The newly minted world’s oldest bus driver says he has been motivated to keep working past his 94th birthday partially because it allows him to donate to charity.
Jim Oppegard discussed his reluctance to retire in an interview published recently on the website of Guinness World Records, which officially recognized the resident of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, as its eldest bus driver in April.
Many stories about people in the US working well into their golden years often result from the nation’s soaring cost of living combined with the longstanding stagnation of most employees’ wages, preventing many from being able to save for retirement. But on the other hand, polls show job satisfaction grows with age, and quitting can be difficult – if not ill-advised – for those who gain a sense of purpose from jobs they love.
As he told it to Guinness, Oppegard has fallen into the latter category. He worked for 20 years as a city bus driver before turning in his retirement papers at age 65 – but then he got bored and got behind the wheel again for two companies.
94-year-old Jim Oppegard has been confirmed as the world’s oldest bus driver.
He drives a school bus for children with special educational needs 🥰️
— Guinness World Records (@GWR) July 17, 2024
Oppegard drove intercity coaches for one of the fleets, and he drove a school bus for the other. The coach company fired him after he needed four and a half months to recover from falling and breaking his neck, but he kept his school bus driver’s role.
He works for a company these days which buses children with special educational needs to school. The great-grandfather of three said he enjoyed the gig both because it keeps him occupied and sets him up to be able to send money to the Christian ministry his daughter established overseas, along with other causes.
“The children can be a challenge but driving them is also a special reward,” Oppegard said to the organization known for maintaining a database of about 40,000 world records.
In a separate interview with the Minnesota news station KSTP, Oppegard’s boss at Northstar Bus Lines recounted how his nonagenarian driver aces his required physical examination and driving test with flying colors each time. Oppegard also never misses a day of work, Northstar’s Tyler Dubois added.
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“Jim still has more energy than many of the younger generation of drivers that we employ,” Northstar dispatcher Jeene Sanchez told KSTP. Dubois said to the outlet: “There have been … people who’ve described him as the [greatest of all time] of bus drivers. He is.”
Oppegard told Guinness that he partially attributes his durability to simply being “blessed with a healthy body”. However, he said he also helps himself by taking health supplements and exercising daily for 45 minutes.
His routine involves driving for three hours in the morning and another four in the afternoon. He splits the shifts with a three-hour break, which he usually spends parked at the senior cooperative housing where he lives – and where his neighbors simply refer to him as “the bus driver”, according to his remarks to the Guinness site.
“Some have said I am an inspiration to them,” Oppegard added about his fellow residents.
In comments published on 19 July, Jim Oppegard told the Associated Press that earning the world’s oldest bus driver mark from Guinness made him reflect on his future.
“There’s something to be said for going out on top,” Oppegard quipped, suggesting that he was contemplating finally hanging it up, particularly with a new academic year approaching.
Whatever he ultimately decides, Oppegard said it “has been lots of fun” to secure the Guinness record.
“How many people do you know … working at 94?” Oppegard said. “I am counted as a celebrity where I live, where I work, at church and by my family.”
