The other night I was driving behind a large bus with an ad for a casino plastered on its backside. I thought the bus was possibly one of those Senior Citizen fun buses returning tired but happy gamblers from a jaunt up the hill.

I’m not a gambling fan–long story. But to make it short, I recall mumbling something unflattering under my breath at the driving habits of the bus in front of me. It was moving erratically and I was keeping a safe distance. Heck, I figured maybe the driver had a complimentary drink at the casino bar.

It was then I noticed it was a Paratransit bus. When did they start selling ad space on their tails? Where have I been? Last Paratransit bus I recall seeing was a pristine white bus–no ads. I must have missed something. Meanwhile, I guess the ad campaign is helping keep more buses on the streets–did I mention I hadn’t seen any for quite awhile?

A few years ago I had a friend who looked into driving for Paratransit and he was quoted an hourly rate not too much higher than minimum wage. That didn’t seem to make sense. They’re still looking for drivers, but beginners can make $9 an hour. That’s still not much higher than the January 2007 minimum wage hike to $7.50 an hour. Maybe they need to sell more ad space so they can attract safe drivers? Or maybe the driver was having difficulty seeing out the back window which was graciously covered by the aforementioned casino ad.