Snohomish Community Transit bus driver, Ray Harnisch was honored for reaching the three-million-mile mark on the roads without a preventable accident. This feat would take the average American driver nearly 225 years to achieve.
The transit agency’s Million Mile Awards take nearly 12 and a half years to achieve each one-million-mile mark. For Harnisch, that’s 37 years of safe driving in stop-and-go traffic to reach three million miles.
Only one other driver in Community Transit’s history has had this honor; Edith Richerson, who retired in 2009.
“I didn't earn this by myself,” Harnisch said. “There is a big team working hard to make this possible.”
Before becoming a bus driver in 1997, he drove for the U.S. military. But some of his favorite moments as a bus driver are seeing school kids in the morning because they wave.
“And I wave back at them,” he said, “because I want them to know when they get older and can ride our buses, that bus drivers are friendly. We’re there to help.”
His photo will be featured on the sides of 10 buses for the remainder of 2018. CEO of Community Transit, Emmett Heath thanked him for his service and presented him with a personalized jacket, plaque, certificate, and pin.
Community Transit serves Snohomish County as a vanpool and alternative commuter service. The agency runs the Swift bus rapid transit lines along Highway 99 and the soon-to-be Green Line between Canyon Park/ Bothell and Boeing/Paine Field coming in 2019.
