By Courtesy of LA Metro / Meylyn Mitteenn/ The Passenger
Sep 24, 2024, 5:44 PM EDT
Since he was a child, Freddy Malfavón took meticulous care of his toy cars, always keeping them shiny and dent-free. At 15, he bought and restored a blue 1960 Volkswagen Beetle, which he later sold to buy a 1956 model.
His love of cars led him to open his own auto shop, where he honed his skills in repairs and painting for 16 years. When the shop closed, Freddy found a new path as a bus painter at Metro’s Central Maintenance Shop (CMS). For the past eight years, he has brought the same passion to his work that he still brings to restoring his Volkswagens.
Going from painting small Volkswagens to 40-foot-long buses was no easy feat. But Freddy rose to the challenge. “It takes a lot of patience and attention to detail,” he says. During his time at Metro, Freddy estimates he has painted around 700 buses.
Every day, more than 1,800 buses keep Los Angeles County moving. And when minor bus repairs are needed, they are typically done at local Metro bus yards (called divisions). However, in the case of major damage or significant wear, buses are sent to CMS, where a specialized team takes care of the system, body, and paint. This is also the case when a bus reaches three years in service, as that’s when it’s brought to CMS for a complete repaint to ensure it looks its best before returning to service. With a fleet that travels nearly 70 million miles a year, regular maintenance like this is essential.
Freddy explains that the process begins with the application of a coat of bonding agent (or prime) on the first day. On the second day, a three-person crew sands and plastic-protects the bus, carefully covering everything (from windows, wheels, tires, engine parts, and even small screw holes) to prevent overspray from causing stains. On the third day, two people work in a synchronized pace to paint the bus. Once dry, decals are applied that include the Metro logo, bus number, and other identifiers. A single bus can have upwards of 35 decals!
“My favorite part is seeing the end result,” Freddy says. “It makes me happy to see the bus leave CMS, ready to go back into service.”
Freddy’s colleague, José Heredia, has been painting buses at Metro for five years. He says that while painting a car is usually a job that is done well alone, a bus requires teamwork and communication. “Two people start painting at opposite ends of the bus at the same time. It’s like a synchronized dance: we move in the same rhythm and finish spraying the paint simultaneously,” explains José.
Beyond dealing with the exterior, their team also restores the interior of buses damaged by graffiti. They are currently working at full speed on painting the metal parts necessary for the installation of the barriers that will protect our bus operators – the aim is to complete the installation across the entire fleet by the end of 2024.
Jose began his career washing cars, then worked at an auto repair shop, then learned to paint garbage trucks. “I wanted to learn how to paint properly, so I went to school,” he says. After completing his studies in automotive painting and becoming certified as a vehicle damage estimator, he worked at a dealership where he restored cars that arrived crashed but he made them look like new.
“When I saw online that Metro was hiring bus painters, I applied right away,” Jose recalls. “I used to ride the bus to school, but I never imagined I would be working here.” Jose says he is now in his dream job.
Husband and father José appreciates the stability his job brings him. He feels proud every time he sees a freshly painted bus on the streets. “Sometimes I ask myself, ‘Did I paint that one?’” he says with a smile.
Born in Mexico, Jose is proud to be part of the second largest public transportation agency in the country. “I wear my uniform with a lot of pride,” he says. During Hispanic Heritage Month, Jose celebrates his culture through food, with his favorite dish being ‘morisqueta,’ a traditional dish from his home state of Michoacan.
For Freddy, who was born in Los Angeles to Mexican parents, maintaining his language is a key part of preserving his heritage: “In my house, it’s important to continue speaking Spanish.”