North Allegheny bus driver for 41 years set to retire
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On June 3, Bobby Hunt is scheduled to make his last run as a bus driver for the North Allegheny School District after 41 years.
And if it weren’t for the students, he would have taken his retirement a lot sooner.
“The kids are the best part. I’ll miss the kids. If it weren’t for kids, I would’ve retired 10, 20 years ago,” said Hunt of Ross Township.
Hunt officially will retire in August. He is North Allegheny’s most senior employee, starting the job on Sept. 1, 1981.
When he tells people that he drives a school bus, they usually say they don’t know if they could endure transporting a bus full of students. But he said he has been really lucky at North Allegheny, and, with the exception of an occasional challenging behavior, he rarely has had a problem with students.
Hunt, now 66, started driving at 25, after meeting an NA bus driver who gave him the idea. He started driving the bus in the morning and afternoon and holding a second job as a courier. But soon the bus driving turned into a full-time position.
He has bused for every school in the district. For the past 12 years, he has been transporting McKnight Elementary students, with a morning and afternoon run.
In between, he does shuttle runs throughout the day, such as busing kids between the intermediate and high schools for certain classes.
So it’s a full day on the move.
“Bob is tremendous, and we love him,” McKnight Principal Christopher Shute said.
Every year, Hunt learns the name of every student on the bus so he can greet them when they board each morning. He said it makes the relationship more personable, instead of just a stop on the road or a number.
And he said students appreciate it.
“It makes the job a lot easier,” he said.
There’s never been any harrowing incidents on his shift, save for some bad weather now and then. Some might think a bus is too big and difficult to drive, but he said buses now almost drive like a car.
Timing is key to making a successful run. A route could include first high school, then middle, then elementary students, with a possible parochial stop, he said. There is a little bit of a cushion in the morning schedule, but the afternoon is pretty tight.
Hunt soon will be marking another milestone outside of NA, garnering 50 years this May as a volunteer firefighter for the Perrysville Fire Company in Ross Township.
He also plays percussion for the Allegheny Brass Band, the Pittsburgh Philharmonic and a local Dixie band. He’ll be performing with the Allegheny Brass Band on March 16 at Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall in Carnegie at 7:30 p.m. See www.carnegiecarnegie.org for information.
Hunt started playing in elementary school in his alma mater of North Hills School District and continued through high school.
If there was a downside to his job as a bus driver, it would be the everyday drivers on the road. He said over the years, other drivers have gotten worse.
“There are so many aggressive people on the road. When I started, people respected a bus,” he said.
Too many drivers run red lights or do not pay attention, he said.
Now that he’s retiring, he’s going to travel to see his sister and other family members in Florida.
Until then he looks forward to the end of the school year, which is always bittersweet for Hunt.
“It’s always nice when a kid comes up to you on the last day and gives you a hug. That’s the part I’ll miss the most,” he said.
The Beach family, who attend McKnight Elementary, enjoy seeing Hunt every day.
First grader Penny Beach, 7, said, “He’s really nice and kind.”
Her older brothers — third grader Blake, 9, and fifth grader Luke, 11 — agree.
“Mr. Bob is always on time, and I love that he plays music for us,” Blake said.
Added Luke: “Mr. Bob keeps us safe by making sure that we aren’t doing anything that we aren’t supposed to or that aren’t standing up, so he can focus on the road.”
The school district’s current listed requirements to become a bus driver include completion of a 20-hour certified school bus training course and passing a comprehensive physical annually by a school-appointed physician, which involve pre-employment and random drug test screenings. One must obtain a Class B driving permit with endorsements for passenger, school bus and air brake restriction removal. A prospective driver must score an 80 percent on four written exams testing school bus, air brake, passenger and general knowledge.
And he or she must pass a pre-trip inspection, site skill maneuver and comprehensive road tests. A re-certification program must be completed every four years to maintain credentials in Pennsylvania, according to www.northallegheny.org.
The training and certification process can be completed as quickly as two weeks, or it could take a month or more. There is a cost to obtain clearances, physical, and commercial drivers license training, but this cost is shared between the new employee and the district, according Brandi Smith, communications director for NA.
The district has bus driving positions available with a starting pay of $19.50 per hour when initially hired as an extra on-board bus driver or substitute driver. The pay increases for a full-time bus driver for the district. The rate for the 2021-22 School Year is $21.66 per hour, she said.
Hours can be flexible, and a benefits package is available to those who work both the morning and afternoon shifts.
One thing’s certain: After all those years on the road, Hunt is all heart.
“Sometimes you’ll have a student you had in kindergarten, first or second grade, and then you run into them when they’re in high school and you say, ‘Gosh, I remember when he was in first grade,’ Hunt said. “And it’s nice to see them mature into a nice adult after all of these years.
“But then you think, ‘Gosh, where did the time go?’ Time goes fast. It’s kind of depressing in a way when you see how much time has gone by, but it’s good to see they turned into a good person, a kind person.”
More information on bus driving positions can be found through the careers page at www.northallegheny.org.