The Bus Driver with the Smile

“Hello there!”

This isn’t the usual greeting one would expect when boarding a bus, but driver Stefven Turner makes sure to greet each of his passengers this way.

The Capitol-Humboldt Park and Ride driver has been driving for Lamers Bus Lines for 11 years

He says his unique approach to interacting with his passengers stems from years of experience with different age groups.

Turner initially drove for Milwaukee Public Schools and says that after getting tired of always having to write students up for bad behavior, he found that positive reinforcement and communication had more of an effect on them.

“When you encourage a person, you change them. They could be the meanest person ever, but if you encourage them, you stop it at the source.”

Turner calls his positive outlook a “lifestyle change” and says he’s been reaping the benefits.

“Less stress,” he counts using his fingers. “Less headache and less looking old.”

The 35-year-old says that over time he also noticed a change in the people boarding the bus.

“Students were like, ‘I don’t understand how or why you do it, but I’m thankful.’”

Turner can relate to students from personal experience.

“This is college, so I know how it is. I know how stressful it can be.”

The former Texas A&M student was majoring in mechanical engineering before financial issues forced him to move back to Wisconsin.

Though college didn’t work out at the time, Turner still dreams of putting his education to use one day by helping others.

“I want to make a prosthetic like in iRobot, one that moves and can be controlled.”

The unique spelling of Turner’s first name isn’t a typo. “My dad wrote it as ‘ph’. My mom looked at it and because she couldn’t understand my dad’s handwriting, wrote it as a ‘v’.”

Turner’s father was a firefighter in Milwaukee for 29 years. He recently passed away in October.

Along with fostering his love for technology, Turner credits his dad for his positivity and energy.

“That’s where I get it from,” he said with a proud smile. “It’s ok, I’ll keep it going.”

And Turner has kept it going. One UWM student said, “Whenever I see him, he’s always smiling. I like when he’s driving.”

“If I can help you be less stressed, be in a good mood and your day goes better, that’s all I want,” he said.

And Turner is making each person’s day better, one “Hello” at a time.