The accomplishments of those who have dedicated their careers to Metro Transit inspire us to do our best work. We are proud to honor members of the Metro Transit family who retire with more than 30 years of service here. Retirees are also honored with plaques in the Metro Transit Wall of Fame at the Metro Transit Police & Office Facility.
Waiting for a city bus in driving, icy rain, Melanie Benson found her calling. "When that red bus came over the hill it looked like my savior and I just thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice to have a job where everyone’s glad to see you all the time?’" she said.
That flash of inspiration – Benson calls it an "epiphany" – occurred in late 1974. It led the then-student at Macalaster College to apply for a job as a Metro Transit operator soon after earning her degree in humanities. She started on Oct. 11, 1976, and retired 47 years later as Metro Transit's longest-serving operator.
"This is the longest full-time job I’ve ever had," she joked before a crowd of family members, longtime riders, and co-workers who gathered for an April 2024 send-off at Nicollet Garage. "Oh that’s right, it’s been the only job I’ve ever had."
Benson never wavered largely because she came to see the people on her bus not just as riders but as friends. For most of her career, Benson drove on Route 23, and she came to know just about everyone who got on board. "If you drive a route like it’s a neighborhood, you find that people are all connected," she said.
In 2020, Melanie Benson was recognized as the Minnesota Public Transit Association's Operator of the Year. Her longevity also led to media interest, including stories in her final year on the job from KARE-11, The Star Tribune and Racket.
In retirement, Benson said she plans to continue riding the bus, to visit friends at Nicollet, and to continue working on a book about her experience as a bus operator
In 1979, a teenaged Tom Vang immigrated from Laos to Minnesota with his father to be close to family and to find opportunities. About a decade later, he found opportunity at Metro Transit.
“I was working as a teacher and working part time at Metro Transit,” Vang said. “After a few years of doing both, I realized the pay and benefits were better being a bus driver.”
Like many college graduates, Vang discovered a great career that wasn’t a title printed on their degree. His degree and experience in education did prove helpful in his newfound career as a classroom filled with students and a busload of passengers share a lot in common.
“I work with people,” he said. “And when you work with people, you work with difficult ones sometimes.”
When he began, operators made $8 an hour, buses were red and had no power steering nor air conditioning, Snelling Garage still existed and Ruter was called Shingle Creek. Today, as he leaves Metro Transit with all the modern advancements and amenities operators enjoy, Vang realizes that his 34 years went by fast.
“Metro Transit is a place to meet lots of different people onboard and in the garage,” Vang said. “The time here goes by fast.”
He recommends Metro Transit as a great place to grow a career and recommends working here to others, including his son Johnny, now an operator with ten years of service and counting. During Johnny’s early years, Vang served as a mentor and answered all his questions. And the same advice he gave his son, he’ll happily share with others.
“Stick with it. With time, you get seniority,” he said. “And try to do your best every day.”
In retirement, Vang plans to travel to Europe and South America. And, when he’s not traveling, he’ll tend to his 7-acre hobby farm with sweet corn, mustard greens, and a host of other plants.