Cor’Darius Jones is serious about making sure that students in Pensacola, Florida, have a positive experience while on their way to school. He’s also begun garnering attention online by creating numerous bus operator-based skits on Facebook and TikTok.
How fantastic is this? Pensacola school bus driver makes Tik Tok videos and decorates his bus for kids! https://t.co/5yaTdBeKf7
— Cheryl Sattler (@EthicaLLC) May 2, 2022
During his morning route, Jones is sure to greet his regular students by name as they board the bus.
“By addressing them by name, it builds that personal relationship with you,” he said.
Jones also decorates the inside of his with pictures and inspirational quotes that’re swapped out each year. Currently, his bus is decorated around a Dr. Seuss and Mario Bros. theme.
“I joke with them. I tell them, ‘I don’t want to drive a dull bus. I don’t want you to come in and see a tan ceiling. I want you to see something that brightens your day,'” he noted.
“My students come and like to see if they can find their favorite characters,” Jones continued.
Bus drivers may seem like unlikely candidates for stardom. But Pensacola’s Cordarius Jones, known as “Mr. Bus Driver,” is making quite the name for himself.https://t.co/rQpyS9xUsD pic.twitter.com/ruVsuJwi4K
— PNJ (@pnj) April 30, 2022
The 29-year-old bus driver also noted that he takes such pride in his job to help uplift the students.
“You never know what these kids are going through at home. When they get on here, you don’t know if they are coming from an unstable home, getting yelled at,” he shared. Next thing you know, they’re on the bus, and you don’t want them to be getting the exact same thing. On the short ride I give them, I try to make it as positive as possible.”
For his devotion to the local students, Jones was the first member of the Escambia County School District’s Transportation Department to receive Stellar Employee of the Month award.
“Mr. Cor’Darius Jones is a bus operator with a positive message for both students and parents. The inside of Jones’ bus looks like a classroom,” Escambia County Superintendent Tim Smith said. “Lessons about kindness, history, facts and the like can be seen affixed to the ceiling of the bus. Cor’Darius Jones is a funny guy with a big heart.
In addition to his outstanding work as a bus operator, Jones has also proven himself to be quite the content creator. With almost 30K TikTok followers and a plethora of uploads, @MrBusDriverCJ is definitely a channel to check out.
“One of the videos that I liked that I did was about the middle schoolers. They’ll act a certain way on the bus. On the bus, they’ll be like, ‘Bleep, bleep, bleep,'” Jones said. “And then, when you get to the bus stop and their parents out there, they get off and start instantly acting like angels.”
@mrbusdrivercj Your kid(s) while on the bus vs. when you get them 😒🚌😂 #comedy #funny #schoolbus #busdriver #mrbusdriver #like #follow #bus #school #student ♬ original sound – Cor’Darius Jones
“A lot of my students will see the videos and start smiling,” he said of his TikToks.
It’s worth noting that Jones isn’t the only Florida school employee to go viral on the app.
As Blavity previously reported, a group of South Florida cafeteria workers known as the Lunch Lady Squad recently began making TikTok content.
