Transit News
Best Transit Bus Operator, Maintenance Crew and Grand Champion Named
June 5, 2006
(Download In Adobe PDF Format)
AC Transit in Oakland, CA won the Grand Champion Award at the prestigious 31st International “Bus Roadeo” held in conjunction with the American Public Transportation Association’s (APTA) Bus and Paratransit Conference in Anaheim, CA this week.
This honor, recognizing the men and women who keep North America’s bus systems safe, is given to the operator and maintenance team that has the highest score of all bus transit systems in this year’s competition. The winners were announced at an awards dinner on May 2nd.
The First Runner-Up was Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) in Anaheim, CA; Second Runner-Up was the Delaware Transit Corporation in Wilmington, DE; and, Third Runner-Up was Oahu Transit Services, Inc., in Honolulu, HI.
Among 40-foot bus operators, Matt Chomjak of Snohomish County Public Transportation Benefit Area Corporation (Community Transit) in Everett, WA placed first in the Operator Competition. Second place was captured by Rendol Whidden of Broward County Transit in Pompano Beach, FL, while Jesse De La Cruz of AC Transit in Oakland, CA was awarded third place honors.
In the Operator Competition for 35-foot buses, Phillip Patterson from Central Midlands Regional Transit Authority in Columbia, SC won first place. Julian Carranza, Jr., of Corpus Christi Regional Transportation Authority in Corpus Christi, TX won second place, and Kevin Grady of San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency in San Francisco, CA won third place.
In the Maintenance Competition, first place went to the State of Florida’s LYNX team in Orlando, FL. The OCTA team in Anaheim, CA, earned a second place finish. Third place went to the team from Coast Mountain Bus Company in Vancouver, BC. Maintainer teams are judged on their ability to trouble-shoot maintenance problems.
This year, two new events were included in the program. The MCI I/O Controls multiplex trouble- shooting event went to Valley Metro Regional Public Transportation Authority in Phoenix, AZ. A demonstration event on pre-trip inspections for operators went to Rendol Whidden at Broward County Transit in Pompano Beach, FL.
This year, a new best customer service award was created. Judged on the competitor’s professionalism, body language and problem-solving creativity, the Customer Service Challenge Award went to Patricia Lock of AC Transit. Alex Alban of the Chicago Transit Authority earned second place.
The 2006 International Bus Roadeo highlights the best bus operators and maintenance teams in the world and is designed to encourage excellence and professionalism in bus transit operations. The competition was held April 30th at OCTA’s facility in Irvine.
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