Calgary Transit celebrates five-decade career of longest-serving operator
Posted May 27, 2024 5:33 pm.
Last Updated May 27, 2024 7:21 pm.
Calgary Transit is taking time to celebrate and recognize a major milestone for a special employee on Monday.
Syd Banks has been helping move Calgarians for over five decades, he started driving buses in the 1970s before switching to trains many years later. After 50 years and six months on the job, Calgary Transit says Banks is officially the longest-serving operator in the agency’s history.
Now Banks is reflecting on the changes he’s seen over the past five decades and why he still loves his job.
His first day was on Nov. 5, 1973. A lot has changed since then.
“It was a very cold day,” he says, remembering the days when he needed to use a scraper to clear the windshield of the bus.
“When we got our first new buses that came in a few years after I was here, they had beautiful defrosters,” he says. “Even the passengers had defrosters on the side windows.”
Banks drove buses for over 35 years, and just when he thought he was ready to retire, he says his three grandsons convinced him to make the switch to trains.
“Grandpa, you just have to drive the CTrain,” they pleaded
Now 16 years later, he continues to create lasting moments for each one of his passengers.
“You’ll often hear a weather report, or something special happening during the day when he announces,” says Sharon Fleming with Calgary Transit. “He does a great job getting people smiling every morning.”
“Sid is a very animated guy and he really enjoys the customers.”
Banks says his now well-known announcements began as a way for him to get to know his passengers better.
“I decided, hey, why don’t I just say good morning to them, and maybe give them the weather forecast for the next few days,” he says. “And that went over really well.”
The feedback assured him his announcements on the loudspeaker and optimistic tidbits were well appreciated. He says riders will often come and tap his window at the end of their trip, to say “thank you.”
He credits his ability to see the positive in things as a big reason why he’s been able to enjoy the same job for over 50 years.
“Look for the positive things, they’ll give you the extra little lift you need every day to keep things going,” he says.
Asked if he’s now looking towards retirement, Banks says he’s been telling his wife he’d retire in April.
“She never asked me what year, until about two years ago,” he says. “So, now I’ve changed it to November. I tell her I’m retiring in November, and she hasn’t asked me what year yet.”
