BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - HE starts each morning the same; hops into his bus at about 5:20 and heads on his way to pick up passengers along the Island Main Road, most of whom would rush down the road just ride safely with him to their respective destination.
Not many people could say that they get to do what they love for a living, but it is not so for 58-year-old John Demming who has been providing a highly commendable service to commuters on the western corridor of Basseterre for almost 40 years. And just as the words superimposed on his bus reads, he does it with "simply class".
For many years commuters would stand on the side of the Island Main Road looking out for that white bus with the name ‘John’ painted in blue at the front and ‘simply class’ written in gray on the back windscreen, because they are confident that they would not only get to their destination in record time, but most importantly, safely.
The Sandy Point resident has been a bus driver and mechanic for his entire adult life, never giving a thought to venturing into another field of work even with having to care for his 17 children.
One may say that this love of driving stemmed from seeing his father, Bobby Demming doing the same all the days of his adult life.
Some even say that it is a family trait, considering John's twin brother Bobo and cousin Piggy were also bus drivers for many years and now one of his sons is doing the same.
SKNVibes interviewed John, the popular bus driver, who proudly boasted of and is known for his clean driving record.
Both John and Bobo are also known by many as the ‘Bullman’.
John said that for all of his years of driving he has neither been in an accident nor had to make an insurance claim for his vehicle.
He told this publication that he began driving at the age of 18, having gotten his private licence in 1973, and his career as a service provider commenced in the following year after he was given his bus licence.
John said that in earlier times he would begin each day on the road about 6:00 a.m. and drive from Sandy Point to Basseterre and back all day long until sometime after 8:00 or 9:00 at night. This, he said, is what he loves.
John explained that when he started providing service to commuters, he was the driver of two buses – one carried the name ‘Sweet William’ – but he did not own them. However, in 1984 he purchased his first vehicle, a Coaster, and started his own transportation business.
He said that a few years later he bought a second bus and had employed a driver while he continued plying the regular route in the first one; but either in 2002 or 2003, he gave the second bus to his twin brother.
Over the years, John had acquired a vast amount of regular passengers, whom he said love his driving and feel comfortable riding with him because he is not reckless.
"People have told me over the years that they like driving in my bus because they know they're safe with me. I have never been in an accident and I don't drive carelessly, so they know with me they don't have anything to worry about."
So popular and rushed-after is this bus driver that there is never the need for him to park in the Terminal on the Bay Road in Basseterre to wait for passengers. He drives up, stops for no more than two minutes and is on his way with a full load of commuters to Sandy Point.
When asked how he has managed to keep a clean record during his entire life as a driver, John said that he is careful on the road, and while he does not 'drive like a turtle', he does however pay keen attention to what he is doing and "of course, you know I keep it simply classy".
In his younger years, when he was not on the road driving, John could have been found at the back of B's Enterprises Gas Station fixing vehicles. He is also a first class mechanic.
Although he has no formal training in the field, John still managed to rise to fame and has attracted many loyal customers over the years.
Speaking of one customer in particular, John said he started out in the mechanic business fixing vehicles for that man and still works on his vehicles whenever they need servicing.
John said he learned the trade from watching others while he was just a child and also during his teens.
"When I was younger, before I started driving, I used to go to this mechanic shop with a man named Mr. Brandy and it was there I learned how to fix vehicles."
The mechanic shop which he now runs with a friend is located at the eastern outskirt of Sandy Point, where John supervises a number of young men whom he said he had taught.
His driving hours have been significantly reduced from running all day to just a few hours in the morning - 5:30 to 10:00 – and the remainder of the day is spent at the mechanic shop after handing over the bus to one of his sons.
He said when the day is over, the bus is brought back to him around 7:00 p.m. and he takes it home, cleans it and have it is fully prepared for the next day.
Although John is no longer is his prime, his driving service is still requested by many.
John said that several times throughout the year, he drives for a number of students from Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine, noting that whenever they come to St. Kitts they would call him and he would transport them to wherever they would like to go.
John explained that he would sometimes take them to party on The Strip in Frigate Bay, picnics on the beach or sightseeing at Brimstone Hill. “I am their trusted driver.”
A bus driver with almost 40 years of experience and a clean driving record - not even a speeding ticket – is a rarity globally. But the town of Sandy Point and the people of St. Kitts and Nevis can proudly say that they have such a driver and that person is John ‘Bullman’ Demming.
Why he is so special, one may ask? And John would say, "Because, like my bus says, I drive with simply class."
