Boy, 15, steals a bus
FERN PARK, FLA. (Oct 30, 2006)

A 15-year-old boy who appears determined to be a transit driver will be in court tomorrow.

He stole a bus Saturday -- for the second time -- drove it along a transit route, picked up passengers and collected fares.

Passengers and police noted the boy drove at normal speeds and made all the appropriate stops on the route.

But one passenger, suspicious of the driver's youthful looks, called 911.

"I drove that bus better than most ... drivers could," the teen told an officer after he was stopped and arrested.

"There isn't a scratch on it. I know how to start it, drive it, lower it, raise it."

The used bus had been parked, awaiting sale at an auction.

The boy had previously been charged for a similar bus theft. Details of that case were unavailable yesterday.


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"There isn't a scratch on it. I know how to start it, drive it, lower it, raise it."

That kind of initiative should be rewarded, I say make him a busdriver already. Hell if a teen can get a license to fly a plane why not a bus???

Here's a case where I'd let the kid off with community service.  He wants to be a bus driver, tell him to wait until he's 18.  Until then, let him hang around the bus barn, talk with the drivers, learn the trade.  He'll become a good employee and probably a manager someday (if he can leave his buses).