The late-night weekend bus of Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit, Inc that circles the Cornell campus and Collegetown “is great if you don’t expect it, but if you’re trying to catch it, it’s four minutes late and you think you’ve missed it,” said Daniel Baicker ’11.
To this, Jim Irvine, who drives the Route 92 bus Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, chuckled and said that he loves helping out lost students who don’t expect to see the bus drive up.
“When you see four girls walking barefoot up Thurston Ave. trying to wave you down, you can’t help but stop the bus to help them out,” Irvine said.
In his nine-hour shift driving the Route 92 bus, Irvine transports around 550 people. He said that his first priority as a bus driver is to deliver good service to his passengers. Irvine has been a full-time driver for TCAT for the last six months but has already developed his own fan club. In an effort to turn what could be a faceless crowd into his regulars, Irvine tries to learn the names of as many of his passengers as possible. Some of his regulars are people who do have their own cars but ride the bus anyway — both to avoid worrying about driving and to enjoy the social experience.
“The bus is amazing. I love everything about it — the atmosphere, the people, everything. Jim is the man!” said Zachary Zaranka ’11.
In the midst of the hubbub on the bus, Irvine manages to stay happy and calm, a trait valued in those whose jobs require them to interact with loud and / or drunk customers. Irvine said that he sees drinking in college as a rite of passage and that he is happy to be able to provide a safe way home for bar and party hoppers.
Only one passenger has been sick on the bus this year and according to Irvine, the culprit was so ashamed of the incident Irvine was sure he or she would not be a repeat offender.
Irvine said that he loves his job and the “incredible opportunity” to work at Cornell, in the middle of a university environment. For example, Irvine noted that on a drive back from the mall he heard as many as five different languages being spoken on the bus. “Where else do you get a chance to interact with the entire University?” Irvine questioned, smiling.
On and off for the last 22 years — before taking his position at TCAT — Irvine worked as a commercial driver. His father owned a bus dealership, and when Irvine was 16, he began working for his father’s business as a bus deliverer. He would literally deliver busses: Irvine would drive busses to their new locations and then hop on a plane heading back to his home or, if he was lucky, he would buy a car and road trip home. After five years of work for his father, Irvine switched to repairs. For the next 15 years he worked as a full-time mechanic, servicing “everything from cars and light trucks to heavier machinery.” After working on a couple of race cars, Irvine built one himself. Racing became a hobby for him that he continues today with his sons.
Irvine has four sons — ages 20, 14, 12 and 8 — with whom he builds and races go-carts. Irvine said that he spends more than 100 hours building each go-cart.
However, Irvine has to save speedy driving for the racetracks. Irvine said that he has found one of the main skills required for Collegetown driving is patience: drivers have to wait as students traipse in front of the bus chatting on cell phones, lugging books and daydreaming in never-never land. Irvine said that when he first began driving in Ithaca, the jaywalking and careless driving around the University bothered him to no end. But Irvine adapted to the aggravation of Collegetown driving quickly. He said that was just “like flipping a switch; I just decided to not let it bother me.”
Irvine has some words of advice for Cornell students as they start the year: “Kindness will get you far in life. And do what you love. Absolutely.”
Irvine said the stresses of climbing the ladder of success are not worth it if you find more enjoyment doing something you are passionate about. Irvine’s positive attitude as he interacts with the students on his bus proved to me that he certainly has found a job he loves. As I rode the so-called “drunk bus” one night, at each stop, I heard a chorus of “Thank yous” as students exited the bus.
“My pleasure,” Jim responded.