PARTA buses are a common sight around campus. Whether they’re taking someone to class, or a freshman to their car parked outside Dix Stadium, these buses and their drivers play a crucial role on campus.

But what does it take to become a driver for PARTA? Then, once hired, what’s it like to drive a PARTA bus?

Kelly Jurisch, chief of staff at PARTA, said many prospective drivers find that driving a bus isn’t as complicated as they imagined.

“If they’re apprehensive about driving a bus because they think they can drive something so big and then they’re like ‘Ooh, this isn’t that bad!’,” she said.

Perhaps one thing that makes bus driving easier is the fact that bus drivers enjoy increased visibility around the vehicle thanks to the plethora of mirrors on board.

“You can see what’s around you, we have mirrors all over,” Jurisch said.

PARTA spends about $3,000 on training a new driver, she said. Because of this, they typically hire student drivers that are at an earlier stage in their college career so they can work longer for the company.

Anthony Porreca is one of those hired as an early college student.

He is a senior aeronautics major who started as a driver as a freshman in early 2021 and now holds the position of campus road supervisor. In that position, he manages the logistics of the buses on campus and will drive on occasion.

He applied for the original PARTA position because, he said, finding work during the pandemic was hard.

“I applied for a whole bunch of different jobs. Nobody was getting back to me,” he said.

PARTA responded in about a day.

“They were super interested … and they were like ‘When do you want to start training?’,” he said.

Porreca trained for a few months to obtain his Commercial Driver License before he started driving that summer, which he said he felt prepared for after the training.

He said drivers must be aware of where they are on the road, but the large mirrors on the bus make controlling it easy.

“It’s not like a very daunting task or anything,” he said.

However, other drivers on the road can complicate his job. One recent issue has been people driving around campus at night without headlights.

“If it was an empty road, it’d be the easiest job in the world, but you always got to be looking out for the other people on the road,” he said.

Porreca has enjoyed his time working for PARTA.

“It’s a really good atmosphere … everybody’s very helpful and nobody really turns you down if you need help with something,” he said

Jurisch said PARTA needs drivers so they can resume all routes they did have prior to the pandemic. Those interested in applying can learn more online at partaonline.org.

Jacob Brooks is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected].