MITS Drivers More Than Just Bus Operators
By Ashley Reed
Being a driver for MITS (Muncie Indiana Transit System) is more than just a job.
Some drivers consider it to be a passion and consider their fellow employees to be family members.
In the past three to four years, MITS has only hired three drivers. The company had to make service cuts in 2008 because of some significant reductions in the budget.
"We're fortunate we haven't actually had to let anybody go," said Mary Gaston, assistant general manager. "If all of these cuts come through, I don't know if that will continue to be the case or not."
MITS has five or six drivers who have been with the company for a long time. The driver who has been there the longest worked for the bus company in the 1970s when it was still a private operator and stayed until MITS was formed in 1981.
"Most people have been here a long time, and I think they're loyal to MITS," Gaston said. "It's kind of a big family and the thought of letting anybody go, I hate that."
Robert Hill, a bus operator for MITS, has been working for the company almost eight years. He considers MITS to be a very important part of his life.
"I mean the people here are extended family," he said. "A lot of people on the bus have become friends. I've met kids at Ball State from around the world and have learned a lot from them as well. It means a lot."
EYES AND EARS
Covering the entire city through different bus routes, MITS drivers contribute more to the community than most people would probably realize.
"We're the eyes and ears of the city," Hill said. "We're usually the first ones to call an accident in if we've rolled up on it and people haven't already called it in."
Hill mentioned a particular situation when a little boy got on the bus crying and asked to use his cellphone. The boy's mother had just beaten him up and he called 911 to report it. The city police responded and got him off of the bus.
"It was a lifesaver for him," Hill said. "I think child protection took him and put him in a safe environment."
Gaston also mentioned the time one of the drivers found a toddler alone on a sidewalk. She took the child onto her bus and called over the radio that she had found the child. She found that the police and family had been searching for the toddler throughout the city.
"That was a really feel good moment to know that we had the child and everything was okay," Gaston said.
REACHING THE WHOLE CITY
Every route in MITS comes within four blocks of anywhere in the city limits, making traveling easier and helping to keep an eye out for the community.
"Basically every one of us have a job to do," Hill said. "It takes all of us together doing each little part to make one big picture."
Becoming a MITS driver, however, is not an easy task. It takes five or six weeks to get somebody on the street driving. Even after training, it takes a while for drivers to become comfortable behind the wheel.
"When you get a person to the point that you've got a really good fit, they like the job and they're doing the job well, you don't want to lose those people," Gaston said. "They're valuable at that point."
Hill said MITS drivers work through the tough times by giving it their best effort.
"I think the biggest part is that people try to give this thing 100 percent," he said. "I try to give it 110 percent every day. Sometimes it's hard. You have good days and bad days, but you work through it."
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