Life in the blue bus lane

As a new student at Binghamton University, the first few weeks can be an exciting, nerve-wracking time. The focus is largely on making friends, settling in and finding a sense of community on campus. Students go to a multitude of general interest meetings (GIMs) for student organizations, join intramural teams or get involved in their residential communities in an effort to make as many connections as possible.

But for Antoinette “Toni” Stefanakos, now a senior majoring in business administration with a concentration in marketing who is graduating in May, the path to belonging started with a flier she spotted after class that was recruiting for jobs with Off Campus College Transport (OCCT).

“One day I was leaving the Classroom Wing and there was a flier hanging on the door that advertised for student drivers,” Stefanakos said. “I had no idea that the buses on campus were run by students. So I took a picture and called my dad, and I said, ‘I’m going to be a bus driver.’”

OCCT is Binghamton University’s student-run transit service. The blue buses are a hallmark of the University’s campus, and they are all driven by dedicated students like Stefanakos, who got her start driving after first seeing that flier four years ago.

“I interviewed, and it went really well. And then the next thing I knew, I was training to be a driver. But two days after I passed my road test, in the spring of 2020, we all got sent home because of COVID,” Stefanakos said.

Still, she was determined. She had found something she really cared about with OCCT, and she refused to give up. Stefanakos’s interest in mass transportation gathered steam after she saw an internship posting for Binghamton University Transportation and Parking Services (TAPS) a few months into her sophomore year.

“I kept getting this notification that TAPS was hiring for a marketing position,” she said. “And I thought that was perfect for me as a marketing major and someone who works with the buses.”

Stefanakos began working with TAPS shortly thereafter, thrilled to be able to combine her interest in marketing with her passion for driving.

“I’m really proud that, in that position, I was able to provide super-accurate information to people who utilize the buses,” Stefanakos said. “The schedules can be really confusing to new students, so I developed all of these visually pleasing graphics with stop information clearly laid out.”

Because of her job in TAPS, Stefanakos found a new career path that combined her love of driving with her love of marketing. Now, she handles public relations for OCCT, allowing her to continue on her marketing and transportation journey.

“I’ve shifted my focus from business to transportation,” she said. “I really want to do something where I’m in some kind of transportation office, whether it’s a school bus company or something like the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.”

Stefanakos has worked at the school bus company in her hometown since last summer, and plans to return there at least for a while after she graduates this spring.

“I bring my knowledge and experience as a driver to the table in those kinds of offices,” she said. “I can provide insight as someone who is a driver.”

The blue buses have characterized Stefanakos’s experience at Binghamton, and she’s now training new drivers for OCCT.

“It’s so rewarding seeing them pass the road test and become drivers on the road,” she said.

Those new drivers remind Stefanakos of herself four years ago, standing in front of that flier posted in the Classroom Wing. Maybe, like Stefanakos, their entire outlook will change because of their experience with OCCT.

“Before coming to Binghamton, I wanted to study marketing. It wasn’t until I became a driver that I found my passion in life,” she said. “I never expected to find such a love and passion for this industry. But here I am.”

Stefanakos had long had an interest in driving and vehicles — something she and her father often discussed — but driving for OCCT is what really unlocked the sense of amazement that the industry provides her.

“I find mass transit so efficient and so cool,” she said. “It’s about the people — getting people where they need to go, when they need to go, and setting schedules and being a part of something where you get to help people out.”

The people make the job all the more worthwhile for Stefanakos. Over her three years of driving with OCCT, she’s encountered plenty of passengers.

“One of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had as a driver came from a passenger interaction,” she said. “At the end of last semester, a passenger came up to me and told me I was her driver every Tuesday and Thursday morning. And she told me that every time she was on my bus, she knew it was going to be a good day.”

Stefanakos still keeps in contact with that passenger.

“I didn’t even realize that a simple ‘good morning’ could make someone’s day like that,” she said.

But it’s more than a “good morning” that makes the days of Stefanakos’s passengers. It’s her clear dedication to OCCT, her love for her time at TAPS and her genuine adoration for driving that elevates the experience for passengers on any bus she’s driving.

Stefanakos will surely miss the blue buses when she graduates, but she’ll always have fond memories to look back on.

“I’ve found my passion here and something that motivates me to be productive,” she said. “I’ve made so many friends through this. I’m so grateful for all of the people I’ve met and the things I’ve gotten to do through driving.”