Spreading smiles with every trip: Meet the Calgary Transit driver known for his friendly greetings

On the morning of Nov. 5, 1973, Syd Banks stepped onto a Calgary Transit bus to take the wheel for the first time.

In true Calgary fashion, there was a winter storm that day.

“It was exciting,” Banks recalls, adding he hasn’t looked back despite the less-than-ideal weather for the first day of his transit career.

It was a bit of a shift for the Calgary man, who was previously a business owner.

After selling off his businesses, he turned to his neighbours for inspiration for his next career move.

One was a firefighter, another was a police officer, and one was a transit operator.

Banks wasn’t interested in being a police officer due to the shift work and the fire department wasn’t hiring at the time.

So, he decided to learn more about Calgary Transit.

A driver in no time

After a bit of training on a school bus, Banks took his Class 1 driver’s test, passed, and was a transit driver before he knew it.

Banks has had a front-row seat to the growth and evolution of the city and Calgary Transit, starting out driving an electric trolley bus.

He remembers a time when he was supplied with an ice scraper to keep the inside of the windshield clear on frigid days.

A fond and memorable few years for Banks was when Calgary Transit experimented with Dial a Ride Transit (DART).

At the time, a bus fare cost 25 cents and for an extra dime, riders could get picked up at their door and dropped off at Heritage CTrain station.

Banks says he enjoyed building relationships with his passengers.

“I got to know them all by their addresses after about six months of being on that service. It was fun,” he says, adding he was more than happy to help riders who needed an extra hand with their groceries and such.

“I absolutely loved it. That’s probably where I got the first taste of how important passengers were and the effect that we have on passengers.”

Switching gears

Banks sat behind the wheel of a bus for 34.5 years. By then, he was right around retirement age and was planning to park the bus for good.

But his grandsons thought it would be cool if he tried driving a CTrain first. Banks agreed to give it a go for six months.

“Here I am, 14 and a half years later driving the CTrain and loving it,” he says.

One of the most difficult things about transitioning from the bus to the CTrain was losing the personal connection with the riders.

“I didn’t get an opportunity to talk to the passengers like I did on the buses,” Banks says.

He wondered what he could do as a CTrain driver to let the passengers know he appreciated them.

“One day, it struck me. Why don’t I give them the weather report and the time of day and that type of thing,” Banks says, and he’s been doing it ever since.

A positive impact on passengers

Nancy Dick rides the Red Line from Lion’s Park to City Hall every weekday. Recently, she heard Banks share that he had celebrated a birthday and his 55th wedding anniversary.

“People started clapping on our train. It’s just such a nice way to start the day,” she says, adding Banks adds a human touch to her daily commute.

“So many of us on the train have our earbuds in and are avoiding the gaze of other commuters. When this fellow gets on the PA, you’ll see people pull out their earbuds expecting an emergency announcement or something.”

Or at least that’s what she thought the first time.

“But then when it dawns on people what is happening, you see folks smiling and it becomes this mini shared experience.”

Last month, many Calgarians were singing Banks' praises after a woman named Caitlyn Lambert posted about him in the Calgary Roast and Toast Facebook group.

“Toast to the CTrain operator on the Red Line who always gives a little update over the intercom as the train is leaving downtown. He seems to genuinely enjoy his job, and it always brings a smile to my face to hear him update us about the weather and his hope that we are all having a nice day,” she wrote.

What followed was a flood of comments commending Banks, like “He is awesome,” “He’s the best,” and “Puts a smile on my face every time I hear him.”

Smiles and waves

Banks says sometimes passengers will slip notes under his driver’s door thanking him and that he gets lots of smiles and waves from people as they get on and off the train.

Just last week, as Banks was finishing his shift he was stopped by a young man who turned out to be a student at SAIT. He told Banks that he and many of his classmates really appreciate his personal announcements and love riding the CTrain when he is driving.

“That made me feel pretty good that people of that age would appreciate what I was doing. And I thanked him, I shook his hand, and he went away smiling. That was a wonderful experience and that sort of made my day,” Banks says.

Always maintaining a positive attitude and spreading that positivity is important to Banks.

“What I’ve learned from getting all of these commendations and people being so kind to me is that I can reflect that kindness,” he says, adding he always tries to tell his colleagues when they have done a good job.

“The controllers that control the trains have a very difficult job. And I sent commendations to their supervisors letting them know how much I appreciate them. And it just makes for good camaraderie all the way around and just makes people appreciate each other.”

Banks is proud to be part of the Calgary Transit team, which he says is tight-knit and supportive.

Approaching a 50-year milestone

Despite approaching his 50th anniversary with Calgary Transit, Banks is not the longest-serving driver. That title currently belongs to the late George Dorn.

“I think he did just over 50 years, so I’m getting pretty close. I might want to beat that record by a week or two, or a month, or whatever. That would be a fun thing to do,” Banks laughs.

As long as he is fit and able and still enjoys his job, Banks sees no reason to hang up his hat.

“I just have to convince my wife of that,” he says, adding he always tells her he will retire in November.

“I just haven’t told her what year and now she’s starting to ask me the year so she’s moving in on me.”

Banks’ friendly voice won’t be heard for a few weeks next month, but as he’s shared with his passengers, he’s just going on a well-deserved vacation with his wife to celebrate their anniversary.

“We’re heading out for three weeks to go on a little Caribbean cruise to get this cold winter out of us and warm up a little bit,” he says.

“It never fails, when we go away in the wintertime it always warms up here. So we’re helping the citizens of Calgary.”