To the Quad, With a Smile

It’s nearly 4:30 p.m. on Friday, the end of his shift after a long week, but that doesn’t stop Jesse Armstrong from emphatically greeting his passengers—often by name—as they board the shuttle.

“Step right in. What’s happening? How you doin’?” Armstrong shouts over the idle purring of the engine.

“Hey, Jesse,” many of his passengers reply, seemingly unable to resist his infectious smile.

Since October 2003, Armstrong has driven the Harvard shuttle, first working part-time, then nights, and now on the day shift of the Currier Express Route, which runs from the Radcliffe Quadrangle to Memorial Hall.

Armstrong has a devoted following among Quad residents, and he says his interactions with students keep him from getting bored as he drives the familiar route.

“I love all of my students,” Armstrong says. “I call them my students, but they are my friends. It’s not work for me. It’s a form of pleasure to be around the students. I don’t get tired at all.”

WATCH YOUR STEP

“Ladies and gentlemen, we are entering the Quad,” Armstrong yells out as the bus rolls to a stop in front of Currier House on Monday afternoon. “Watch your step and make the best of the rest because my name is Jess.”

It’s a familiar rhyme to any regular shuttle passenger—one heard throughout the day.

For Armstrong that day begins at 6:30 a.m. A deeply religious man, Armstrong says a prayer each morning before he is off to work.

“I’ve always been taught to do right by the Bible. I believe strongly in God,” says Armstrong.

He is at work by 7:45 a.m., and after cleaning and warming up the bus, Armstrong is ready to start his route by 8:30 a.m. His first stop is Soldiers Field Road at 8:50 a.m., then it is off to Currier for his 9:10 a.m. pick up.

For this Harvard shuttle bus driver every minute is accounted for. Ask him when the bus is crowded, and he’ll rattle off specific times, and even estimate the number of passengers.

“It’s crowded at 9:55 a.m., 10:20 a.m., 10:50 a.m., 1:50 a.m., and 2:10 a.m. There are 20 to 30 [passengers] at normal times...60, 65 at most,” Armstrong says.

Despite his careful attention to time, Armstrong remains relaxed, stopping for passengers on his way to and from the Quad.

“I have a tendency to stop and pick students up,” Armstrong explains as he slows down in front of the Sheraton Commander Hotel on Garden Street to let a passenger board. “They tell us, if you can stop safely, and you see a student, then you can stop and pick them up. It doesn’t take anything from me. I won’t lose a thing.”

“That’s what makes a good bus driver,” he adds. “You’re here to help people.”

As 1 p.m. rolls around on Monday, Armstrong stops to take his lunch break, which he says gives him the energy to continue the day. He seems to be at his happiest when he is interacting with students, asking about their days and their workloads for the afternoon and evening.

“When the kids left for vacation, I was lonely,” Armstrong says. “When they came back, I was glad to see them.”

THE KING OF THE HARVARD SHUTTLE

Armstrong’s enthusiastic voice rings out at each stop along his route.

“I always call stops out,” he says.

Armstrong’s efforts do not go unnoticed. A group on thefacebook.com, “Friends of Jesse, King of Harvard’s Shuttle,” boasts more than 100 members—which Armstrong calls a “wonderful token of appreciation.”

“Jesse is the best,” says Currier resident Andrea E. Flores ’05. “He always has an encouraging word and a happy smile. Harvard is not always a friendly place, but you can count on Jesse to have a smile.”

Armstrong also enjoys having fun with his passengers. Proud of his good memory, he will often surprise riders by calling out their names, and he is quick to offer a word of encouragement.

“I say all kinds of things, tell them to have fun, make them feel better,” he says.

“Jesse and I are buds,” says Cabot resident Jennifer H. Rugani ’07. “I love Jesse. He makes living in the Quad better.”

“I didn’t pay her to say that,” jokes Armstrong, overhearing Rugani’s comment. “When my mother told me that kindness gets you further than money, I didn’t get it, but I get it now.”

“You deserve it,” Rugani replies.

Armstrong, who grew up in rural Virginia, came to Boston with relatives in 1961. After serving as a medic in the Army and later as an Emergency Medical Services paramedic, he got a job driving the M2 shuttle, ferrying students from Harvard Yard to the Longwood Medical Campus.

Now, after his daily rounds on the Currier Express, Armstrong says he spends his evenings with his wife, whom he calls his Valentine’s Day-wife because they married on Feb. 14, 2002. The couple does not have children.

Armstrong says his church work keeps him busy. He is an active participant in his choir, and has spent recent evenings composing songs. While his full schedule makes it difficult to attend Harvard events, Armstrong says he tries to make time to attend some of his passengers’ performances.

From the different routes that Armstrong has driven, he has attracted a contingent of fans across the campus.

After a stint driving the route by Mather House, Armstrong jokes that he gained his own group of “angels,” a reference to the television and movie series “Charlie’s Angels.”

“I have four of them over [at Mather House] and I call them Jesse’s Angels...[They are] always giving me gifts for my birthday,” Armstrong says.

After a pause, Armstrong adds that he has now has another set of angels in Currier House, too.

“I have the same respect and love for everyone,” he emphasizes, unwilling to pick favorites. “All of them are my favorite riders.”

LAST STOP

As the bus pulls into Currier House just before 4:30 p.m. on Monday, the shuttle is nearly empty. There are only a handful of students and staff leaving the Quad.

Armstrong is still as upbeat as he was in the morning, greeting his passengers with the same “How ya doin’?” or “What’s happenin’?” and the same smile.

And while he says the best part of his day is “all day long,” he admits to preferring the afternoons.

“The students are a little...jollier,” he says, adding that, unlike him, most Harvard students don’t get eight hours of sleep and appear more tired in the morning.

The shuttle pulls up to its last stop on Garden Street, across from Johnston Gate, and all but one rider leaves.

“Where you going, sir?” Armstrong shouts out to the lone passenger on board.

“Memorial Hall,” the passenger replies.

Although his shift is over, Armstrong says he doesn’t mind making one last stop.

“If he is going, I’m going to take him,” he says.