BUFFALO, N.Y. — Alice McDonald loves her job as a Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority bus operator.
“I do. It’s relaxing,” she said from behind the wheel of a bus on the Route 12 Utica loop.
She’s been doing the job for 17 years and said it takes more than a good driver to excel behind the wheel.
“It seems like you become their counselor,” she said of riders who confide in her. “They tell you their problems and they just want, you know, somebody just to talk to or help them out. You never know what someone might be going through that gets on the bus.”
At the NFTA, 31% of drivers are women, which lags behind the national average of about 49% according to data from Zippia. As a result, the NFTA, which is recruiting all kinds of operators, would like to boost its recruitment of women.
McDonald said the technical aspect of the job, like taking safety precautions and driving the bus, can be taught to anyone willing to learn, but the kindness and compassion have to come from the heart.
To see available NFTA jobs, or to apply, click here.