'I can't see myself doing anything else': School bus driver celebrates 50 years of memories

50 years at the wheel: McNamara's milestone School bus driver Robert McNamara has been driving kids back and forth to school – since 1974.

Hail to the bus driver of 50 years.

Since he was 26 years old, Robert McNamara has driven a school bus in the community of Prospect, N.S.

“A lot of different people, but you know, they all feel the same,” said McNamara, outside his morning stop at Prospect Road Elementary School. “Everything is great. I couldn’t see myself doing anything else.”

50 years later, the 76-year-old driver says a lot has changed.

“When I first started, there were no numbers on the house, and what numbers were on the house were so far away you needed binoculars to see them,” adds McNamara, who works for Student Transportation of Canada. “Then the fire department got out there and added numbers, and that made a big difference, I’m glad those changes came.”

Generational bus driver

His favourite part of the job is the students.

“When the kids come on the bus in the morning, its fun to talk to them,’ explains McNamara. “I always find a way to talk to them, make them comfortable, never get mad at them.”

Jane Caudle agrees. McNamara currently drives her seven-year-old daughter Avery to school.

“Robert is kind, gentle, and I think the biggest thing is he gives so much respect to people, and the kids,” explains Caudle. “I work a lot, and I’m not always there to drop off my daughter. I feel so safe and comfortable. He’s been taking my daughter to school since she was four.”

Avery, who is about to finish Grade 1, agrees.

“He’s kind,” says the student. “He always says 'Hi.'"

Parent Steve Price first met McNamara in 2019.

“My son Grayson was starting primary,” explains Price. “Robert picked him up, and right from day one, he was happy he was his driver.”

Price says he’s never seen a sad child coming off of Robert’s bus.

“He always has them smiling, he really puts them at ease” adds Price. “He says goodbye to them, always remembers their names.”

As McNamara reflects on 50 years, so do members of the community.

“He’s a remarkable person. Anyone who you talk to about Robert has consistently good things to say about him taking their kids, or even grandkids to school,” adds Caudle. “Robert is someone who is a constant in their lives. He thinks he’s just doing his job, and he is, but he’s making a big impact in peoples’ lives.”

Not running out of gas

For McNamara, he says he’ll continue to drive a bus for years to come, as long as he passes the driving and medical tests.

“If I can go for 20, I’ll go for 20,” he adds. “I look forward to driving the bus as long as I can, that’s what I want, that’s what I hope I can.”

With files from CTV Atlantic's Paul DeWitt