Many of the people whom I and my fellow editors have met and spoken with during our time with SBF have worked in the pupil transportation industry for many years — some for two- or three-plus decades.

A lot of those individuals started their careers as school bus drivers and worked their way up to their current position. Others found themselves drawn to the industry while working in another field. For instance, Randy Mazie, director of the John Schee Transportation Center at Miami-Dade County Public Schools, previously ran transportation services for the elderly. When he would pass by a particular school bus yard, he thought about how he wanted to work in a place like that. Once a position opened, he applied, and then began his pupil transportation career.

Bob Riley, executive director of the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services, became a high school driver education teacher after graduating college. This led to his enrollment in the Traffic Safety Master program at the University of Maryland. He completed the program while teaching and broadened his interests in all facets of traffic safety to include pupil transportation.

Riley told SBF, “Once I started working directly with pupil transportation as state director in Wyoming, I was hooked.”  

(For more information about Mazie's, Riley’s and other transportation officials' careers, check out the 2009 edition of our Fascinating Personalities feature here.)

In recalling these stories, I became interested to learn how you got your start in the school bus industry. Post a comment below or send an e-mail to info@schoolbusfleet.com.

Moreover, while thinking about pupil transportation-related careers, I became curious about how many of you know of young people who are interested in working in the industry in some capacity.

Several years ago, I wrote a feature called “A Leadership Gap Looms” wherein transportation officials suggested that a lack of interest from younger workers and a shrinking pool of qualified individuals will contribute to a gap in leadership in the industry as veteran employees retire.

Shane Kirley, 20, of Canastota, N.Y., is one exception to the view that many of today’s teens and twenty-something people aren’t interested in the industry. As SBF reported last year, Kirley has been passionate about school buses since he was in grade school and was eager to work in pupil transportation.

Kirley currently works as a clerk in the transportation department at Alternatives Industry, a division of Madison Cortland ARC. (ARC's mission is to provide people with developmental and physical disabilities with opportunities and support throughout their life.) He told SBF this week that he still keeps in close contact with the staff in the transportation department at Canastota Central School District, where he interned in 2009.

"They keep my 'drive' to better myself in the industry alive!" Kirley said, adding that he still hopes to become involved with the bus sales portion of the pupil transportation industry.

I wonder: In the years since I wrote “A Leadership Gap Looms,” are young people like Kirley becoming the norm, or is his interest in the industry still rare? I’m interested to read your thoughts on this.

Until next time,

Kelly Roher
Managing Editor