probably why I’ve been doing it for so long.
Ceres: How is your work relationship with you male coworkers?
Sipriana: The guys here are the best! They've always been nothing but kind. I haven't met one that has been disrespectful or that is not there to help you. We take care of each other. It’s like we are a family, and it's the best!
Ceres: If you could change one thing about your job, what would it be?
Sipriana: Nothing, really.
Ceres: What would you want to say to a woman who would want to be a bus driver?
Sipriana: I'll be quite honest; this job is not for everyone. It takes a lot of personality. You have to be very strong, yet be good and gentle with passengers, and be respectful. It can be tough. You have to have a lot of discipline. You have to love what you do, and love being around people, no matter how crazy they are because, at the end of the day, you’ll also be laughing at how crazy the day can be.
Ceres: Do you have any good stories that you would want to share?
Sipriana: I think it was maybe my third year at OCTA. I was doing the 60 line coming eastbound on Westminster and Magnolia. A lot of people were waiting, of course. It was super busy, and I was picking up some of my passengers. All of a sudden, I saw this homeless guy that I already knew because I’d see him at the same corner, all the time, and wherever I’d see him he would always wave at me.
He approached, and waved, but I could see that something wasn’t right. He got to the front end of my bus. His pants were very loose, but he climbed on the bumper of my bus, holding onto the wipers, saying, “Oh Miss Bus Driver, I love you.” He was holding onto his pants, but they fell off, and he had nothing on. All the passengers gasped, saying, “Are you kidding?”
I couldn’t do anything, but just tell him to get off the bus. All the passenger were saying, “Miss, you’ve got to get him off.” He just wouldn’t. So, I had to call the cops.
Westminster PD showed up, and Garden Grove PD showed up. Then, my sheriff (OCTA sheriff) showed up too, and he came to me and he said, “Sipriana, is this what you do?” [Laughter] And, I said, “Can you just get him off my bus?” The other cops were chitchatting, and laughing in a way. I asked them, “Who's gonna take him off my bus? We need to move.” “We don't know,” they replied. “We don’t know where the city line is, so we are trying to decide who's gonna take him off.” [Laughter]
Finally, it was my sheriff who was able to get him off, and they put his pants back on. They asked if I wanted to press charges and I said no. I just wanted to go, and that was the incident, my best one so far. You get some funny situations, though.
Ceres: Any last thought?
Sipriana: Like I said, this job is not for everyone, but if you really love it, you love what you do, this is the best job you can do. After all these years, I still love it.
"You have to be very strong, yet be good and gentle with passengers, and be respectful."
Al Mohymont for Ceres Magazine
Metro logo used with OCTA's permission.
44 - Ceres Magazine - Winter 2016