OO Spotlight : Lynn Swartwood

This month we celebrate Lynn Swartwood in our Owner Operator driver spotlight. Lynn is new to Prime Time Shuttle, but certainly not new to spending his days behind the wheel. While he is also experienced in information technology, Lynn has spent most of his career in transportation. He drove cross country for 15 years before coming to Prime Time, and prior to that, he worked as a school bus driver. Lynn became a Prime Time Shuttle Owner Operator three months ago after answering an ad in the LA Times. He is, self-admittedly, “a real people person” and was attracted to Prime Time because it offered him the ability to work with the public while still calling the shots as his own boss. After more than a decade out on the road, that sort of freedom was important to Lynn. The thought of being at home every night, sleeping in his own bed, was a big bonus too! When he’s not behind the wheel of his van, Lynn sticks pretty close to home. He’s a movie buff. His favorite movie of all time? “The Back to the Future series . . . it’s just good, clean fun!” Lynn actually lives in Victorville, 100 miles northeast from LAX. Rather than an obstacle, he finds this to be an amazing opportunity. “I assume that I am one of the few drivers serving the high desert region east of LA. I recently took a woman from LAX to Ontario Airport. She was getting picked up in Ontario because she didn’t realize I could happily take her all the way to Twenty-nine Palms. My focus is to serve the areas far east of LA: Big Bear, Coachella Valley, Palm Desert, Apple Valley. I want to get the word out there and build my business that way.” So far, Lynn’s strategy seems to really be working for him. He’s used to working as an independent contractor, so keeps a close eye on all of his expenses and does his own version of a weekly reconciliation. He reports, “I finish strong every week.” Although his business strategy is sound, we think his success may also have a little to do with his upbeat, positive attitude, strong desire to serve the passenger and “I’ll go wherever I’m needed” attitude.