Liberty Lines Transit bus driver retires after 4-decades with company
WESTCHESTER, New York (WABC) -- From the bus yard to behind the wheel, a bus driver in Westchester is retiring after 44 years working for Liberty Lines Transit.
At 11 years old, Anthony McCaffrey's dream was to be a bus driver.
He used to ride his bike to the bus yard.
"Anytime I saw a bus I begged my mother to take me on it," McCaffrey said.
When McCaffrey turned 14, his mother gave him permission to work at Liberty Lines in Valhalla, doing odd jobs.
McCaffrey graduated from Hastings High School at 18 and was employed full-time in their marketing division.
Then in October 1985, he got behind the wheel and has been driving the bus in Westchester since.
He gets up at 3 a.m. and clocks 150 miles daily.
"I still love driving a bus. I've gone from the old buses with no power steering to now driving a brand new all-electric bus," McCaffrey said.
It's the passengers McCaffrey is going to miss the most. Nate Perez is one of them.
"We've been good friends for the past two years. It's sad but I also feel very happy for him," Perez said.
"It's going to be an adjustment. I'm going to miss the people and I'm going to miss the buses," McCaffrey said.
On Thursday, McCaffery pulled bus number 145 back into the bus depot for the very last time.
However, McCaffery still has a few more routes to run.
"I'm going to sleep a little bit. Getting up at 3:30 a.m. hasn't been too fun. I just have to tell my cat to do the same thing," he said.
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