Lynx Wins Fourth Straight State Maintenance and Operator Roadeo Championship

As the weather stays hot in Central Florida so did the Central Florida Regional Transportation Authority (Lynx) maintenance team at the 2017 State Roadeo. For the fourth consecutive year the Lynx maintenance team of Chris Balroop, Harryram Mootoo and Radu Solomon won the state championship.

The team will now prepare to defend their 2016 American Public Transportation Association’s International Bus Roadeo title on May 7 in Reno, Nevada.

The squad also won awards for their assessments in bus and engine inspection, electronic controls and a written test.

By combining the maintenance score with operator Steve Kalicharan’s overall finish this is the 10th Grand Champion award for Lynx. Kalicharan also won first place in bus pre-trip inspection.

“The competition was fierce in many categories and we are very proud of the accomplishments of our maintenance and operations team competitors,” said Edward L. Johnson, Lynx chief executive officer. “Their unyielding commitment and dedication to their profession is evident by their achievements at this year’s Florida Bus Roadeo. We at Lynx are very proud of them."

Access Lynx operator Rhoda Scott won “The Highest Yardstick” award, which is for best performance in the measurement obstacles. Access Lynx operator Kevin Herring and maintenance technician Angel Melendez also participated in the Roadeo.

Operators and maintenance teams were put through physical and mental challenges testing their everyday workplace skills. This past weekend’s training exercise sponsored by the Florida Department of Transportation and the Florida Public Transportation Association was held at Votran in Daytona Beach.