CATA driver shuttles students with a smile

Editor's Note: This is the tenth in a weekly series about figures in the State College community. This article focuses on Chris Deck, a CATA bus driver.

The bus flashes orange and white as it rumbles to a halt. With two hands on the wheel, a smile on his face and a nod of recognition, he welcomes students as they climb aboard.

Chris Deck has been driving buses for Centre Area Transportation Authority for 10 years and is currently at the helm of the Scenery Park special route, a route that serves mainly University Terrace Apartments, 825 Bellaire Ave.

Deck regularly interacts with students, picking them up in front of the University Terrace buildings. Through rain, sleet or snow, starting at 7 a.m., Deck shuttles students back and forth between their classes and their apartments.

"Every day is a new experience," Deck said, describing his daily task of transporting students around campus.

Deck said he enjoys talking and interacting with the students who ride his bus.

The students who ride Deck's bus seem to enjoy his usual jovial mood.

"He's probably the coolest bus driver I've ever had," said Alex Malatesta (junior-psychology). "I wish all the bus drivers were like him."

Craig Reichl (junior-rehabilitation services) echoed these statements, saying, "He makes me want to go to class."

Deck's roots are in the area. He graduated from State College Area High School in 1973. After graduating, he spent 22 years in the military, four of which were in the Air Force and 18 in the Army. During his time in the Air Force he worked as a medic and in security. During his 18-year stay in the Army he worked his way up to company commander in the Tow Light Anti-Tank (TLAT) Battalion in Oklahoma. At the time, the battalion, which deployed rocket launchers, was the only one of its kind, Deck said.

After leaving the Army, Deck returned to the area with his wife, Susan, who is from Oklahoma. He began driving buses for CATA 10 years ago.

Deck is currently involved in several community groups, he said.

He's a volunteer firefighter for Port Matilda and a member of the Civil Air Patrol, a search-and-rescue outfit comprised of students and adults. Originally this outfit was set up to find downed aircraft. Now, they help in searches for almost anything, Deck said, including missing persons.

The group has airborne and ground-based search groups that Deck is a part of. The patrol also provides excellent educational opportunities to the students involved, he said.

Deck, who lives in State College, has two sons, Charles and Christopher.