Driving down Memory Lane with C-TRAN’s two longest-tenured drivers
If you're a longtime C-TRAN rider, odds are you've been on a bus with Virgle Elliott or Larry Moore behind the wheel. They're each approaching 35 years of service with the agency, witnessing decades of growth and change during that time. True story: Long before working at C-TRAN, the author of this post rode Larry's bus to get to elementary school.
Virgle is the longest-tenured fixed-route operator at C-TRAN. Operators bid for their route assignments in seniority order, meaning Virgle always gets the first choice. So, which route can you find the number one operator driving? Right now, it's Routes 74 and 92.
Larry, second in seniority, doesn't drive a regular route. He's one of C-TRAN's Transit Operator Instructors, helping train C-TRAN's newest drivers. Training takes place both in the classroom and on the road, meaning that while Larry doesn't bid a route assignment, he is very much still in tune with life in the driver's seat.
Throughout the years, one thing has remained constant: Virgle and Larry's passion for transporting Clark County's citizens safely and efficiently. Together, they reflected on how their careers started and what's kept them here all these years.
How long have you been driving for C-TRAN?
Virgle: I think I got hired in…dang, it's been four decades? I think it was '90. I got hired when I was 29 but didn't start until a couple of months later when I turned 30. So, my thirties, forties, fifties, mid-sixties now…yeah, I'm going on my 35th year.
Larry: I got hired on February 18, 1991, at 2:00 p.m. Actually, training started at 7:00 that morning.
Virgle: You remember that?
Larry: Yes, I do. My C-TRAN career is very important to me; every aspect of it.
Virgle: Alright, fine. May 8, 1990. 10:00 a.m. was the report time, and I couldn't find a parking space [laughs].
What brought you to C-TRAN?
Virgle: I had moved down from Seattle, and an uncle of mine was working here. He told me, "Why don't you put an application in?" At the same time, Metro in Seattle had sent me a letter and wanted to hire me, too. I didn't want to move back to Seattle, so I stayed here. I didn't really know it was going to be a career, but I found it's a nice little niche. For some reason, it's really easy for me. Of course, the job itself is stressful, and some aspects are hard, but for me, it became easy, and the time has flown by.
Larry: I'm the complete opposite. I've been infatuated with buses since I was five years old. The day I knew I was going to be a bus driver, I was about 13 years old—I'm 58 now. I grew up in Los Angeles, and my mother had a friend who came to visit in his big old charter bus and said, "You want to go for a ride?" So, I got on the bus, and he was whipping it around corners, and I said, "This is my destiny." Now, I had a journey that didn't lead me [here] directly. I tried to play college football; that didn't work. So I joined the military, and that wasn't a career for me. It was great to do my four years; I was in the Navy. Once I was out, I was thinking, "Okay, what am I going to do now?" I moved back to Portland in '89 after being stationed here in '85. I didn't want to go back to Chicago or LA. I kind of grew with the community and a handful of people. I had no family here, but it felt like home. A friend of mine who worked at C-TRAN said, "Hey, come drive at C-TRAN," and I thought, "Buses…" The first time I applied, they didn't hire me. The second time, I said, "You know I'm not going to give up on this," and they hired me. It's been a career for me. My five-year plan was originally to be running this company by now. That didn't work out, but I'm good. I was destined to be a bus driver. That's why I'm here. That's my journey.
Virgle: Now that's funny because the first time, I didn't get hired either. I think it was on a Friday. I was working out with some of the fellas, and somebody said, "Hey, today is the last day to submit your application." So, I went ahead and did it, and I got hired the second time.
Did you drive professionally before coming to C-TRAN?
Virgle: No.
Larry: I was always a professional driver, the way I used to drive my old Monte Carlos and Regals [laughs].
Are there any routes you miss?
Larry: I'll tell you one I don't miss: Route 38. That's the one that came out of downtown, up Mill Plain, and kind of veered off up on MacArthur. Then, it went all the way and crossed Lieser, made that slight little jog on 98th, onto 10th or 12th, then all the way down McGillivray to 164th or Village Loop at 25 miles per hour. It took forever, especially on Saturdays or Sundays.
Virgle: Wasn’t that an interlined route?
Larry: Not at that time; I wish it was.
Virgle: During your career, you end up driving all the routes until scheduling changes it. I always said I would love to find a route to retire on—that's what you want.
What's one change that you've enjoyed witnessing over the years?
