Syd Banks, who has been a Calgary Transit employee for 47 years, has become know for his friendly disposition with passengers.
He welcomes them onto his train and enjoys keeping them updated with his cheerful weather forecasts.
Banks is also known for being good all around, as one of his passengers recently found out.
Last week, Grayson Carr got off of one of Banks’ red line trains when he discovered his wallet was missing.
“I was in a panic,” Carr recalled.
“I went up and down the trains, went to Heritage Station and checked there, went back to City Hall,” he said.
While Carr searched for his wallet, another passenger on Banks’ train had already found it and turned it in to him.
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There was over $300 in cash in the wallet.
“This money was mostly a gift from my family for my birthday,” said Carr, adding he is on a fixed income so “every penny counts.”
“That’s about the most that I’ve ever found on a train,” said Banks, who sprung into action right away.
“I immediately called my train traffic controller and indicated to him that I had found a wallet with the money in it.
“He immediately, within 10 minutes, had somebody meet me.”
Within hours and much to his surprise, Carr and his wallet were reunited.
“Many people are going through hard times with COVID and not working,” said Carr. “It would be very tempting for anyone to pocket the cash.”
When he went to retrieve his wallet at City Hall, Carr also found out that Banks’ actions were not out of character for the 76-year-old.
“The lady at the City Hall office… said that there’s been a couple of occasions where you (Banks) have turned in lost property and you’re generally a very pleasant guy to work with,” Carr said to the man.
“I’m just so delighted to be part of the procedure of getting these things back,” said Banks. “It just makes me feel really good inside.”
Carr gave Banks a gift card to show his gratitude but Banks doesn’t plan on keeping it.
“I’m going to carry this in my pocket and if I run across that lady, I’m going to give her this,” said Banks, holding up the gift card.