The End Of The Line Spokane Transit Drivers Ends Memorable, 37-Year Career

It takes a cool hand and steady nerves to maneuver an 8-foot-wide, 40-foot-long bus in and out of traffic with occupants ranging from screaming children to an obnoxious drunk.

And then there’s always the Type A passenger who yells at the driver when the congested roads make him late for work.

None of that ruffled Clarence O’Bannan, who has spent the past 37 years behind the wheel of a Spokane Transit Authority bus. At 1:10 a.m. today, after a final run down North Division, “Obie” retired.

Bus driver? It might be more fitting to refer to O’Bannan as a pilot.

“Obie is smooth,” said fellow STA driver John Christiansen. “I’ve never seen him upset. We need more drivers like him.”

O’Bannan, 62, has traced and retraced countless city routes during his long career. For most of last 10 years, he’s been the driver of the No. 6, which services Division with five runs, from 4:30 p.m. to 1:10 a.m.

“I just learned a long time ago that the key to doing this job is to not let certain people get to you,” O’Bannan said.

He’s had more than enough seniority to get a less congested route with daytime hours. But it was something he never pursued.

“It’s too hard getting up in the morning,” O’Bannan said with a chuckle.

He credits his wife and two children for keeping him on the job so long.

“I’ve collected a lot of bills in my time,” he quipped. “Really though, I’ve always enjoyed this job. I’ve had a chance to meet a lot of people.”

People warm up to O’Bannan right away.

“I’ve been riding with him for two years now,” passenger Fred Bruner said. “He’s a wonderful guy.”

On O’Bannan’s first run Tuesday afternoon, the No. 6 couldn’t pass another bus without the driver giving him a wave and salute. “That’s the part I’m going to miss the most - the people I work with,” he said. “It’s been a good place to work.”

O’Bannan has 37 years’ worth of stories to tell. Some can even be printed in a family newspaper.

Years ago, he picked up a group of kids from a local Catholic school.

“The Sister told me that if I had a problem to let her know about it,” O’Bannan said. “They all got on the bus and were sitting in their seats front and center and just being the nicest things I’d ever seen.

“But the minute we got out of sight from that school the bus just erupted with noise.

“I didn’t say a word, though. I just drove back to the school, and when they saw where I was going, they all clammed up again and sat down. I don’t know what was going on in that school, but something sure scared them straight because I didn’t have any problems after that.”

O’Bannan still gets chills when he remembers what happened on the South Hill one fall day.

A pile of leaves had been pushed into the street. With an empty bus and a completed shift behind him, he considered hitting the accelerator and plowing through the pile just for the fun of it.

“I don’t know what it was that made me hold back, but I just slowed up and drove around,” he said. “As I drove by, a couple of kids popped their heads through those leaves and waved at me as I went by. That one still gets me.”

After almost four decades of service, O’Bannan retires with a stellar record.

“You don’t drive for that long and not be a good driver,” said Daryl Wendt, a friend of O’Bannan’s. “I first met him when I was 9 years old. He would drive out to Fairchild, and I’d hop on to see my dad who was stationed out there at the time.”

Wendt, now 21, was one of Obie’s many well-wishers Tuesday.

“This is your last day?” one passenger said in amazement. “Oh God, Obie, if I knew that I would have brought you a cake.”

O’Bannan said he’s going to take some time to relax before figuring out what he’ll do in retirement.

“I’m thinking I may drive a charter bus on a part-time basis and get out on the open road, but I’m still debating that one,” he said. “I’ve been fortunate. I’ve had a safe career.”

That said, O’Bannan made the sign of the cross and finished another run.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo