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Rider's Almanac Blog

On Off The Clock

On the Clock/Off the Clock: Chris Becker, Rail Transit Supervisor 

Posted by Drew Kerr | Wednesday, November 17, 2021 5:52:00 AM

Rail Transit Supervisor Chris Becker with his Main coon cat Rufus.

Lives: Minneapolis 
Years of service: Eight  

How did you come to work at Metro Transit and what do you do? 

I came to Metro Transit in 2013, after 14 years with a Twin Cities bank. I was burned out and wanted to have more time to help my daughter with Irish dancing. I became a bus operator because I was interested in driving and knew the cities well. I was a part-time operator for five years. At that point, my daughter graduated from high school and I was looking for something different. I became a train operator for a year before returning to bus. In October, I became a rail transit supervisor. At the bank, I worked in and supported their security-control center, so I had a background in supervision and control center operations.   

What do you like the most about being “On the Clock?” 

I enjoy being out and about in the city and seeing people. What I look forward to in my new position is keeping the trains moving and solving problems. I think most people are very helpful if you ask questions. The support people give you here is much better than my previous job.  

What are your favorite activities when you’re “Off the Clock?” 

My wife and I have three Maine coon cats, which are very large. The furniture you can buy isn’t big or strong enough to support them so I started making my own. We have floating shelves in our living room and have turned our house into sort of a cat jungle gym. Our smallest cat Aayla is just over 13 pounds, and our largest Rufus (pictured) is just over 20 pounds. The third one is Soka. I’ve built a few pieces of cat furniture for my daughter but mostly I build the cat furniture for our use at home. 

Learn more about the unique off the clock pursuits of Metro Transit staff