Muni driver adds a note of cheer to the 29-Sunset

A recent Friday, 2:30 p.m.: In his deepest, most resonant voice, Charles Davis sang out "Ulloooooooa!" as he pulled up to the Muni stop at Ulloa Street and Sunset Boulevard.

Every corner gets a melodic callout when Davis is behind the wheel of the 29-Sunset. "People have come to call me the singing bus driver," he said. "It's one of those things - they either love it or they hate it."

Davis, 69, moved here in 1976 from Atlanta, Texas, a town of 500, to "save a marriage." It didn't work, but the big city turned out to be just the place for him.

"I enjoy being around people who are a little bit crazy," Davis said. "It kind of makes me feel like I fit in, because I know I've got a few loose screws."

Davis moved here with dreams of starting a company of some kind, or maybe of inspiring young minds like he did at a junior high school for a spell back in Texas. Instead, he wound up driving for an airport shuttle service, and 11 years ago he got a job as a Muni driver.

Although he's now at an age when many people have stopped punching a time clock, retirement's not for him.

Muni operator Charles Davis sings out the 29-Sunset's Ulloa Street stop. Muni operator Charles Davis sings out the 29-Sunset's Ulloa Street stop. Photo: Mike Kepka, The Chronicle Photo: Mike Kepka, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 18 Caption Close Muni driver adds a note of cheer to the 29-Sunset 1 / 18 Back to Gallery

"I've worked all my life, and it looks like I'll be working till the day I die," Davis said.

Shortly after he started at Muni, he realized that many older riders had a hard time seeing their stop coming. Some missed them altogether if it was too dark or foggy.

Davis decided not only to start calling out the stops, but to make sure everyone got the message by putting them to song. He's played to more people than he ever did in his previous musical gigs, with the high school chorus and the church choir.

He belts out "Taaaaaaaraval!" in a midrange pitch that makes a few riders in the back chuckle. Ocean Avenue gets, "Deeeep Blue Oooooocean!"

From the back of the bus comes a passenger's reply: "Gooooooo, bus driver!"

"It's hard to be in a bad mood when the driver is singing. It brightens your day a little," said Will Reuther, a San Francisco State University student sitting with an open laptop and a slight smile on his face. "It breaks up the monotony of riding the bus."

The singing seems to work its magic on Davis as well. When he climbed to his prerun safety checks, he was reserved, maybe a bit tired from the shift the night before. But as passengers piled on, his voice loosened up and a twinkle became visible in his eyes.

At the end of the day, he said, his body is exhausted but his voice never is. His secret weapons are throat lozenges and sips of warm water and coffee during breaks.

Davis has been driving the 29 for the past year and says it's his favorite route yet. With a mix of high school and college students and older residents, it's a diverse audience.

"I've had people tell me, 'Oh, that was the best ride that I've ever had in my life,' " Davis said. "To me, that's a reward that's just unmatchable."