Virgle: The neat thing I like about the company is that they hire internally a lot. There's a lot of opportunity if you want to move.
Larry: One of the things I admire about this company, and Virgle can vouch for it, is that we've watched the transformation. Not just the buildings and the structure, but the hiring within. There were times when C-TRAN didn't do a lot of hiring within. We've watched the ups and downs. Each CEO that's come through the door has played their part. I like that because it's like they've each had a chapter in the book that's led us to where we are today.
Virgle: When we started, there was no air conditioning [on the buses], no lifts, wheelchair access, power assist steering. Remember those buses?
Larry: Yeah, we had those 1976 GMCs. We got them from Alaska. They were manual transmissions, converted to automatic transmissions. They had those old Detroit diesels, and they were turtles, but they were tanks. They probably weighed 90,000 pounds. You kept your workout going!
Virgle, you received a Safe Driving Award earlier this year for 34 years of safe driving. Do you have any safety tips to pass along?
Virgle: I've received one every year for the last 34 years. Like I said from the beginning, when I first started here, it was like this is my niche. I'm not an aggressive driver, but I'm not a slow driver. I'm just right in that perfect spot a lot of the time. I'm always looking ahead, making sure I have a way out. I've had drivers tell me about people cutting them off or pulling in front of them, but I expect that every day out on the road. I always say that other drivers can do whatever they want, but don't touch me. They'll run into the back of you, the side of you. I've been in accidents but never at fault. There's a lot of liability involved in this job. You could be going down the road thinking about your checkbook or your kids and the next thing you know, you ran a red light.
Larry: You have to be in the here and the now.
Virgle: But my daughter, she'll tell me, "Dad, all you're doing is driving." I say, "Honey, there's more to it than that."
What's your favorite thing about your job?
Virgle: Some of the relationships you build along the way tend to be lifelong relationships. And the paycheck [laughs].
Larry: Mine is a little generic, but I was told I better say one thing: I really enjoy working with [fellow Transit Operator Instructor] Vik Nand and [former Transit Operator Instructor] Randy Millikan. In reality, that's been a highlight. Both of those guys have been really enjoyable. I hated to see Randy go, but retirement has been really good for him. I'm glad Vik's here; we've got a good team with new instructors. Another part is the customers. I like being able to provide that service, especially for people with limited mobility and mobility devices. I like giving them an option so they don't have to rely on family members or some other service. They can be independent and ride the bus no matter what their situation is. The other thing is when I'm at a transit center and see all the other drivers coming in with their buses, leaving on different routes, and picking people up. It's like being part of a network of bees when we're out in the community driving. It's nice to be part of that and make a great impact on our community. And it goes even further than that because you look all over the world…I try to go to a different city every year and ride transit. When I see the buses and the trains, I'm like, "Man, I'm part of that network." Just little things like that bring me joy. Some people think it's corny, but it works for me.
‘Family and friends’: C-VAN operators reflect on 25 years of safe driving
In the world of public transit, transporting passengers safely is any agency’s number one priority.
At C-TRAN, we acknowledge this focus by honoring accident-free operators with Safe Driving Awards for each year of service that they drive without a preventable accident. When you think about the amount of service hours operators clock and the number of days they spend on the road throughout their careers, you begin to understand how huge of an accomplishment this is.
A handful of long-time C-TRAN operators have decades of accident-free driving under their belts. Earlier this year, the two longest-tenured C-VAN operators received Safe Driving Awards for an incredible 25 years of accident-free driving. C-VAN operator Javier Valencia is number one on the seniority list, and Jaime Somosot, who started just a few months after him, is second. Their 25 years of Safe Driving Awards span their entire careers as C-TRAN employees, and don’t even include the time they spent driving for C-VAN when it was provided by an outside company. Both Javier and Jaime started in 1997 working for Dave Transportation, the company C-TRAN contracted with for paratransit service at the time.
We had the pleasure of chatting with Javier and Jaime to learn more about what brought them to C-TRAN and what their experience has been like—including pro safety tips they’ve picked up along the way.
How long have you been driving for C-TRAN?
Javier: Since January, 1997. When I first started doing this job, I actually worked for the other company [Dave Transportation] for a little over two years before I got hired by C-TRAN. … Then, C-TRAN hired us in May of 1999. I started with the other company, but it was the same job before they brought it in-house.
Jaime: Oh my God, 1999? Javier started a few months earlier than me.
What brought you to C-TRAN?
