A New Brunswick school bus driver has found the answer to the question, “how old – is too old”? The answer came when he reached mandatory retirement and decided it just wasn’t time for him to retire.
“I knew they were going to come along and say you have to retire, i don’t like that word, so I said no i am not going to retire.”
Leonard Way has been driving a bus since 1989, he likes his job and didn’t want to stop. But there was a rule, if you are 65 or older, you can’t drive a school bus.
“If you got your health and can pass your tests why can’t you drive,” says Way, “(there’s) something wrong, so I decided to call the Human Rights Commission and they mulled it over for a while and said we will probably take your case, you are probably right.”
It took four years to get a hearing and a decision. The decision put Way and anyone else in his situation back behind the wheel.
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“It was a department of education and early childhood development policy for transportation, and that policy was changed, so now we will follow the new protocols,” says Derek O’Brien, Superintendent of District 10.
While waiting for his appeal decision, Way worked as a school janitor, missing the things he liked best about his favorite job.
“I like to drive to start with and you get up in the morning about a quarter to seven, I see all the wildlife along the way, you know fields everything to look at , the kids, i enjoy the kids, picking them up, they all get to know you, that is the best part of it.”
“People ask me why in the world do you want to work after 65? I say well you are no older than you think you are, so maybe I think I am younger so I will keep on going.”
Members of the district education councils say they have no problem with Way back behind the wheel. They say the older drivers tend to be safer and more courteous.
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