If you've ever taken a ride on the RTD MallRide shuttle bus on 16th Street in Denver, your driver might have been Russ Nipper. He's driven the route full-time since the mall opened in October 1982.

Back then, there were 26 buses traveling from Civic Center Station at Colfax Avenue and Broadway to Union Station. That fleet used diesel fuel,. The 36 hybrid buses in use now, were introduced in 2000. These vehicles make the 1.25-mile trip every day from 5:15 a.m. to 1:35 a.m.

"With all the excitement on the first day, a round-trip took an hour," said Nipper. Now, it takes 22 minutes." The original loop only went to Market Street. Now it travels an additional quarter-mile to Union Station.

Nipper said he doesn't count the loops he makes in a day's shift. "It would make the day longer," he said.

Traveling at 15 miles per hour, Nipper waves to pedestrians as he drives between stops.

"You have to have an enormous amount of patience to do this," Nipper said, as a downtown lunch crowd spilled onto the sidewalks from nearby office buildings.

Nipper said he likes the job because of the diversity. "It's a challenge. There is a lot of excitement."

He started the job 33 years ago when his carpentry trade was in the doldrums during the mid-'70s.

A native of Denver, Nipper went to Lincoln High School. His father was a bus operator for a private bus firm before RTD got its start in 1974.

"I used to ride his bus on Saturdays," he said. "I never thought I would do it as a profession, but here I am. People call us bus drivers, but the proper term is bus operator." There are 30 to 34 operators who run the mall shifts.

Nipper admitted there is a love-hate relationship to the route. He said other drivers consider it too short. He credited his friendly attitude as the most important characteristic an operator on this route can have. An only child, he said he gained his positive outlook from his parents.

"My mom taught me that smiling is a universal language. If I smile at a homeless person, 90 percent will smile back."

As he crossed Stout Street, a woman talking on a cell phone almost walked into the pathway of the bus.

"People are always going to be in your way," he said.

He said he has become friends with many riders, whether doctors, lawyers or the homeless. "They're all good people," he said.

"Driving the mall is like watching a Seinfeld show. People just being themselves are hilarious. Add cell phones in there and it adds a whole new dimension."

Nipper said he has had cause to ask a passenger to depart, in situations where a rider is drunk and hassling another rider.

The 61-year-old stays in shape by running and cycling. He lives in Denver with his two cats, Oscar and Nikki, and leaves for work on his bicycle at 4:40 a.m.
"I haven't owned a car for 13 years," he said.

Nipper runs and cycles to stay in shape and said during his last physical, doctors remarked that his blood pressure - 100 over 60 -- was comparable to a 19-year-old's.

"I don't take the negative stuff home," he said.