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King of the Road: A Half-Century of Safe Driving; VIA Celebrates Its Longest-Serving, Safest Bus Driver

Special to Passenger Transport from VIA

In his 50 years behind the wheel of a bus, Jesse Quintero Jr. has ­traveled more than 3 million miles of road. That’s six times to the moon and back or 120 times around the Earth, give or take a mile.

Quintero, who was honored in August as the longest-serving operator for VIA Metropolitan Transit, also has the safest record in the San Antonio agency’s history—a half-century of service without a single preventable accident. His performance stands among the safest in the nation.

He was never really shooting for the moon, just a safe trip.

“I always give 100 percent,” Quintero said following a ceremony to recognize his service, during which he received commendations from local legislators and was presented with a flag that flew over the Texas Capitol on the 50th anniversary of his driving career. “Some people think it’s easy but it’s not that easy when you have 20, 30, 40 passengers, everybody has different questions. You have to concentrate on safety,” he said.

Quintero’s passengers know him as friendly and helpful, quick to start up a conversation or share a story. Some might say it runs in the family. His father was a bus operator and his son, Jesse Quintero III, is now the foreman for bus operations at VIA. “He’s now my boss,” the elder Quintero proudly noted.

Never one to sing his own praises, Quintero is well known in San Antonio for a different kind of song. Off the road, he is a seasoned mariachi musician who has performed for local and national elected officials.

His career as a bus operator began in August 1965 with the San Antonio Transit System (SATS), now VIA, in an era before air-conditioned buses, Wi-Fi access or digital route planners. When VIA took over public transportation operations from SATS in 1978, Quintero stayed on, full time, until his “retirement” in 2001, when he began driving part-time. The venerable driver is still on the road.

VIA estimates that Quintero has transported more than 2.7 million passengers in his career. “That’s 2.7 million smiles” that VIA President/CEO Jeffrey Arndt also credited to Quintero.

“Jesse represents the ideal VIA professional operator, serving his customers with care and brightening their day,” Arndt said. “His half-century of exemplary service to our community is beyond outstanding.”

Quintero’s safety record has earned him memberships in VIA’s Million Mile Clubs, which are part of a program sponsored by the National Safety Council to reward bus and van operators for safe vehicle operations. VIA organized the One Million Mile Club in 1998 and started the Two Million Mile Club the following year.

In 2004, VIA also instituted a Three Million Mile Club. Quintero, the club’s founding member and its lone fellow to date, had completed three 12-and-a-half-year periods or 75,000 vehicle hours without a preventable accident at the time.

The stellar safety record has drawn the attention of APTA. In May 2014, APTA highlighted 100 years of safety awards in the transportation industry by honoring Quintero, among three bus operators from across the nation, for completing more than 40 years of safe driving.

VIA congratulates Jesse Quintero on his outstanding accomplishment and thanks him for his five decades of service and his continuing commitment to excellence.

During a recent recognition ceremony, the VIA Board of Trustees, San Antonio, stands to honor agency bus operator Jesse Quintero Jr. for his 50 years of safe driving. Photo courtesy of VIA

 

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