Javier: When I started doing this job, when I read the description of what the job was, I thought, “Oh, that seems like something that would be rewarding to do,” because you’re helping people. We work with the elderly and disabled, so that was kind of why I thought it would be something rewarding—and it has been. I also needed a job. Nobody referred me; I just read the job advertisement. At the time, it was probably still in the newspaper. In ’97, the internet was not the thing yet [laughs].
Jaime: It was something different than I was used to. Hewlett-Packard is where I came from. I was working indoors. It had its perks, but at the same time, I wanted to do something outdoors and something different from that kind of business. I saw an ad in the newspaper from [Dave Transportation], and I said, “You know what? I’ll apply.” And I went in for the interview and I think I pretty much got it that same day.
Did you drive professionally before coming to C-TRAN?
Javier: No, not really. I did drive, but it was the airport. I was fueling aircraft at the airport. I didn’t really go out on the road. I mean, safety was a big thing there, too, because you can’t run into stuff [laughs].
Jaime: No. It’s totally different from what I was used to. After the military [Jaime is a United States Marine Corps Veteran], I came back to the States. My mom got transferred up here, and that’s what brought me up here. She was working for Hewlett-Packard, and she transferred up here. At Hewlett-Packard, I was printing and manufacturing, pretty much inside all day. I always say with C-VAN, it’s the best of both worlds. I’m indoors when it’s inclement, but at the same time, I’m outside enjoying the view. Office with a view. I tell dispatch, “If anybody’s looking for me, I’ll be in my office [laughs].”
All safety tips are important, but are there any in particular that have stuck with you throughout the years?
Javier: You really have to have a defensive mindset. You have to feel like when you’re out there driving, you have a mindset that everybody around you might not be paying attention and that anything can happen. It’s the defensive driving approach—be on guard, be as alert as possible, and take the driving aspect of it really seriously. A lot of things that I see out on the road, you’d just shake your head. You can only imagine. Even if you’re out on the road for twenty minutes on the way home, you might see something. Now multiply that by ten-hour days for 27 years. You’ll see people reading with a book in the steering wheel, their cell phones in front of the steering wheel, and you can see they’re watching videos … I guess I’ve been lucky that I’ve been able to avoid being in an accident, but it’s very challenging, very difficult.
Jaime: Back in the day, when Andrew Hill was my trainer, he was a Grateful Dead drummer-type musician and was like, “You’ve got to rock and roll, man.” The a-pillars are really wide on our C-VANs, so things get hidden behind them. If you move forward and back [“rocking and rolling” in your seat to look for hazards], you can see what’s behind it, which has saved me quite a few times. I share that with other trainees that I’ve trained, and they go, “You know what, Jaime, that rock and roll thing…” which I learned 25 years ago from Andrew, “It really works.” Also, try to be patient and take your time. Do the best you can, but don’t sacrifice … relax and take your time.
What’s your favorite thing about your job?
Javier: Making a difference in people’s lives. With our passengers, you’re making a difference in their lives for the better. They always tell us, “If C-VAN was not here, I don’t know what I would do,” to get to the doctor or store or whatever. Rides are expensive, or people can’t take them places. This area is lucky because some places don’t have paratransit. That’s got to be difficult. Even though it’s our job, at the same time, I think most of us feel like it’s rewarding. We hear it every day. There is almost not a single day where someone doesn’t tell you that they appreciate what you do for them. It’s almost like you’re a social worker, but you’re not. You’re not responsible for them other than getting them from one place to another safely. A lot of the time, though, we do end up going above and beyond. Sometimes, you’re put in situations where you have to use your best judgment on what you should do. We always know that as a driver, dispatch is there to support you.
Jaime: Our employees and our customers. The C-VAN side is different from fixed-route. We have a different clientele, and the majority really appreciate us. I always tell my wife and even our trainees that every day, there will be at least one person who tells you, “Thank you for being here.” It’s like, a lot of jobs, you pretty much go in and do your thing. Not that you need gratification from other people, it’s just nice to hear, “Thank you for being here. Without you, I wouldn’t be able to get my groceries.” Things like that. If you do this long enough, it’s like driving your family and friends around. And we’ll grow old together! From our coworkers to our passengers, we’re getting older together. You know it’s good when you’re working somewhere and time flies. You don’t dread work thinking, “Oh my God, when am I going to retire?” If I can’t do this anymore, physically or mentally, we’ll come to that decision. But until then, it’s like, “What? You’re paying me to do this?” Once you put your time in, this job has a lot of feel-good stuff.
