After 58 years on the road, grandfather Kenny Beckers is Britain’s longest-serving bus driver – with seven million passengers.
Kenny, 76, has been driving buses since 1966 after starting fresh out of school – and reckons he has traveled the equivalent of two round trips to the moon.
As an 18-year-old, he became a bus conductor after just two days of training on fares and ticket checking in the Swinging Sixties – when smokers lit up on top of his floor. He started for the now defunct South Wales Transport and three years later, in November 1969, he was legally allowed to drive a bus at the age of 21.
Kenny, from Sandfields, Swansea, has worked for five different companies during his bus career – due to takeovers and management buyouts – but is proud to have been able to continue working in the same place and in the same role. Now semi-retired, Kenny’s two days a week drive is a far cry from when he started out in the 1960s – working six days a week for the equivalent of £38 a month.
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Recalling his early years as a driver on quieter roads, Kenny said: “It was great to be a driver in 1969. We had so many routes and carried so many passengers, including lots from all the factories, mines and British Steel.
“I also remember that we had double-decker cars back then, but passengers were only allowed to smoke on the upper deck. It was like a fog up there. All the factory girls and everyone else were smoking up there, it was unbelievable.”
(Image: First Cymru/WALES NEWS SERVICE)
Kenny enjoys getting to know his passengers over the years and has seen three or four generations travel with him.
But his fondest memories are of regularly picking up the Swansea City team (until the late 1960s, Swansea Town) on the way to their training ground in the 1960s and 1970s. To get the latest Welsh news delivered to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter.
At times he describes the bus industry as reminiscent of the hit ITV sitcom On The Buses. He said, “We could do and say things that you cannot do now. We had about 300 drivers and 300 conductors and we could really screw each other up like an antics in that comedy show.”
Now UK-wide transport company First Bus has appointed him as its longest serving employee and believes he is the most experienced bus driver in the country. During his long career, the Swansea-born grandfather is estimated to have given rides to seven million customers and driven some 800,000 miles.
Crediting his long career in the bus industry to his supportive wife Linda, 73, he said: “She was instrumental in allowing me to work in buses for so long as she was often left to look after the four of us. children alone for long periods of time.”
Kenny has seen decades of change in his lifetime – but above all, a huge shift in the bus industry. He said: “The biggest change has been the loss of commuters. A reduction in clerical and shop staff and more people buying cars means we’ve seen a decline in bus travel.
(Image: First Cymru/WALES NEWS SERVICE)
“But now we do a lot more for disabled people. Buses used to have steps so if you had a pram or buggy you had to fold them up and get on them. Now we have buses that are lower, sidewalks that are higher, and ramps.
“It’s great to see services increasing again in Swansea as the key to getting people back on the bus is to deploy more services, but I fully understand it’s a fine line. But things are definitely improving, and that’s great news.”
Despite being in his early 70s, Kenny says he has no intention of giving up driving his beloved car anytime soon. He said: “Once my body feels it’s had enough then I’ll give it up, but I don’t like to take my time. I’ve seen people give things time and then things go awry for a while. I don’t want to date it.
“In all the years I’ve been working, I’ve never thought about quitting and I can honestly say I’ve never had that ‘I’ve had enough, I’m gone’ moment. As long as I feel good and my health is good, I will continue.’
Scotland-based First Bus say Kenny is the longest-serving driver of their 14,000 staff – and praised him for being a “wonder behind the wheel”.