CORNWALL, Ontario – A familiar face on Cornwall Transit has decided to hang it up. After a 28 year career, popular Cornwall Transit driver Gilles Lafrance has decided to retire.
Well known as the driver of the Pitt-McConnell bus route, Lafrance stepped off the bus and into retirement at the Downtown transfer stop on the morning of Wednesday, Nov.16.
His family, representatives from the City and some of his regular passengers were there to meet and congratulate him.
For Lafrance, the people are what he says he will miss the most.
“The people and the drivers,” he said. “We are like family. We enjoy the company.”
The most difficult thing Lafrance said that he faced over his career, was staying on time.
Lafrance’s old boss Transit Manager Len Tapp praised him as being not only one of the longest serving drivers, but also one of the most popular.
“You couldn’t ask for a better employee,” said Tapp. “He is friendly with everyone and he just loved his job.”
Lafrance is a regular volunteer with the Knights of Columbus and the Army Navy Air Force Club.
In retirement Lafrance said he hopes to spend more time volunteering with these organizations and traveling with his wife, Diane.
