Forty-four years of driving
Las Vegas native Tony Archuleta has spent 44 of his 84 years behind the wheel of a school bus, and he’s loved every minute of it. In fact, he never missed a day of work.
During his long career, he has driven buses for West Las Vegas, Rio Gallinas and Las Vegas City Schools, often driving routs for multiple schools in one day.
“I was brought in for transportation and I finished by 8, and then I could drive for Rio Gallinas. In the afternoon, I took the City Schools (routes), and then at 3 o’clock, I went to take Rio Gallinas (students) home.”
Daughter Mary Lou Archuleta says he was always coming and going and she didn’t know how he managed to keep track of all the routes, but he always knew where he needed to be.
Aside from his daily routes, Tony Archuleta also transported students to school activities and athletic events. He also regularly attended training in Silver City where bus drivers would take continuing education courses on topics like safety, first aid, defensive driving and vehicle maintenance. Drivers also competed in a bus “rodeo” where they drove obstacle courses and competed for prizes.
Tony Archuleta began driving a bus in the late ’70s and retired this past March. After 44 years of driving students around, one would imagine he has several horror stories about children behaving poorly, but he says his passengers were always well behaved.
“They were nice kids,” he said. “I had good days and good students.”
Nationwide, the odd hours and often low pay has made it difficult for many school districts to retain current drivers or recruit new ones. And few school districts are lucky enough to have drivers as dedicated as Tony Archuleta.
Though as dedicated as he was to his career, he was even more dedicated to his wife of 56 years. And though she used to joke with him by saying, “You love the bus more than me,” it was merely a joke. The couple had six children together, and even though she passed away seven years ago, Mary Lou Archuleta says her father is still in love with his wife today.
“There’s not one day that he does not visit the cemetery where my mom’s at,” she said. “My dad’s day is not complete until he goes to see my mom.”
Now that he’s retired, Tony Archuleta spends some of his time cooking and watching baseball, but he also has 15 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren to keep him busy, especially since he attends many of their sporting events. Mary Lou Archuleta says he’s busier now than when he was working.
“He goes all over the place,” she said. “He’s always up for anything.”
Still, when asked if he’s enjoying retirement, he smiled and said, “I wish I could be driving, but it’s time to give it up.”
