A Quiet Kind of Hero

Robert "Bob" Rudisail, BC Cab, Sacramento, CA

Do you remember the 1970s commercial in which the man, describing his Remington face shaver, said, “I liked it so much I bought the company”? (Look it up on YouTube.)

Bob Rudisail, a driver for BC Cab, a non-emergency medical transportation company in Sacramento, California, lived a similar story. Several years ago, Mel Gosal, CEO of BC Cab, became friends with Bob, who was driving for another company. “I was trying to get him to come work for me because he was a great guy and a military veteran,” says Mel, “I really wanted him, and I thought: He’d be a good addition to my team. And Bob always refused and said, ‘No, no, I’m loyal to my company.’ ”

How, then, did Bob wind up working for Mel? “The only way I was able to get Bob to my company was by buying the company he worked for.” Of course.

If you look at BC Cab’s Facebook page, you get the idea that Mel made the right decision. A lifetime of service and loyalty are obviously two of Bob’s strong points, and the very first client review of the company is: “Robert is a very friendly and great driver. Glad to have him today as my driver. Thank you.”

Showing Others the Way
Mel continues, “He was a great fit. He is a great fit. Good to have somebody that knows the industry, the area, with so much experience and expertise who can also train our new drivers. Teach them in the right direction, and show every new hiree why we are in this business. Got a question? I tell them to go talk to Bob.”

In fact, “before the pandemic,” Mel says, “I would put a new driver with Bob and they’d drive together so he could give them general knowledge about the industry, show them how he does it, because nobody can do better than him, being in the industry for so long.” “So long” is since 1985 – thirty-seven years!

Known as an empathetic driver whose clients love him (one customer who was very loyal to Bob booked all her rides with BC Cab; when asked why she never bought a car, she responded, “I don't need to because I have BC Cab, this is my company”), Mel knows that Bob will more than deliver what’s expected of him. And sometimes, he delivers the unexpected; in fact, once, he almost delivered for the expecting. “He almost delivered a baby in the car,” says Mel. “That was one of his great stories. Like, wow. They need to go to the ER and she was already ready!”

One of Bob’s “above and beyond” extras during his five-day work week involves helping an elderly client whose trash bin is usually too difficult for her to take out. Whether she needs a ride or not, Bob stops by her house every Tuesday to put the bin out, and then on Wednesday the trash haulers are nice enough to return it for her. It’s the best kind of teamwork, helping someone off the clock and receiving nothing back but the knowledge that you’re making someone’s life a little easier, and Bob set it in motion.

And then there’s that other “unexpected” story
Everyone who knows him and drives with him knows Bob has a big heart. That is, after all, why so many NEMT drivers get into the business: there are a lot of jobs you can do for money, but the desire to help people who truly need it is what drives them to this business.

Bob’s heart played a different role in this last little story. A story that goes back, before BC Cab became an NEMT business, and it happened “not long after I started with Mel,” says Bob, “there was a woman who often called on BC Cab. She didn’t have transportation and I always took her shopping, to pay her bills, whatever. And after a while, it turned into something that I didn’t anticipate: It turned into a ‘relationship’ that lasted quite a few years,” says Bob with a grin.

Apparently, one person who can occasionally expect the unexpected from Bob is himself.

A Hero
From being the go-to person for new employees to help them understand the true mission of the NEMT business, and for being the driver who so many clients request because he is not only reliable and courteous but is a good listener who brings them the comfort they want in their time of need, thank you, Bob Rudisail. You are a Hero.

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