Winnipeg Transit Driver Ron Eunson Marks 31 Years, Named Operator of the Year Ron Eunson, the second longest-serving of Winnipeg Transit's roughly 1,100 bus operators, celebrated 31 years on the job and was named operator of the year after his shift on Oct. 8, 2026. Ron Eunson marked 31 years behind the wheel for Winnipeg Transit in October and was named operator of the year after his shift on Oct. 8, 2026. Longest Serving Driver Honored After 31 YearsThe recognition came as transit management waited for him at Fort Rouge Station, there to present the accolade. It comes with two plaques, one to hang in the operators cafeteria and the other to take home. Eunson is the second longest-serving of the roughly 1,100 bus operators on the job, according to Winnipeg Transit spokesperson Brandon Logan. The only operator with more seniority has been behind the wheel for 46 years, 15 more than Eunson, he said.That driver was unavailable for an interview. Eunson called the 46-year operator a friend and said he has an idea of what keeps him going. Eunson, 60, said he started training with Winnipeg Transit on Oct. 2, 1995. Most of Winnipeg is asleep when his first alarm goes off at quarter to three in the morning.It is the first of six alarms, four set on his phone, one on a Google Home in the bedroom and one on an actual alarm clock. His wife hates that last one, Eunson said, because that is the get-out-of-bed one. Asked whether he ever envisioned a career this long with Winnipeg Transit, he was quick to respond. Absolutely not.My plan was I was going to work for 25 years, Eunson said. I was looking for a good career, something that would pay decently well and have benefits to raise my family. Decades-old GMCs to low-floor buses. With those years has come a lot of change.Fleet Evolved From Old High Floor To Low FloorWhen Eunson started, he said only three buses in the city fleet were accessible and typically only one was in service at a time because of engine problems. He said the standard was high-floor buses with steps at the front and back doors. Some of them were pretty old. We had GMCs that were 35 years old on the road, and they were great buses to drive, he said.Today, all of Winnipeg Transit 600-plus fleet of buses are low-floor access buses, without steps. Another change Eunson recalled is the end of punching transfers by hand. At the start of each shift, he said operators once prepared their own transfers, a task known as punching transfers. Every driver was issued a hole punch with a unique pattern, which they used to mark the route and date on each slip.If a rider ran into a problem, the pattern meant the transfer could be traced back to the driver who handed it out. And some operators would do some fancy folds to make them easier to hand out, Eunson said. It was pretty easy, but you could tell if a transfer was expired. Despite over three decades of driving bus routes in the city, Eunson said the longest stint he has had on the same route was approximately three months.He said he has been driving the 557 route since September, noting drivers pick their work in order of seniority. Now everything changes from change to change, but things did not change as much back then, Eunson said. You used to have operators that would do the same piece of work for 10 years. Christmas time was extra special because riders would have things for the bus operator.Rescued Unbreathing Infant During Emergency StopBut that kind of went away when they started changing things all the time. Other moments from those three decades that stand out have little to do with change. In April 2011, Eunson said he was driving the 79 Charleswood route, having just left the loop at Polo Park with only a few passengers on board. As he crossed St. James Street, someone called out for help.There is a baby that is not breathing back here and turning blue, Eunson recalled. He said he pulled the bus over on the Portage Avenue overpass above Route 90 and hit the 911 button to alert the control centre. Once he knew paramedics were on the way, he got out of his seat and turned to the infant. This was a two-week-old baby and had stopped breathing, was turning blue.I did some CPR, some rescue breaths, and got the baby breathing again, Eunson said. Another moment he recalled came in early April 1997, when he found himself driving a bus through a historic blizzard. Around 11 p.m. on a Saturday, he said he got stuck in the snow at Roseberry Street and St. Matthews Avenue while driving the 14 Ellice route.The three-day blizzard dumped nearly 50 centimetres of snow across the Red River Valley, burying vehicles and setting the stage for the Flood of the Century. I stayed on the bus overnight, Eunson said, waiting out the storm until 9 a.m. the next morning. I was awake. I thought about walking down the road to Salisbury House to use the bathroom and grab something to eat or drink, and I thought, Do I want to go into that north wind?Nope. In the morning, he said a City of Winnipeg front-end loader arrived and cleared a path along St. Matthews Avenue, and the bus was pulled out of the snowdrift.Then there is the lost-and-found. Among the wallets and other items left behind over the years, Eunson recalled one set of dentures that has stood out. Eunson said the most challenging aspect of the work is not the driving. The hardest part of the job is really dealing with passengers, he said.Challenges Involve Passenger Interactions Rather Than DrivingThe bus itself, easy. His approach to tense moments is to keep his cool. Drivers have a radio system and backup in place, he said, though he acknowledged it is not always adequate. Do not do anything to make them more irate, Eunson said.It is different for different people. Eunson also sits on the city Transit Advisory Committee, which reviews practices and recommends strategies to improve safety on the transit system. He does not remember his first run with passengers, but one day from his training stands out, when he was on the 55 St. Anne route.One of my mom best friends got on the bus and we started chatting and chatting because she liked to chat and I liked to chat, Eunson said. His instructor told him to do a little less chatting. It has not stuck, Eunson said during an interview Wednesday afternoon at Winnipeg Transit Fort Rouge garage after his shift. No plans to park the bus yet.