Joe Somers is a part-time Ticket Inspector for Stagecoach East Peterborough. After being nominated for The Unsung Hero Award at The UK Bus Awards 2016, he looks back on long career working in the industry. Elizabeth Howlett met him to find out more
I gave Joe Somers a telephone call the day before I was due to meet him. He assured me that I would be given a warm welcome and a coffee upon arrival at Stagecoach’s Peterborough depot. I took the City 1 route to the Lincoln Road garage on a particularly cold and windy day so the coffee and the welcome were much needed. Joe was true to his word and greeted me with a smile and a few jokes.
I initially met Joe in November, 2016 at The UK Bus Awards as he had been nominated by Stagecoach East for The Unsung Hero Award. It was easy to see why he was put up for that particular award. During my visit, there was not one person that he did not stop to speak to. His cheerful and friendly demeanour was mirrored by every passing colleague.
Joe has 56 years of industry experience under his belt, and has always been loyal to the Lincoln Road depot. He has worked for five different operators since he arrived in England for an adventure in the late 1950s, and hasn’t looked back since. Working part-time as a Ticket Inspector, he revealed to me that he had been at work since 0430hrs that morning, helping out in the cash office. At 76 years-old he has no plans to retire, making him anything but your average Joe.
The adventure of a lifetime
When Joe turned 16, he and his friends decided to come to England for an adventure. He travelled to Manchester and London, and at the age of 17, worked on the railway assisting with the operation of a steam crane.
Joe then decided to settle near family in Peterborough, but not before securing a job laying asbestos pipes. “Could you imagine what damage that job would have done me?” He said. He wasn’t due to start laying them for two weeks and found himself getting bored, so Joe took on temporary work at the local bus depot, Eastern Counties.
“I started working February, 22 1960.” He said. “I can’t remember what happened yesterday but I can remember the day I started at this very garage. I wasn’t drawn to this line of work because of a particular hobby or passion, it was simply a job I enjoyed doing. I do definitely like buses, and I have certain types that I will always hold close to my heart – but I can only say that now I have worked in the industry for so long.
“I don’t remember being especially nervous but, you are fearless when you are 20 years old. What I do remember is that I had awful time-keeping and no parental control, so you can imagine. They were so desperate for conductors that they daren’t sack me. Once I met Pam, my future wife, everything changed. […]
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