She’s driven Sacramento buses for 43 years. Here’s how she’s seen SacRT change.

Joyce Adams-Watkins started driving buses for the Sacramento Regional Transit District in 1980. More than four decades later at age 74, she still gets behind the wheel and is the longest-tenured employee at the agency. 

She remembers when almost every bus route drove through downtown and could travel two hours one way compared to today’s increased service. 

Adams-Watkins spoke with CapRadio about how her job has changed over the decades, her approach to de-escalating situations and how she gets to know her passengers. 

This Q&A has been edited for length, clarity and flow.

Is there anything in particular that you really love about being a bus driver? 

I've been doing it 43 years. I would say I like my job. When I started, I needed a job. I started off part time and wasn't making the money we're making now. But what happened was … 1982 in the middle of winter, they laid me off. There was a cutting of service, so the part-timers went first. 

And they really needed the service. You know, you could tell that transportation was a big deal in this area and the city was growing. I was laid off for about nine months. In 1983, they called me back to work. In 1985, I went full time. I've been here ever since. 

Yeah, I like my job. I like working with the public. It was a good job for me. Helped me to take care of my family and all the things I need. So I thank God for my job here. 

I read in a SacRT blog post that when you first started, your pay started at … 

Five dollars an hour. Yeah, that’s true. That was a lot of money to me because when I was a nurse's aide, I was making, like, minimum wage. I think it was like … a dollar and something. And my pay went up to about $2.50. 

I needed a job so I could pay my rent. I was on welfare back then. But it wasn't enough money to pay my rent and pay my bills and stuff. So, I was happy when I came here. 

(Current bus operator pay ranges from $24 an hour to $34 an hour depending on length of employment, according to the union contract.)

Have you seen the technology on the buses change much over the years? 

Oh, yeah. When I started, we didn't have the ADA [Americans with Disabilities Act] securements. We didn't have the kneeler. We just had steps in 1980. And I believe, later on in the ’80s, they had a bus that was like an accordion that would open up for wheelchair securements.

One year … that lift didn’t work right and flipped a person out. But they've improved that over the years. One time I was helping a [wheelchair] securement get on the bus and I fell out the door. And the passenger said, “There goes our driver out the door." I had to laugh. I said, "No, he didn't say that." I got up. That was just one silly accident. I wasn't paying attention to what I was doing that day. And I fell out the door helping the guy.

When you see that you might have a problem as you get to a bus stop, how do you usually try to de-escalate? 

It depends, I suppose. If I can't de-escalate the problem, I'll call [SacRT] control and get them to come out. Get somebody to come talk to them. That's the best thing to do, because sometimes people are just having a bad day. 

Just try to be patient. Don't engage. Get somebody out there to help you. Some of them are having a bad day, a hard time. And we’re the person that they look to sometimes. 

I remember years ago, I had a passenger that was having a bad day. Cussed me out real bad and went through some motions. This bus was running on the hour and so when I came back through there, he saw me. And he just dropped his head like, “Oh, I'm so sorry.” He was so sorry. I said, “OK, I'll let you ride.” 

Sounds like you have to have a lot of patience. 

Yeah, you do. You have to. People need public transportation. They're trying to get where they gotta go. People have financial issues and they may not have enough money. So, I do the best I can. I make a reasonable effort to get what needs to be put in that fare box. And if they don't have it, I let 'em roll. Usually they'll be happy. Or if they keep coming back, I said, “Now you know, you got to get it together.”

Usually you have the same people on the same route and we're on the route for about three or four months. So, you get to know your regular passengers. I have people that have said to me in the last month, this one lady … she said, “You still driving? You used to pick me up [back when] we didn't have the securements, and the ADA, the kneelers or none of that.”

And I said, “Yeah, and you still ridin’. You still rollin.” Sometimes I get on different routes and I see the same people over and over. They're all over the place. I've been on every route they ever had. 

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