'You've got everybody's life in your hands': P.E.I. school bus driver retires

The sun is shining as Mike Doyle pulls his school bus up to the front door at Eliot River Elementary school in Cornwall for his last morning run.

'Just like Christmas'

He says it's been a wonderful last day so far.

"It's a beautiful morning for a drive," said Doyle. "Kids have all had presents for me. It's just like Christmas."

'What kid doesn't likePopsicles?'

Another student, Brooklyn Taylor said Doyle never kept them waiting at the bus stop.

"You always know when he's coming because he's always on time."

"He also gives us Popsicles at the end of the year," said Sequoia Rattray.

"What kid doesn't like Popsicles?"

One student even called him his "hero.'

"I'll miss how he rescued me, rescued my tongue," said Emmett LeClair.

"It got stuck to the bus window in the winter. I just kinda decided to lick the window. And Mike had to dump water on me."

Mike Doyle was never a fan of going to school when he was growing up back in the 1960s.

In fact, he quit school in Grade 10.

But in one of life's twists, Doyle ended up coming back to school for the next 43 years.

"It was kind of ironic for someone that wasn't a real fan, to go to school every day of my working life," he said.

From day one, Doyle said he was always aware of the precious cargo he carried.

On snow days, 'You really earned your income'

Driving to school every day along the same route can become routine.

Except of course, during a raging blizzard.

"Those snow storm days are the days you really earn your money."

Doyle will never forget one particular blinding snowstorm in the early 1980s.

Shortly after he left the school on his afternoon run, with a bus full of kids, the blizzard hit.

"You couldn't really go back," he said. "There really was nowhere to pull over and wait it out."

'That was the hardest day I ever put in on a school bus'

Lots of things were going through his mind at the time.

"You'd be in a snowbank or in a snowdrift somewhere or have a snowplow run into you," said Doyle.

"You've got everybody's life in your hands. That was the hardest day I ever put in on a school bus."

Doyle eventually got all the kids home safely.

'You've got everybody's life in your hands': P.E.I. school bus driver retires after 43 years on the road

8 years ago

Duration 0:59

'You've got everybody's life in your hands': P.E.I. school bus driver retires after 43 years on the road

Surprisingly, the kids didn't seem to be bothered by the storm.

"They were all having a chat back there."

'Now they close school long before the storms ever happen'

Doyle said likely one of the biggest changes he saw over his 43-year driving career was how school boards handled storms.

"Now they close school long before the storms ever happen, said Doyle.

"There's a lot more thought goes into responsibility and liability now."

Driving a school bus full of noisy kids might be hard on most people. But it didn't bother Doyle.

"You learn to put up with it," he said.

"Or pull over to the side of the road and let them chat away until they get tired of waiting there and away you go."

On rare occasions, he had to deal with a student's bad behaviour.

"Just threaten to go back to the school, drop them off," said Doyle.

"Have dad come and pick them up. I only had to do it once or twice in my time of driving a bus."

Doyle had another advantage when dealing with students.

He drove many of their parents to school when they were younger.

"No problem to call the parents and things get straightened out," he said.

"But I've had a good bunch of kids forever, really."

'Won't really miss this until the snow flies'

Doyle owns a tourist business in North Rustico that will keep him busy for the summer. It's the fall when he might miss driving his bus.

"I won't really miss this until the snow flies in the fall, when I wake up some morning and I have nothing to do and I always had the bus," said Doyle.

"I'll miss the kids. I'll miss the parents. I'll miss that drive in the morning through the country."