SacRT bus operator Benjamin Levy believes in service to the community. It’s something he learned in the Air Force during a 23-year military career that took him around the world. And it is a belief he brought with him to his current life at SacRT. 

“We at SacRT salute Ben Levy and all our agency’s military veterans on this Veteran’s Day,” said General Manager/CEO Henry Li. “And we thank them for their continued public service as part of our transit team.” 

Levy, who is 67 and married with two sons, traveled the world as a master sergeant and aircraft electrician. Today, the New York native is a 10-year veteran bus operator, transitioning to SacRT in 2019. He set roots in Sacramento after falling in love with the area during his military deployment and subsequent retirement. 

He says the transition from life in the military to a career at SacRT has been easy and rewarding because, in truth, the mission remains the same. 

“One of the primary things I learned in the Air Force is service before self,” he said. “We are part of the community. We help out. Regional Transit reaches out to the community to get them where they need to go. We are answerable to the people. All people. We try to put our best foot forward.” 

The story of how he joined SacRT is similar to how he joined the Air Force. Call it instinct. One day at age 18, he was walking past the Air Force recruiter’s office, and, on a whim, “I thought, let me stick my head in and talk to them. I liked what I heard.” Suddenly, he was a career military man, stationed over time in South Korea, Okinawa, the Philippines, Sacramento and elsewhere. 

Thirty years later, after military retirement, he was working for Cessna Aircraft company in Sacramento. Cessna wanted to transfer him out of state. But he liked Sacramento and wanted to stay. One day he saw a bus pull into the bus yard in Elk Grove. 

“It turned into that gate,” he said recently, pointing to the bus yard entrance off Elkmont Drive in Elk Grove. “I just followed it in, just like I walked into the Air Force office. There was a lady there, Gloria. She said, ‘Can I help you?’” “I just said, ‘Yes, are you hiring?’” 

He had been a mechanic in the Air Force; however, he says, he didn’t want to repair buses for SacRT. He wanted to drive them. “I had a boyhood dream. I love motor sports. I wanted to drive.” 

“It is just a blast driving a bus. I really like helping people. It is just a huge part of it. So many people, so many friends that I’ve come to know, especially the commuters. They have become like family. It is hard to describe. It just feels like me.” 

His dedication earned him SacRT Employee of the Quarter honors earlier this year. When his supervisor told him she’d nominated him, he didn’t expect to win. He just thought: “OK, I guess I’m on her good side!” When he won, he said “I was overwhelmed. I was honored to represent our Elk Grove division (formerly e-tran).” 

“We’ve been part of SacRT for five years; however, we are still growing into it. They were like our cousins before we joined SacRT. It’s family. It’s always been a togetherness, a cohesiveness – drivers, management, customers – it has to work together.” 

What does Veterans Day mean to him? The question makes him emotional. “Veterans Day and Memorial Day honor service and sacrifice,” he said. “It’s been a long road, and I’ve known people that didn’t make it. Any Veterans Day and Memorial Day that comes around, I think about them. To all that have served, I thank them, and I’m glad to be part of them. And I’d do it all over again.”