In the driver’s seat: Students work for campus bus service

IU senior Dan Goldblatt rides campus buses like much of the student population. Unlike most students, however, he finds himself behind the wheel several times a week.\nThe student bus driver program began in 2006 and has since acquired 20 drivers to transport their fellow students en masse around Bloomington. Goldblatt has been working since September and has found driving a bus to be his most rewarding student job so far.\n“It’s more of a life job,” Goldblatt said, in comparing driving a bus to the various jobs he’s had around campus. “People support their families (with this job).”\nGoldblatt stressed that driving a bus is not an ordinary job someone would pick up around campus, and is all the better because of its uniqueness. Becoming a driver of the mammoth IU buses is not an overnight affair, and involves an extensive six-week training process during which drivers obtain their commercial driver’s licenses. Goldblatt said the driving is mostly trouble-free with the substantial training he received.\n“It’s like driving a big car,” Goldblatt said. “You see everything.”\nWhen not working, Goldblatt rides the bus just like other students to get to class. This kind of immersion and connection with the student population was the Campus Bus Service’s goal when it began the student bus driver program.\n“It puts us in better connection with our passengers,” said Perry Maull, operations manager of Campus Bus Service. “Ninety-nine percent of our passengers are students.”\nDriving the late-night Route B one evening, Goldblatt recalled being stopped by three girls on the side of North Jordan and agreeing to give them a ride. He was then surprised when they called more than 70 more freshmen sorority pledges who found out his name and began chanting it while filling up the bus.\nThough he described the experience as somewhat terrifying, Goldblatt said the student bus driver program makes it easy in situations such as that one for a driver to be as helpful as possible in dealing with other students.\n“(The students) have a lot of really good insight,” Maull said. “We’ve gotten lots of good ideas from the student bus drivers.”\nMaull emphasized the student bus driver program is a great part-time job.\n“This particular job will impress future employers,” Maull said.\nHe said the responsibility of driving a bus and completion of the training period will look far more impressive on a resume than a normal on-campus job.\nDriving a bus puts a lot of responsibility on a student’s shoulders, Maull said. Drivers must realize that when they’re driving a bus, they are playing a significant role in the infrastructure that transports people around the campus.\n“Customers aren’t just the people in front of your bus,” Maull said.\nThough punctuality is key, Brian Noojin, who trains the student drivers, stressed that driving is not all about getting from point A to point B as fast as possible. Being able to deal with the stresses of a customer service-oriented job is an important quality of those who wish to drive a bus.\nThe student bus drivers share the road with other full-time bus drivers working for IU, which fosters a professional atmosphere. Student drivers receive about $10 an hour during training and start at $12 an hour when they graduate the program.\n“The pay reflects the responsibility that comes with the job,” Noojin said. “Our primary goal is safety.”