Kerwin Rice (MSTM ‘22)
Bus Operator, Los Angeles Metro

December 2025

One night, it was late, at the end of the shift, and there was a lady that rode all the way to the end of the line with me. It was time to go home, and I was exhausted, but something was off. She didn’t know where she was or where she was going. She was disoriented and a bit disheveled. I delayed getting home for just a bit longer to make sure she got safely to the hospital. This job, the whole industry, is about helping people, connecting them to where they need to be—even if that takes a little extra effort.

When I first started as a bus operator with Los Angeles Metro, my goal was stability. I just wanted a career that mattered, one that couldn’t be wiped away overnight like so many financial positions had been after 2010. Before Metro, I worked in finance and banking doing branch management and advising at Merrill Lynch. I earned my bachelor’s in business administration, hoping that education would propel me into senior leadership. But when the financial crash arrived, the layoffs hit hard and closed a lot of doors.

When I joined Metro, I found something more than stability; I found connections with people of all creeds and ages and abilities and personalities. Individual connections in a city of almost four million. It was a new purpose, connecting with these people and connecting them to where they needed to be. Behind the wheel, as I navigated the worst of LA traffic, I thought about how I wasn’t just getting people from A to B but, for many of them, I was helping maintain their independence and helping them live their lives. I think about the older passengers I help onto the bus, or the veteran I once met—a mortgage lender who became disabled and now relies on transit to get to his appointments. You learn fast that life can change in an instant, and for bus operators—our job is about far more than driving.

(Left) At a 2024 press event discussing LA Metro’s receipt of a $77 million grant to procure zero emission buses, Kerwin introduces then Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. (Right) Kerwin speaks with Secretary Buttigieg.

Especially since the pandemic, everything has intensified, and I’ve become not just a bus operator, but sometimes a social worker and a crisis manager. You’re dealing with traffic, unpredictable behavior, and real human struggle—all in real time. Safety is a constant concern, and always has been, but it’s been harder for both operators and passengers in recent years. I’m incredibly grateful for Metro’s leadership for implementing changes like safety barriers, and for recognizing operators’ important role in our system.

But even with safety measures, challenges continue. Transit is a reflection of society, and when people have nowhere to go, they gravitate to buses and transit hubs for shelter. It’s a complex reality and those of us on the frontlines have to manage it calmly, every single day, minute by minute.

That’s one of the reasons I decided to pursue a Master of Science in Transportation Management (MSTM) from the Lucas College and Graduate School of Business at San José State University despite already earning one master’s degree as a bus operator in 2019. After my MBA, I realized I still didn’t have that industry-specific insight that could help me move forward. One day, I saw an email about the MSTM program and scheduled a call with Dr. Asha Weinstein Agrawal pretty quickly after that to learn more.

This program facilitated new connections—I was meeting people and connecting with other professionals in the state and even around the country. I began to see the big picture of how everything in transit fits together—operations, policy, finance, safety—and that understanding helped change the trajectory of my career by giving me more confidence and a new, growing network.

Kerwin and EnoMAX 2025 cohort during Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) host week August 2025.

At Metro, I've now spent over a decade driving buses and I’ve also been able to participate in leadership programs like Eno/MAX and the Metro Office of Strategic Innovation Fellowship. Those programs have helped me understand how policy translates from paper to pavement and more about the big picture of everything we do.

I am proud to be part of an organization investing in the future. LA Metro cares and takes steps toward obtaining zero-emission fleets and safer, more accessible systems for everyone. It’s an exciting—sometimes stressful—time to be in transit, especially with Los Angeles preparing for the Olympics and reimagining how the city moves.

“At the end of the day—at the end of the line—we’re all human, and that’s all that really matters.”

To anyone considering a career in transportation, especially those coming from other industries like I did, I’d say: you plan to fail by failing to plan. Think about your career trajectory and the future, the long game, 401k, and retirement. Are you going to transition to different departments? Move up the ladder? Whatever you want to do, have an idea of which direction you want to go. At the end of the day—at the end of the line—we’re all human, and that’s all that really matters.

Kerwin Rice is a dedicated bus operator with LA Metro, where he has proudly served for the past ten years. He holds a B.S. in Business Administration, an MBA (2019) and a Master of Science in Transportation Management (2022). His commitment to professional growth is reflected in his participation as an Office of Strategic Innovation Fellow, Equity Liaison cohort member, Metro Leadership Academy graduate, and EnoMAX cohort participant. Passionate about advancing accessible, efficient mobility, he aspires to continue growing into a transportation leadership role. Outside of work, he enjoys traveling and experiencing public transportation systems around the world.

Image: Kerwin with LA Metro Deputy CEO Sharon Gookin at the 2023 Metro Leadership Academy Graduation.

At the  Mineta Transportation Institute  (MTI) at  San Jose State University  (SJSU) our mission is to increase mobility for all by improving the safety, efficiency, accessibility, and convenience of our nation's transportation system. Through research, education, workforce development and technology transfer, we help create a connected world. MTI was founded in 1991 and is funded through the US Department of Transportation, the California Department of Transportation, and public and private grants including those made available by the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017 ( SB1 ). MTI is affiliated with SJSU’s Lucas College and Graduate School of Business.