'I'm the boss': Saskatoon husband and wife school bus driving team 'get focused' ahead of September
School is starting up again and so is Jerry Diekema’s bus. Diekema drives a school bus and his wife, Barb, is his bus monitor.
“I’m the boss,” Barb said, laughing.
The Diekemas take more than 20 special needs students to Bishop Klein School and St. Edward School.
“We’re together 24/7 –work and at home,” the school bus driver of nine years told CTV News.
First Student bus drivers got together on Thursday to fine-tune their skills ahead of the school year.
In a low-traffic area, in Saskatoon’s north-end, drivers practiced tight turns, pick-ups, drop-offs and got their mirrors adjusted.
“We have some stations set up and those stations are designed to mimic a parked vehicle or a certain turning situation,” said Chris Klassen, a location safety manager with First Student.
“The whole idea is to put them into positions with no risk to the public, no risk to damaging parked vehicles, and remind them of the limits of the bus.”
The Diekemas take more than 20 special needs students to Bishop Klein School and St. Edward School.(Laura Woodward/CTV News)
The clinic has been useful for both new and experienced drivers, like Keith Morphy, who has been behind the wheel of the bus for 12 years.
“The re-orientation has always been so useful because you’ve spent the last six, eight weeks doing other stuff,” Morphy told CTV News from the driver seat of his freshly-adjusted bus.
“It gets you oriented and focused on what you have to do for this upcoming school year.”
Morphy is looking forward to seeing the 46 kids he takes to school.
“What’s amazing about this job is that they pay me to do this!” Morphy said, laughing.
Most students in Saskatoon go back to school on Sept. 3.
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