Max Smelser won’t ever steer you improper.
He drives buses for Southwest Iowa Transit Company.
Smelser covers a VODEC route and different transportation wants round Council Bluffs. He normally drives an 18-passenger bus however might often pilot a 25-passenger automobile. Whereas most of his work is native, he has pushed sufferers who acquired care at metro-area hospitals so far as Sioux Metropolis and Des Moines.
“I get pleasure from it — selecting up individuals, serving to all of the seniors, the younger individuals,” he stated.
Smelser, 77, began driving for SWITA about 10 years in the past after retiring from Omaha Customary, the place he labored for greater than 40 years.
“I began out as a welder, labored as much as lead man,” he stated. “Then I grew to become a supervisor, then a plant supervisor.”
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Finally, he earned the title of vice chairman of operations, Smelser stated.
“That was a superb firm to work for,” he stated. “SWITA’s a superb firm to work for, too.”
Smelser was born in Omaha, however his household moved to Council Bluffs when he was 10. He attended Roosevelt Faculty. He didn’t attend highschool however later received his GED. In his youthful days, he competed in a pair demolition derbies on the previous Playland Park.
Smelser and his spouse, Autumn, have been married for nearly 57 years. They’ve two sons, one daughter and a bunch of grandchildren and great-grandchildren — all of whom stay within the native space.
SWITA, southwest Iowa’s public transportation system, is overseen by the Southwest Iowa Planning Council and serves eight counties in southwest Iowa. The company has work routes they cowl to move employees to OSI Meals and different massive employers. As well as, it gives taxi service in Atlantic, Glenwood, Harlan, Missouri Valley, Crimson Oak and Shenandoah.
The company’s Connections program presents aged and disabled individuals rides to medical appointments for the flat price of $2.50. Buses are geared up with lifts and wheelchair anchors, and one private care attendant can trip free. SWITA additionally gives transportation to workplaces, colleges and shops. A number of the company’s packages obtain federal funding and are certain by federal laws.