, a driver for 35 years and vice-president of the bus drivers' union, Canadian Auto Workers Local 111, said drivers have high mortality rates, a high rate of neurological disorders, musculoskeletal problems and middle-age diabetes.

"New drivers have to be part social worker, part psychologist and part kung fu artist," Houlihan said.

"You have to be a kind of person that stuff rolls off your back pretty easy."

Before they meet the public, drivers receive six weeks of full-time training. This year, the company introduced an advanced skill-refresher driving course.

The hiring will have to continue because of the turnover as a number of older drivers near retirement.

"Because our company is so large, we have approximately 200 employees retiring each year," said TransLink spokesman Derek Zabel.

"I wonder about the new kids [on the job]," said Joanne Maryt, a driver of the Brentwood Station/UBC Route 25 bus, who's been on the job for the last 22 years. "I don't want them to flip out at every little event."

If Houlihan was hiring the new recruits, he'd have specific requirements.

Accustomed to respect? Background as a high-ranking athlete or military person? Look elsewhere for employment.

"People with a military background have a hard time doing this job," said Houlihan. "They come from a very structured environment, where there's respect, and that's not the reality out there.