Meet Lawrence Rangel
Lawrence Rangel, Larry to his friends, is a Colorado native who led an exciting life before joining Transdev to serve the people of this community. After high school he served in the military for four years before furthering his education and becoming a broker in Europe and then returning to Colorado.
In 2000 while working in advertising, Larry was speaking to a friend’s wife, who happened to be in human resources at Special Transit, a local bus provider, and learned that the company needed drivers. Upon hearing the details of the job, Larry found himself interviewing for a position that very day. He likes to reflect on how much things have changed, recalling that the wheelchair securements were cloth and that the buses were not equipped with radios. Larry compared transitioning to different companies like upgrading to a new car. As he moved from Coach, Horizon, All Aboard and finally Transdev, there was a learning curve with new technology. With all the change he remained focused on the well-being, comfort and safety of the passengers.
Larry enjoys helping people and he has befriended his passengers over the years and enjoys being there for them however they need. Sometimes he is there for them with a joke, a pat on the back, or a smile. Being a genuine listener is how he connects to his customers. Larry takes his work seriously and remembers one incident when he picked up a nonverbal and extremely sick passenger one cold, snowy day. The condition of the passenger did not sit well with Larry, so he advised the center workers of his concerns. His good judgment led to a diagnosis of double pneumonia for the passenger and Larry was thanked by the customer’s caregiver the next time she saw him. The gratitude he feels for the work he does is why he has stayed in this profession for so long. Although he says he cannot explain his connection with his customers, it might be because he enjoys sharing stories, time and life experiences with the people he serves.
Lawrence Rangel, Access-a-Ride operator