Man looks back fondly on 50 years with Calgary Transit

Sydney Banks's first day at Calgary Transit was Nov. 5, 1973. Since then, he's become a beloved operator with over 50 years of service under his belt, and has watched the transit system change and expand along with the city. 

"Because the city has grown so much, the transit has kept pace, especially the CTrains," said Banks. "I've noticed how they've kept on expanding them to keep up with the new districts and keep the commute down.

"Just before the trains opened up, Macleod Trail used to be so congested with traffic, it would take me an hour to get from [Somerset-Bridlewood] to downtown Calgary. When the CTrain started, all of a sudden the time reduced down to about 25 minutes."

Banks is officially the longest serving member of Calgary Transit, says the organization. He got his start behind the wheel of an electric trolleybus which were phased out in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The CTrain was introduced in the early 80s, but Banks continued to drive buses for 34 years. He was ready to retire in year 35, but his grandsons gave him a gentle push to continue.

"My three grandsons said to me, 'Grandpa, you just have to drive the CTrain,' and they said, 'so we can tell our friends that you drove the CTrain,'" Banks recalled. "And a sign-up was coming up and I thought, 'you know what, I think I'll take a shot at it for my last six months.'

"Well, here I am 16 years later, still having fun driving the CTrain."

A well-loved operator

Calgary Transit says Banks has received hundreds of customer commendations over his career, and he won the One City Award for his outstanding service. On top of that, Calgary Transit's director says Banks is known for his morning weather reports and announcements on the LRT. 

"Syd is a very animated guy. He really enjoys the customers and does really fun announcements when he's driving his train," said Sharon Fleming.

"It's noted by all of our customers, you'll often hear a weather report or something special happening during the day that he announces."

Banks said he's found purpose in cheering people up in his own way.

"When I was on the buses I always said, 'good morning,' and even the grouchiest person, after about a week they started saying 'good morning' back to you," he said.

"I missed that when I came on the train. So I thought, 'what can I do so that I can communicate better with the folks on the train?' And it came to me, why don't I welcome them to downtown Calgary in the morning and give them a little weather report. Well, I've been doing that ever since.

"And every night when I go home, I think about those smiles and waves that those people have given to me."

Banks says he looks for the silver lining every day, and that's how he's enjoyed 50 years of fulfilling work.

"I guess I just enjoy people, and I found out over the years, and it took me a while to find this out, that the more you let people know that you appreciate them, the more that they appreciate you back.

"It's that old saying, 'you get out of something what you put into it.' And that's certainly the story with the good people that ride the transit system."