Thank you, Mr. Bus Driver

Neither rain nor snow nor broken foot could prevent Spokane Valley school bus driver Bob Schumann from delivering his littlest passengers to their parents.

“It was the first day for kindergartners. It was painful, but I took the kids home,” said Schumann, a 69-year-old bus driver who still limps after slipping off a bus step a few months ago.

It’s that sort of devotion for which Schumann was recently honored by the East Valley School District.

“Bob is always reliable, dependable and consistent,” a fellow school bus driver wrote in a letter nominating Schumann for the achievement award. “He is dedicated to his job and to the children.”

Schumann’s been shuttling kids to and from Valley schools for the past 13 years.

“I know them all by name and face,” he said recently, greeting every one of his young charges on his morning run.

“I always try to be polite and say: ‘Please sit down, and thank you,’ ” he said. “And they all know me as Bob. I’m very informal that way.”

If the kids get rowdy, he said, he uses, not loses, his temper.

Mornings, he steers the bus up, around and down pine-studded peaks near Newman Lake.

“It’s one of the prettiest routes,” he said. “I’m more likely to apply the brakes for a deer than anything else. And there are wild turkeys, too. I’ve had to stop dead for them.”

He knows all his elementary school riders’ personalities, the model of cars they usually get to the bus stop in, which dogs will run alongside the bus and every blind corner.

Before moving to the Inland Northwest, he spent years driving city transit buses from New Jersey to New York City and back.

“Drivers will play games with the transit bus – I’ve been rammed on take off,” he said. “But drivers are very respectful of us. They don’t mess with the big yellow bus.”

He’s got each school bus arrival time figured to the minute.

“The route is timed at 20 miles per hour with chains on,” he said. “They say in bus driving there are a thousand reasons to be late – but no excuses for being early. If I’m early, my boss will find out and I’m going to hear about it,” he said with a chuckle.

Before cranking the bus up recently, he walked around, inspecting its brakes, lug nuts and hydraulics.

“We’re going to start rolling,” he said, proudly reeling off the vehicle’s features.

“This is a 2005 International Diesel, five-speed automatic, power steering, power everything. It’s got 25,000 miles, and I run about 90 miles a day. We put chains on when it snows. The bus holds up to 48 kids and has 12 rows.” he said.

Not only does he watch the road, he keeps an eye on his young riders and their possessions.

“They leave their musical instruments on the bus,” he said, recalling how he once found a youngster’s violin.

Twice a day he fires up the bus and works a split shift. He picks up extra hours carrying kids to school sporting events and other activities.

“I’m pretty much addicted to overtime,” he said.

It takes confidence, patience and practice to be a really good professional driver.

“It’s a big responsibility. But if you can look in the mirror and see everyone sleeping, you know they feel comfortable” with your skills.

He was born at a time when many city folks eschewed autos and took buses instead. By the time he was 6, he knew he wanted to be in the driver’s seat.

The West’s allure, as seen on silver screens and TV screens, drew him to the Inland Northwest decades ago.

And he’s never regretted it.

“I’m a religious person, and I do believe this is my assignment in life,” he said.