Meet Darren Watkins, the Metra conductor who offers a fist bump to brighten your day
CHICAGO (CBS) -- We often talk about our commutes as something we get stuck in – or something we wish we could just avoid altogether.
But regular riders on the Metra Milwaukee District North Line don't seem to mind the trip – and it's all because of the guy checking their tickets.
CBS 2's Noel Brennan introduced us Wednesday night to Darren Watkins – a conductor who makes even a long commute worthwhile.
If you drive to work, bumps on the road might make your rough commute worse. But Metra commuters are happy to exchange a bump – a fist bump, that is – from Watkins on the train.
No matter the day of the week, Watkins wishes you a happy one too.
Regulars on the Milwaukee District North Line all know Mr. Watkins by name – and they all know him by knuckles too.
"That's the fist bumps," Watkins said. "They love it, they require it, and I oblige."
Who gets fist bumps on Watkins' train?
"They all get fist bumps - every one of them," Watkins said. "It makes it more personal. It's not so dry."
"Every single person - whether he knows them or not," a loyal passenger said.
The fist bumps have been Watkins' routine as a conductor for 15 years – but he can't take credit for the idea himself.
"A little kid - he started the whole thing. He was on my train. He says: 'Fist bump! Fist bump!'" Watkins said. "So I gave him a fist bump and that's where it started - and it hasn't stopped since then.
Watkins is one of Metra's longest-serving employees. But he almost took a much different route.
"My background was corporate accounting," he said. "I had only planned on staying one or two years - and here I am 30 years later."
Watkins followed the right track.
"It's a very gratifying, gratifying experience," he said. "At this point in my career, I think everybody's a regular to me now."
And a commute on a Metra train with Watkins may be the only kind of commute where bumps make for a more comfortable ride.
"'Happy Tuesday, Happy Monday, Happy whatever the day is,' with a nice fist bump - and it just gets you going for sure," a regular commuter said.
Watkins is one of about 355 conductors who work for Metra. Thirty years into his career, he doesn't plan giving up the job - or the fist bump - anytime soon.
Web Extra: Meet another Metra conductor, Chuck Cravatta, who helps liven the commute for passengers on the Milwaukee District West Line. The longtime conductor is currently on leave from Metra.
