Dispatch

Gregg Thompson maintains the Salem Area Mass Transit District's fleet of buses. He walked me through the warehouse where the buses are fixed, ...

She explained the mechanics of it, and told me exactly when to turn the wheel, much later than I would in a car. I left with a greater appreciation for Ryan Loibl, the bus driver on my route back to downtown. A University of Oregon grad, she has also reported for the Malheur Enterprise, The News-Review and Willamette Week. Then she hopped out of the bus to take some pictures of me. But, Moffitt was calm and close by, and I kept the wheel steady. All I had to do was head straight down a line in the pavement. So, potential recruits are being given the chance to get behind the wheel of a real bus. I could almost hear the crunching of metal. A few weeks earlier, Feeny emailed me asking if I’d like to get behind the wheel. Growing up, I was always in awe of my elementary school bus driver who, every year on the last day before summer vacation, would let us have a free-for-all paper airplane fight mid-route. I was asked for ID when I went to see a R-rated movie this summer. Thompson stopped and, realizing she wasn’t kidding, asked that I at least drive one of the older models.