Great People

In 1973, Bob Patkoff began his career in the bus industry as a baggage handler for an interstate bus company out of Dallas, Texas.

“Working in the bus business, you get to meet a lot of people,” Patkoff said. “I’ve driven the New York Yankees and met lots of folks, like the Zelles and Jesse Jackson.” He fondly remembers receiving a signed baseball from Reggie Jackson, a player with a reputation for not signing autographs.

After a brief break to study in college and serve in the Army, he returned to interstate busing. However, he was spending an average of 285 days away from home and his family. “It was too much time away,” he said. “So, I started to look for other jobs in other places, like Kansas City, Chicago, or Minneapolis-St. Paul.”

In 1987, he arrived in Minnesota, his birth state. Three years later, he began as a part-time operator for what was then known as the Metropolitan Transit Commission. Three years later, he became a relief dispatcher. In 2002, he earned a job as a full-time bus dispatcher, where he spent the bulk of his career. From 2016 to 2021, he worked in rail as a dispatcher.

For the last year of his career, he returned where he began: bus operations. “It’s my first and last job,” Patkoff said. “It’s been good to me.”

Patkoff retired in early 2022, after 32 years of service. In retirement, he and his wife plan to be “snowbirds,” splitting their time between Minnesota and Oklahoma, the state he was raised and has family and friends.

In 1980, Kelly Mckee was a 23-year-old Iowan who moved to Minnesota seeking opportunity. “I didn’t know anyone up here but knew there’d be more work here than a small farm town,” Mckee said.

For a few years, he worked at a big box store and picked up part-time work as a school bus driver to earn more money. It wasn’t long after that he discovered Metro Transit. “They offered better pay and benefits, so I applied,” he said. In 1988, Mckee made two big life decisions: he accepted a job at Metro Transit and got married. “With the pay and benefits, I felt more financially secure to get married and start a family,” Mckee said.  

He began his career as a part-time operator at Shingle Creek. When he was eligible, he went full-time.Through the decades, he’s worked at every garage, except South. In January 2022, he finished his career at East Metro with one last ride on Route 61. After retirement, he planned to take a road trip across the United States with his wife.

Ever since he got his license, Harry Mandik liked driving. So, when a friend suggested becoming a bus operator, he set aside his aspirations of becoming a machinist and applied. Mandik retired nearly 36 years later as a decorated and well-respected operator with experience in both bus and rail.

Mandik’s career began at the old Snelling Garage, and he later worked at the South and East Metro garages. After 17 years as a bus operator and relief instructor, he was encouraged to join the first group of operators to move to light rail. Though he wasn’t sure at first, Mandik quickly came to love railroading and never looked back. “Driving a different type of vehicle and being able to do it well was rewarding,” Mandik said. “Plus, it was a smoother, quieter ride. And getting to learn all the different rules and about the equipment – it was all pretty interesting.”

When the METRO Green Line opened in 2014, Harry joined those carrying customers between Minneapolis and St. Paul, where he grew up. Being a part of the Green Line’s opening, he said, was yet another thrilling chapter in his career. “It was exciting in the sense that we were starting to build a system,” he said. “It felt good to see that we were growing and expanding.”

As both a bus operator and a train operator, Mandik exceled. He went his entire career without a responsible collision, won two Rail Rodeos and placed second in three consecutive Bus Roadeos. In 2021, he was named the Minnesota Public Transit Association’s Operator of the Year, a reward reflected both his skills and his role as a leader among his peers. 

Besides the enjoyment he got from driving, Mandik said he was grateful to have made so many friends over the years and to have had a job that provided good benefits and steady employment. When he retired in early 2022, Mandik was the last remaining train operator from the first group that came to light rail.

In retirement, he planned to spend more time volunteering and pursuing other interests like personal finance, home architecture and bicycling. “This job has provided a good wage and steady employment for 35 years,” he said. “I’ve done pretty well so now it’s time to give back.”

Growing up in St. Paul, Art Shelton learned a lesson from his father that he carried throughout his life: Be the best you can be at whatever you’re doing. For 42 years, that meant striving to be the best Metro Transit bus operator he could be. “I enjoyed every day of work at Metro Transit,” Shelton said.

Before he became a bus operator, Shelton served as a police officer. When looking for his next career move, a former operator and friend pointed him to Metro Transit. “I took a test, passed, and the rest is history,” he said. After a few years at the Old Snelling and Nicollet garages, Shelton transferred to South, where he spent the rest of his career.

Over the years, Shelton only worked the extraboard, taking on new routes each day. “It made the job different every day,” Shelton said. “If I had a bad day, I knew the next one could be a good one. And, the vast majority were good.”

He credits his longevity on to the job to finding a career that fit his outgoing personality. Interacting with others and treating people with respect, he said, made the job fulfilling and fun.

In retirement, Shelton hopes to be the best volunteer he can be, stocking homeless shelters with winter clothing and walking shelter dogs.