don't discriminate on who comes through the doors, homeless people, or elderly people, passengers will pick up on that and say, “Okay, she's a nice person. She’s not being nice just because I look handsome." [laughter] As far as safety for women and everybody else, it's all the same, you can’t control people, but you can try by saying good morning.
Ceres: Is it harder for a woman to be a bus operator than for a man?
Robert: I would say so, when it comes to passengers, but as far as operating the bus, they have no problems with that. It's just dealing with certain
passengers. You have rude people all the time, and some will take advantage because it's a female driving, though I know some female operators that will let them know that they won’t tolerate such attitude.
Ceres: What are the problems that you, yourself, have encountered?
Robert: You’ve got people that don't want to pay, people that are just plain rude. As a matter of fact, we have this one passenger on the Silver Line. He gets on the bus over in downtown, and this person is just very rude. He’s a wheelchair passenger, too. We have a job to do, we have to ask him a couple of questions, and he just tells us to drive, he just yells it out. This job is not that easy, but it all depends on how you do it. It's up to you how you treat people. If you treat people well and you have a good time being out there with your passengers, it becomes different, it's not work, it's more of just a good day making money.
Ceres: Some people say women should stay home and take care of kids and family, what do you think?
Robert: Oh no, I know too many female operators, out there, that are really strong. Matter of fact, they are so strong, they can do both, they can be at home cooking, playing with the kids, raising them, and come here and work. Even the women that are not married, and are a single-parents, they’re living their life; they're taking care of their family, working to
make money, and doing everything else. I applaud them for that.
Ceres: Any good stories?
Robert: I met my wife on the bus. It was just before Christmas. I greeted her Merry Christmas in advance, and for her to have a beautiful day. I didn’t see her for about three months, and when I saw her again, we started talking. Next thing you know, we're going out, and we’re married, and we have now one daughter who's just a delight.
Photo by Lands of Void
"This job is not that easy, but it all depends on how you do it. It's up to you how you treat people."
Al Mohymont for Ceres Magazine
65 - Ceres Magazine - Winter 2016
Robert Advincula -- Metro Bus Operator, Division 9. Photo by Lands of Void.