UNIVERSITY PARK, PA— Campus Loop run number 17,890 was different than all the others for driver Walter “Sparky” Locksman, as he no longer needed to use a map to complete the fifteen stop bus route.

             The Campus Loop is used by 5,000 students each day to get to various locations around campus and is serviced by the CATABUS corporation.

A map of the complex and winding bus route which Locksman no longer needs to complete his 40 daily runs.

             Locksman, a two year veteran campus loop driver, decided to forgo using a map for directions after some thought when he realized that “in actuality, basically I’m just driving around in a circle for 40 times a day.” However, the transition from map to mapless would not be as simple as one might expect.

             “I knew the transition to a map free run wouldn’t be easy,” stated Locksman, “I have to make 15 stops, and I only drive the same route say 40 times a day. This is not easy!”

             In fact, during his first “map free” run Locksman became disoriented. “I don’t know how it happened, but I ended up by the Walmart on North Atherton Street. I must have made a wrong turn somewhere or other.”

             Despite his initial missteps, Locksman was determined to make his map free runs a reality and eventually by map free run number 78 he completed it successfully.

             Locksman who completes 5 runs of the loop an hour, which amasses to 40 runs a day or 200 loops a week. During his illustrious 23 month career, Locksman has completed 17,890 loops runs picking up students, dropping them off, then picking up more students, and dropping them off and repeating the process for hours on end still has occasionally missed stops and gets lost “once in a blue moon”, but feels that working without a map will be more efficient in the long run.

             The boredom that might be associated with a job of this type does not faze the dedicated Locksman.

             “People might think my job is kind of monotonous, but this is not the case,” explained Locksman. “I try to make a game of it. I count how many people get on the bus at one stop, and then I bet to myself will it be more or less on the following stop. It’s actually pretty fun.”

             Locksman’s enthusiasm and map free driving can be enjoyed by Penn State students for many years to come as he plans to retire in 18 more years, or an additional 145,000 Loop runs.