by Marvin Sandomirsky (District 28 Region of Durham), as told to Martin Zibauer
photographed by Jamie Hogge
“I taught math, economics, marketing and accounting, and when I retired in 2002, I was 55 and looking for something else to do.
“I found a job at Pearson Airport in Toronto, driving a passenger shuttle bus on the tarmac, between terminals. A year into it, Air Canada’s passenger count went way down, so I retrained to operate a snowplow on the runway. It was a fascinating environment, being around the airplanes, working on the runways and around the airport. I enjoyed the job very much, even though it was 180 degrees opposite from teaching.
“But after 15 years, some aspects of the job weren’t fun anymore. Commuting 75 kilometres each way, staying awake on the overnight shifts, clearing snow off the plow at 3 a.m. with a minus-30 windchill – I figured I’d had enough.
“I considered retiring completely, but I was having lunch one day and I picked up one of those employment newspapers that lie around. There was an ad for a local school bus company. Years before, when my wife was pregnant with our first child, I took over her school bus route temporarily when she had to stop driving. So I already had a B licence, and when the company called to see if I wanted to drive for them, I thought, ‘Sure, why not?’
“I get up at 5:30 – earlier than I really need to – for breakfast. Around 6:30, I drive about 10 minutes to where the buses are parked, and I spend the next hour or so checking over my bus. That’s a legal requirement. (At the end of each run, we’re also required to check for sleeping students – and, yes, it does happen.)
“After inspecting the bus in the morning, I usually shoot the breeze with the other drivers, then take a leisurely drive down to my first bus stop. My route takes a little over an hour to do, and then I’m back to park the bus. My morning ends right around nine o’clock.
“I drive about 35 high school students. I always liked teaching that age group, so that part of my job hasn’t really changed. In the morning, teenagers are pretty much comatose; they talk with each other, but a lot of the time they’re just sitting there quietly, on their phones.
“Elementary students are a whole different issue, because they can be a lot bouncier and more excitable. Those drivers have to work harder to keep the kids seated, simply because of their age.
“Most of my interaction with students is when they get on and off the bus. Sometimes they’ll make some remark I overhear on the bus, and I’ll kibitz with them. I can see them in the rear-view mirror, but obviously I’m focusing on the road when I’m driving. In a sense, I’m a little disconnected from them while I drive, but talking with them as they get on and off is one of the most enjoyable, satisfying parts of the job.
“We don’t see parents much, and company policy doesn’t allow us to interact with them. It’s different if you drive young elementary students. They have to be met in the afternoon by somebody – often a parent – or they’re not allowed to get off the bus.
“Elementary students are a whole different issue, because they can be a lot bouncier and more excitable.ˮ
But my students are basically adults.
“One of the challenges is bad weather, especially snowstorms. But any bus driver will tell you the scariest part of the job is seeing other drivers doing stupid, stupid stuff – running red lights and stop signs and sometimes almost hitting students.
“I recently went to the police station to ask them to watch a stop on my route that’s particularly bad for cars going through the lights. And there seems to be a law I’m not aware of that on every narrow street, cars must illegally park opposite other cars and park as close to every 90-degree corner as possible. I’ve driven through gaps with inches to spare on either side, and I take every corner slowly; part of our training teaches us to be very aware of the size of our vehicle and how it manoeuvres.
“For many of our drivers, a school bus is the first large vehicle they’ve driven, but the bus companies train you as you’re getting your B licence. Essentially, you’re learning to drive a large commercial vehicle. Part of getting the licence is the road test, but there’s a lot of study, too;
you have to upgrade your road knowledge, learn how to park your vehicle safely, what your distances are for pulling out, how and when to put out flares and all that kind of stuff.
“Driving a school bus is a great retirement job for teachers – the majority of drivers are retirees. It’s part-time, with a mid-day break to run errands. If you’re a teacher who really enjoys kids, driving a bus allows you to see students again and be part of their school experience, even though you’re not in a classroom.
“You do need to enjoy driving. I love road trips, and I love to drive. And for me, whether it’s driving a larger vehicle, remembering students and their names, or interacting with them – all of that – driving a bus keeps my brain sharp. It gives me something to do, and it gives me purpose.”
The benefits!
You’ll keep your brain sharp by manoeuvring a large vehicle in busy traffic and winter conditions, remembering your route, and remembering student names.
You’ll be socializing every school day, with students and adults.
For many drivers, the job becomes a reason to get up in the morning and something to look forward to.
You’ll be doing more of what you enjoy – working with students – and none of the marking, lesson plans and parent meetings.
Driving may not be the most lucrative side hustle, but you can add a reasonable supplement to your income with part-time work.
This last benefit is really the best, especially since you became a teacher because you love learning, you love students and you love interaction. All of that continues when you drive a school bus, and the students (and often their parents) will love you back!
