Calgary Transit's most senior driver has brought smiles to riders for nearly five decades
On a snowy Wednesday afternoon, Calgary Transit driver Sydney Banks hits a few buttons and waits for passengers to board the CTrain. As a bell beeps to signal the doors will soon close, Banks activates the train's intercom.
"Good afternoon folks, welcome aboard. A special welcome to all those folks in town for the 107th annual Grey Cup game, being held in Calgary at McMahon Stadium, folks," he says as the train pulls away from the station. "I'd like to invite you to enjoy our western hospitality and the home of the Calgary Stampede. Folks, I'd like to let you know that the time is 12:23."
Anyone who boards Banks's train is familiar with his voice, as he proceeds to serve as a weatherman, sportscaster and even a brief stint as a tour guide.
"If you take a look on the left side, you'll see sun shining on it. It just looks like a beautiful winter scene," Banks says as the train passes an open field covered in snow. "It looks like it could be on a postcard."
It's an unconventional approach, but it's part of the reason passengers look forward to riding the train every day, waving to him through the windows and saying good morning.
Banks is the most senior driver at Calgary Transit, having driven with the transit service for 47 years. He began driving a bus in 1973.
"It was about minus 20, and I went out to Bowness, and then went up to Forest Lawn and it was my first piece of work," Banks says. "Some nice kind lady got on my bus at the Shouldice bridge and gave me a hot chocolate and I thought that was pretty great.
"I've loved the job ever since. But nobody else has given me a hot chocolate."
Banks says he's watched the city grow and recalls a time when the outskirts of the city used to be at 58th Avenue and Macleod Trail S.W., where he used to take his family to see movies at the Chinook Drive-In theatre.
"I think the neatest thing is the city has grown, but the people have stayed friendly. And that's what I've really enjoyed," he says.
After 34 and a half years driving a bus, Banks says he began to think about whether or not it might be time to retire. With six months to go, his grandchildren convinced him to try driving a CTrain before he retired.
"Well here I am, and as of March, it will be the start of my 13th year [driving a train]. And I absolutely love driving the train," he says.
Listening to his announcements on Wednesday, many CTrain riders unplug their headphones and look away from their smartphones, if only for a minute.
"This is the first time I've heard of the driver, and I take the CTrain quite a bit," says passenger Ian Seright. "It's surprising he's done it for 47 years. I kind of have to applaud for him."
Though he is now 75 years old – or, as he puts it, "65 and up" – Banks says he isn't yet quite sure when he'll call it a career.
"My wife is suggesting I retire in April, and I agree with her," he says. "I just didn't say what year."
