When was the last time you rode the bus to school? They seemed so common and in unlimited supply just a few years ago. Then COVID happened and made jobs everywhere drop like flies.
Bus drivers were no exception to this. But the driver shortage wasn’t the only reason this man signed up to drive kids to school.
Rick Daynes is a father to several kids, and this includes his 10-year-old with Down syndrome and autism, Eli.
Eli is different from the other kids. That’s no secret. He probably has trouble learning and communicating the way they do.
This is the plight that people with autism or Down syndrome have to live with. Eli has both.
Thankfully, Eli’s dad would do anything for him. Even become his bus driver.
See, the effects of that bus driver shortage were no small thing. Schools like the one Rick’s kids go to felt it.
This resulted in his kids coming home much later than usual – sometimes, up to an hour late. With less bus drivers to go around, this meant they had to wait longer to find one after classes ended.
Thanks to Rick, there was now one extra bus on the streets to help.
He took bus-driving classes to make sure he was up to the task. Those classes humbled Rick and made him see bus drivers in a new light.
Bus drivers are required to know first aid in case a child needs it on-board. That’s just one example of the responsibility they bear. Makes you realize how much we take them for granted, huh?
With his newfound knowledge and experience, Rick was ready to step behind the wheel of those iconic, four-wheeled, yellow vehicles. He would have dozens of kids sitting in the back with him who’d all depend on him for as long as they were on-board.
And Rick accepted the job with a smile and open arms.
Especially since it meant he could pick up his own kids now – and that included Eli.
The father and now licensed bus driver loves the kids, and the kids love him. Every ride home is a joy with Rick singing along with them and having happy chit-chat with the diverse cast of kids on his bus.
By far the best part was when he surprised Eli at school and revealed that he would be driving him home now.
Eli, of course, was overjoyed.
Rick has a special place in his heart for special needs kids. The fact that he gets to drive kids of all cultural backgrounds, some with special needs, is one of his proudest achievements.
“They were not allowed to film the kids, but just know that behind me is a bus full of kids, all with different disabilities, cultures, and backgrounds. And they all have their hands in the air screaming/laughing like they are on a ride at Disneyland. SO MUCH FUN!” he wrote on Facebook
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