Driver Johnna Craven chats with co-workers before starting her morning school bus route, at the Excelsior Springs bus barn. A cup of coffee and a cigarette are Craven’s usual morning routine before she boards the bus.
Johnna Craven sips a cup of coffee as part of her morning routine at the Excelsior Spring bus barn in the early hours of Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022.
Maddox, 5, at right, leaps from grandmother Johnna Craven’s minivan while his aunt Kelly Craven, at left, watches at the family’s home. When Craven is not providing transportation for the school district or the city, she’s the main source of transportation for her grandson, Maddox whom she has been raising for much of his life. “There are lots of us grandparents raising our grandchildren in this town,” Craven said, explaining her son’s struggle with addiction.
Driver Johnna Craven chats with co-workers before starting her morning school bus route, at the Excelsior Springs bus barn. A cup of coffee and a cigarette are Craven’s usual morning routine before she boards the bus.
Produced during the 74th Annual
Transportation in rural America is not always an easily accessible service, but in Excelsior Springs, Missouri, bus driver Johnna Craven is a resident who gets community members on the road. This life-long resident spends her entire day driving buses. She drives the “Dino” route for the Excelsior Springs school district in the morning and afternoon, and for the city bus service in the middle of the day.
Craven is also the center of her family, as she raises her grandson Maddox, and shares a home with adult daughter Kelly, who works as a bus monitor for the school district buses. Despite facing many challenges, including divorce, homelessness and the loss of loved ones, Craven continues to press on, being a driving force in her community.