Every workday, Catenna Manuel gets on the intercom to greet her passengers on the bus.

“I love talking to my passengers and having fun with them,” said Manuel.

She has been a contracted driver for the RTC, on and off, since 2001 and enjoys connecting with the people who ride public transit on a daily basis.

Over the summer, she enlisted the help of one of her passengers after noticing a child at a bus stop. “There was a little boy sitting there crying,” she said. “So I found out that he didn’t speak English and asked one of my passengers if they were bilingual, and one of my passengers came down and started speaking with him and told me what was going on.” The boy appeared to be alone so Catenna immediately notified dispatch. “I could not leave that baby there because anything could happen to him and that would have been on me.” 

With the help of her passengers, Catenna reunited the boy with his family.

The dedicated bus driver was recently recognized during a RTC Board Meeting for going above and beyond the call of duty. “I was doing just doing my job. That’s what we’re supposed to do out there, look out for our passengers or see what going on out there so we can be vigilant.”

Like Catenna, all of our drivers often do more than just drive. They jump into action when situations don’t seem right. We commend them for their dedication and selflessness on the job. 

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