Every workday, Catenna Manuel gets on the intercom to greet her passengers on the bus.<\/p>\r\n
\u201cI love talking to my passengers and having fun with them,\u201d said Manuel.<\/p>\r\n
She has been a contracted driver for the RTC, on and off, since 2001 and enjoys connecting with the people who ride public transit on a daily basis.<\/p>\r\n
Over the summer, she enlisted the help of one of her passengers after noticing a child at a bus stop. \u201cThere was a little boy sitting there crying,\u201d she said. \u201cSo I found out that he didn\u2019t speak English and asked one of my passengers if they were bilingual, and one of my passengers came down and started speaking with him and told me what was going on.\u201d The boy appeared to be alone so Catenna immediately notified dispatch. \u201cI could not leave that baby there because anything could happen to him and that would have been on me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\r\n
With the help of her passengers, Catenna reunited the boy with his family.<\/p>\r\n
The dedicated bus driver was recently recognized during a RTC Board Meeting for going above and beyond the call of duty. \u201cI was doing just doing my job. That\u2019s what we\u2019re supposed to do out there, look out for our passengers or see what going on out there so we can be vigilant.\u201d<\/p>\r\n
Like Catenna, all of our drivers often do more than just drive. They jump into action when situations don\u2019t seem right. We commend them for their dedication and selflessness on the job.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n
Make sure to let us know how much you appreciate our public transit drivers. Click here<\/a> to email us your comments.<\/p>\r\n