Why I Work for RTD: Dan Ortega

Dan Ortega

Body Shop Supervisor (15 years)

“I started on the outside and did most of my experience in certification and training.
I had an opportunity at one of the shops I worked at to go to State Farm in Bloomington, Illinois, and go through their crash facility. We got to go through their training and see how crashes happen and how energy disperses.

“When things tightened around 2008 and 2009, I had an opportunity to come to RTD as a bus driver. They wanted me to come over to the body shop. To apply for this job, I had to quit my bus driver job after a few months. I didn't get the job, so I went to work for the City of Littleton for about a year. And then, RTD gave me an opportunity to come back, but to light rail. I started in MOW as a rail laborer. And they were like, there's a new position over at the body shop. I said, I don't want to go. I like it here. I was told, you're a rare talent. This would be a good place for you to go because of your background.

“I was awarded the position about seven months after I took that job in MOW. I’ve been here since. I’ve taken a lot of classes. RTD has allowed everybody who has come to work here the opportunity to really build a career, a future, and it's something that I always felt the outside lacks so much of. You could go to work for these big corporate body shops or these private small shops, and no matter how much you work, I felt like your time in each area was always limited to three-to-five years.

“In 15 years, I've had every opportunity to take as many classes as I wanted to. I've gotten to sharpen my people skills. Without those classes, I don't know if I would have survived here, because they really gave you an opportunity to develop, not only as an employee but as a young supervisor and somebody that's moving up the ladder. RTD provides that and allows you an opportunity to go back to school, find out where your niche is, where you want to be – we’re like a city within a city.

“I've had some great mentors here. I had Steve Gieske. I had Henry Stopplecamp. Greg Pennington, Terry Emmons. Those types of senior managers who were here a long time and see the value of who you are and the value of your work. And that’s what I felt RTD has offered me: a home where I belong.

“Every job has its ups and downs and changes, and sometimes we get new leadership. But, for the most part, this has been an awesome place to work. I've enjoyed it so much, and I feel very grateful and honored that I've had such a good career here. Hopefully, I'll be able to finish off more years and then retire.

“The job, the people – we're like a family. A lot of us have other family members and friends who work in other groups. My brother (Michael Ortega) is a track supervisor at commuter rail. He's been here a little longer than I have. He talked me into coming here.

“The people, RTD, are what keep me coming back every day. I can honestly tell you I enjoy getting up at 3:30 in the morning and coming to work. I literally enjoy the people. We spend a lot of time together, and plus, we're challenged every day how to make runs, how to get our projects completed in a timely basis. How do we service the whole entire district: marketing, engineering, FM, support fleet? How do we help everybody keep the wheels turning? I think it's up to all of us.

“Transit in itself is such a big part of life for so many people. It can be grandparents, friends, neighbors who ride these buses, ride these trains. Providing a good, safe, quality service for them, and making sure that we're taking care of the repairs and the things that need to be taken care of, I think that's probably the most important thing.”