Line 67 rewarding for both driver and passengers
By Justin Beck
Departing from the downtown Berkeley BART station, Line 67 passed City Hall and the Berkeley Public Library, headed down busy University Avenue, then to the North Berkeley BART, past several schools on its way through Albany and El Cerrito, and finally, the rolling hills and quiet suburban homes of Kensington.
At the end of the line the driver, 50-year-old Jim Hogan of Oakland, smiled and opened up. "It's a refreshing schedule," he said, "but it takes years to get here because it's based on seniority."
Hogan was lucky enough to start on the 67 when he became an AC Transit operator 18 years ago. "When you get something like this, it's like being rewarded, like a trip to Hawaii," he said. "The only thing missing is the pineapple."
Pleasant scenery and relatively few riders make the 67 one of the more coveted bus lines among drivers. "Not many people ride this line," Hogan said, despite the fact that his 12-seat van rolled past two parks, three BART stations, and four schools.
It is the kind of line that prompts unexpected kindnesses. On the trip back to Berkeley, an elderly woman reached her stop after a brief ride. On her way out she handed Hogan a brown paper bag. "That's your dinner," she told him. The mutual affection between driver and passenger was palpable.
What about problem passengers? "Kids breaking out windows," Hogan said with no trace of bitterness. "Many times. Because of peer pressure, they have to prove themselves. These things happen."
Ten years ago on a different line, Hogan was the unwitting getaway driver in a bank robbery. "I was on San Pablo Avenue and got a call, and they asked if I'd picked up a guy and gave me his description. They said he had just robbed a bank and I thought they were playing a joke," he said. "But no, they were dead serious." Soon after the call, sheriff deputies surrounded the bus and arrested the suspected robber.
"It's not for everybody," Hogan said about driving buses. "It requires a lot of PR. If you're shy, this job will change you. This job will make you talk. Communication is the key."
Even with the bus nearly empty, Hogan called out every stop, as mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act. It was impossible not to appreciate the love and dedication Hogan has for his job. "It's best to have a good sense of humor and make the best of your time in a peaceful manner," he said.
Not all Line 67 operators are as friendly as Hogan. Two days later, a different driver all but refused to talk. He didn't announce any stops and was rude to a disabled man who didn't have correct change and had forgotten his identification card.
Leaning on a cane, the man sat down across the aisle. His name was Joe Maison and he told how he suffered a stroke last year. Until that point he had been a systems engineer at Bell Laboratories in Denver. After the stroke, Maison, 52, was unable to live by himself. So he moved in with his brother, a civil engineer living in El Cerrito.
Maison was headed to Alta Bates hospital in Berkeley for a regular therapy session. "As for getting around, you can't beat the Bay Area," he said.
But for all that AC Transit is, it isn't perfect. Moments later the driver stopped for a woman in a wheelchair only to discover the hydraulic lift wouldn't work. The 67 rolled away, leaving the woman behind.