As a child in Northeast Minneapolis, David Micklin grew up on Metro Transit buses.

“I’d ride them everywhere,” Micklin said. “I’d ride on my father’s bus and help him change his route signs.”

His father, Al Micklin, served for 34 years with Twin Cities Lines. Metropolitan Transit Commission, Metropolitan Council Transit Operations, and Metro Transit.

“I always felt at home onboard a bus,” he said.

As a young man, he tried a few careers, but it wasn’t until 1988 that he followed in his father’s footsteps at Metro Transit. 

“I don’t know why I didn’t start until then because I knew it was a good job with good pay and benefits,” Micklin said. “And, my dad always told me that he never worked a day in his life because he loved his job so much.”

Throughout his career, he worked at every garage except South. And, after 35 years of service, he’s proud to say that he’s had zero accidents and was always on time to work. He says he’s never even had a broken mirror or any other minor issues.

While he was dedicated to safety and on-time performance, it was the people that really made the job special for him, especially on his favorite routes – the 4, 65, 67, and 852.

“There were always friendly people onboard,” Micklin said.

In retirement, he’ll move up to his lake home in Wisconsin with his wife. He plans to finish some additions and looks forward to hosting his two children and grandchildren. He also plans to spend plenty of time behind the wheel of his Corvette.