Teron Hess knows how important Metro Transit is to the community.
“Every day someone from Metro Transit saves a life,” Teron said. “I know because it saved mine.”
After returning to Minnesota in 2023, he became homeless and wasn’t sure what to do. He went to a church that helped him find a place to stay and other support services. While basic needs were being met, he was still unemployed, which led to a crippling depression.
“I decided that I was going to commit suicide,” he said. “I even recorded a message that would automatically send after I was gone.”
Thankfully, fate intervened.
As he was riding the light rail for what he believed would be his final journey on earth, Metro Transit called and offered him a job as a bus operator. He was so excited he left his phone onboard – his only connection to this new job.
After pushing an emergency button at the station, he was connected to rail staff who scoured video and helped locate the phone and coordinated with police to get it back in his hands. “This problem showed me how everyone at transit is dedicated to helping people,” Teron said. “It was an awesome experience.”
Today, after almost a year of serving as a bus operator, Teron is paying it forward by sharing information about services and distributing water and food on the bus. He wants every rider to feel the same way he did about operators growing up.
“Bus operators were friendly people you could go to call for help,” Teron said. “And they’re often someone to talk to when you have no one else.”
He recalls helping a woman who boarded his bus crying after being kicked out of her home. Teron helped the woman find help and months later she returned to thank him.
“There are these little moments and people in life that lead you on the right path,” he said. “I am living proof that those acts of kindness change a person’s life.”
Teron looks forward to many more years behind the wheel interacting with people and providing small acts of kindness whenever he can.
“Serving the public is an awesome responsibility,” Teron said. “This is where I need to be. This is where I fit.”