Driven to drive: The story of a beloved bus driver

Dmitry was terrified of the big, yellow school bus. Even though his mom and dad told him not to worry — all the other kindergartners would be riding it, too! — he still refused to face his fear. A few weeks into the school year at Cedar Ridge Elementary, after seeing his peers summon the courage he could not, he finally decided to give it a try with mom by his side. The bus door swung open and a friendly smile greeted him. “Dmitry, I’ve been waiting for you!” exclaimed the driver.

From that day on, even when his parents were at school with him and could take him home themselves, Dmitry would rather ride with Ric, the bus driver who befriended him and made his fear of the bus disappear.

Ric Roth couldn’t help the tears welling up in his eyes as he recounted that true story, one of many memorialized in the cards and letters of appreciation he has received from families and students during his 18 years of bus driving for Eden Prairie Schools.

“I’ve been saving them for many years in a special little bag. Eventually, I had to get a bigger bag because it started busting at the seams,” he said with a chuckle. “The words in those cards and letters, particularly that one… speak volumes about having an impact on someone’s life.”

After working for a few decades in the dry cleaning business, Roth was open to a change. A fateful conversation with a friend who loved being an EP bus driver encouraged him to give it a try. Almost two fulfilling decades later, Roth wouldn’t trade the job for the world.

“I sometimes see students I drove 10, 15 years ago, and they still remember my name,” he recalled with a smile, as if he couldn’t believe it. “What I’ve gotten out of this far outweighs what I’ve put into it. I really found my niche with this job.”

Roth paid it forward by convincing his neighbor and friend of 11 years, Jeff Nourse, to become a bus driver for the district in 2022. While Roth showed him the ropes, Nourse quickly came to appreciate what made his friend such an outstanding bus driver.

“Ric taught me early on how to reach out to the kids and build relationships with them,” acknowledged Nourse, who had retired from a career in marketing before Roth recruited him. “Sometimes it's a little difficult. You have to penetrate different boundaries, different cultures, different backgrounds, but it's very possible. And Ric was there to show me how that worked.”

Like any good bus driver, Roth isn’t afraid to go the extra mile. He has three closets full of outfits for his beloved Fancy Fridays as proof. Though he knows he didn’t have to dress up in his typical fedora, bow tie, sport coat and matching button-down shirt ensemble every Friday, the joy it inspired in students, families and coworkers made it worth the effort.

“Often, the kids would like to make requests, so I’d ask them, ‘What color should I do this week?’” Roth said of the tradition he has carried on for more than a decade. “And I’d get a whole lot of different answers and I’d have to really think about it for a day or two. They got a kick out of being a part of it.”

He has often gone the extra mile for coworkers, too. Sharon Sanders, an EP bus driver for almost 30 years who became fast friends with Roth when he joined the Transportation team in 2006, emphasized his selfless and caring nature.

“He’s always willing to help others,” Sanders said. “I live alone, and when I had major neck surgery a few years ago, Ric would come over and shovel my driveway and walkway for me.”

“He cares about people,” she added, “without asking anything in return.”

On June 8 of this year, Roth woke up in the early morning not feeling quite right and went out for a drive. He was rear-ended and taken to the hospital by ambulance. After a battery of tests, a doctor confirmed he had sustained a concussion. He received another diagnosis that day, too: stage-four lung cancer. He is currently on medical leave from bus driving as he undergoes treatment.

After the school year started, Roth came into the Transportation office on a Friday to visit his colleagues in between their morning and afternoon shifts. To his surprise, many were dressed up and wearing bow ties in his honor.

“I’ve felt very loved in my absence. I had no idea I had such an impact,” he expressed with heartfelt emotion. “It’s very humbling. The support has been tremendous.” He hopes to return to his route for the rest of the school year after finishing his treatment.

Roth's legacy is not defined by his fight with cancer. It's not even defined by being a bus driver. It's defined by the lasting relationships he has formed with students, families and staff, the smiles he brings to faces, and the heart he has put into ensuring our Eagles feel comfortable and safe on their journey to school and back home each day.