Unsung Hero: How this bus driver keeps Sacramento moving during coronavirus
After nearly three decades ferrying millions of riders aboard a 40-foot Sacramento Regional Transit bus, Steve Robison will soon retire. What’s he trading his big blue and gold bus for?
It’s funny, and tells a bit about the man.
He just bought a 32-foot-long “patio boat.” That’s basically a bus for the water. Robison, a burly, bearded guy is looking forward to taking groups of friends and family on excursions along delta sloughs, on Lake Tahoe and other lakes around Northern California.
First, though, he has a last and important job to do over the coming year.
He is one of dozens of Sacramento Regional Transit bus drivers and light rail train operators who signed up for shifts during the coronavirus pandemic.
SacRT has cut back service dramatically because most riders are now sitting at home, but the agency still must perform what it calls “lifeline” service for less affluent people who do not own cars and need to get to key places, including doctors offices, grocery stores, and work.
It wasn’t a hard decision for Robison. He knows there is added health risks for him, though. “I talked to my wife a bit,” he said. “We discussed what might happen.”
“It’s an honor to be out here providing service. People need transportation. I’m glad to provide it.”
Each day, it’s a split shift. In the morning, he takes riders on the #26 bus to doctors offices, jobs, shopping outings and other essential chores in suburban Sacramento. In the afternoon, he drives the #84 bus along Watt Avenue with a pass by Kaiser Permanente hospital on Morse Avenue.
On board Robison’s bus Monday morning, Neal McAuliffe, who doesn’t drive, was headed to the Veterans’ Affairs office and then to the Internal Revenue Service to sign some papers. He and the two other passengers on the bus wore face masks and sat rows apart.
“I’m not a spring chicken anymore,” said McAuliffe. ”I can’t ride a bike. For RT to be still working, I appreciate this.”
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It’s not business as usual for Robison and SacRT. All riders now must enter from the rear door. They wave their pass over a computer screen set behind a yellow chain that barricades Robison in his driver’s area.
There’s a clear plastic partition that swings into place between Robison and passengers. And Robison wears a face mask, although it’s small and made out of paper and he isn’t quite sure how well it works.
It’s all good, though, he said. Riders seem appreciative. And, there are so few cars on the road, driving a bus has never been easier.
What will he miss the least about his job when he retires next year? For one, other drivers on the road have become more erratic every year, Robison said. And then there is the occasional rider who is frustrated, confused, or angry for some reason, and not in the mood to get along.
He keeps his eyes, though, on the road ahead. It’s been a good ride. “I’ve enjoyed my job. I’ve learned to love the job,” he said. “But I’m looking forward to retirement. I have a year to go.”
He’ll miss chatting with riders and being around people, he said. “It’s mostly nice, wonderful people on the bus.”
He plans an active retirement. He’ll do volunteer work, be involved in his church, go to the gym each day and ride bikes with his wife.
And, perhaps most enjoyably, he’ll hit the water as often as possible with friends and family on his bus boat.
This story was originally published April 29, 2020 at 10:48 AM.