A bit of advice from her father propelled Kimberly Fleming into a 38-year career.

“He said if you find a job with a pension, you’d never regret it,” Kimberly said. "That’s your retirement!”

A young Kimberly took that message to heart after graduating from high school and starting college in Minneapolis. She started as a school bus driver and then upgraded to Metro Transit, then MTC.

“The goal was always to get into Metro Transit because it was the best place to work,” she said. “Driving a school bus paid $3.80 an hour, while Metro Transit was starting at $9.50—quite a difference!”

She credits her brother who also operated buses for helping her prepare for the role. Once she made it in, she left college to pursue a career full-time. But, unlike today’s operators starting full-time immediately, it took two years before a spot opened up. And she loved her role as an operator.

“I loved driving the 5 as it ran through the neighborhood I grew up in,” Kimberly said. “I’d see people I hadn’t seen in years from grade school.”

And, she learned the importance of transit during the 1991 Halloween Blizzard when she reported for duty and picked up a woman stranded outside just before all operations shut down.

“I’ve never seen someone so happy to see me in my life,” she said. “Those moments remind me that as drivers, we’re like angels for our passengers.”

Throughout the years, she’s worked at all 5 garages and moved into a dispatcher role in 2001. But one night when she relieved someone who called in sick altered her career trajectory.

“I saw an opening for an assistant manager on the job board and applied on a whim,” Kimberly said. “I was shocked to get hired, but I found where I needed to be.”

As an assistant manager, she was able to focus on what she loved about bus operations: helping people. And through the pandemic, she helped operators navigate the most difficult time in recent history.

And as she retires, she wants operators to know how much support they have here at Metro Transit and how far we’ve advanced.

“Don’t be afraid to call for help, that’s why we’re here,” she said.

And as she leaves Metro Transit, she, like her father before her, encourages others to apply.

“There’s so much going on here, we’re in a great transition,” Kimberly said.

In retirement, she plans to spend her summers at the lake in Minnesota and head to the desert or the beach during the winters. She’s especially eyeing the Caribbean – a place she’s yet to see.