WASHINGTON 鈥� Slogging through traffic on Interstate 95 looks much different today than it did 43 years ago, when Milton Powell started driving commuter buses from Prince William County, Virginia, to the Pentagon. But he hopes his driving days are far from over.
Powell鈥檚 brother had to teach him to drive a bus when he started in 1973 鈥� there was no such thing as a standard commercial driver鈥檚 license. (Metro also had .)
鈥淚t鈥檚 a lot of responsibility on that bus,鈥� Powell said.
He became interested in driving after a trip to North Carolina with a church quartet a few years after he turned 10, when he saw the driver.
鈥淚t looked so impressive, and I said, 鈥榃ell, I would like to do that one day,鈥� but I didn鈥檛 know it would ever happen,鈥� he said.
When he started driving for the service, which was then called COMMUTERIDE, the buses had no air conditioning and only manual transmissions. Powell would work in a mail room at the Pentagon in the middle of the day, then drive commuters home to Woodbridge from the Pentagon and Crystal City.
Conductors on the buses sold paper tickets.
鈥淲e had a party every Friday on my bus for the passengers, and they just sold sodas and snacks. That was the most exciting thing that went on back in the day,鈥� Powell said.
Today, it makes Powell鈥檚 day when he picks up passengers who used to ride with him back in the 鈥�70s.
鈥淭hey get on the bus and they say 鈥楬ello Milt, how ya doin’?鈥� and it brings back the memories that we had,鈥� he said.
IN THE EARLY聽1990s, the commuter bus service transitioned to the control of the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission, or PRTC, which still runs OmniRide service today.
PRTC is celebrating its 30th聽anniversary this fall; it was created in 1986 to help start Virginia Railway Express Service.
Powell鈥檚 experience goes back to when I-95 was half the width it is today. He left the bus service to drive for a construction company in the 1990s and early 2000s before returning to drive buses for First Transit, the contractor that operates PRTC service. Overall, he has been driving commuter buses for more than 25 years.
鈥淓verything is new each and every day when you go out on that bus, so you have to be equipped, you have to be aware and make sure you do the right thing,鈥� he said.
He suggests all drivers know what they are doing before they get behind the wheel, leave plenty of space behind the car in front, and always have their heads on a swivel to be aware of a way in or out of any troublesome situations that may pop up.
鈥淚 think the worst problem is being out there on 66 and you鈥檝e only got that one lane, HOV lane, you have to be very attentive of your driving because people will pull in and out, and I have seen plenty of accidents just caused by somebody just whipping out in front of a bus and you just 鈥� you鈥檙e not able to stop that quickly,鈥� Powell said.
He turns 64 this month and plans to 鈥渨ind down鈥� in about a year and a half, but he is not sure what鈥檚 next.
鈥淚 haven鈥檛 thought about it. If I could do part time here with PRTC that鈥檇 be fine; I would enjoy that. I mean, I love driving, I enjoy the passengers, I love helping out with other drivers here,鈥� he said.
