The American Public Transportation Association 2018 International Bus Roadeo was held Sunday where operators and maintenance technicians from 82 transit agencies across the United States and Canada competed for top titles.
This year's Bus and Paratransit Conference was hosted by Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART) and Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA), with the roadeo being held on the PSTA grounds.
PSTA Chief Executive Officer Brad Miller said nearly all the staff had been busy preparing for the big event. “It was an enormous amount of employee work leading up to this, especially in the last week.”
On Thursday, an army of yellow-vested folks from across the country were in to get everything set up for the course to the exact measurements to ensure a successful event.
In addition to the skills performed in the competition, Miller said the PSTA employees get the great opportunity to meet with all of these top-level colleagues from across the country. Walking through the driver lounge, he said you’ll see people from all these different agencies talking, sharing stories. “It’s really energizing for them,” he said.
Roadeo activities began on Friday with an orientation and will culminate on Tuesday night at the Roadeo Awards Banquet.
Headed to the roadeo to cheer on a coworker, was Nioka “Ko-Ko” Boyco, a bus operator with Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority (MAX), who has been driving for MAX for two years. Boyco is a finalist for the customer service challenge. Thirty-seven contestants competed on Saturday, testing their customer service responses to a wide variety of challenges operators see on a daily basis. The top 5, including Boyco, will compete on Monday for the top honor.
Though Boyco has a background in marketing, she loves driving. “I don’t have to go to work,” she said, “I get to go to work.
“I’m doing exactly what I love.”
In addition to the thrill of competing, she said she benefits from the wealth of knowledge she learns from her peers and from learning sessions. She said, “You ask any questions, and they have answers.”
Cheering on the bus operator from their agency, Chicago Transit Authority, was the maintenance team of Wayne Brown, Scott Damon, Robert Tietz and their senior garage instructor Jose Delgadillo. Between the four of them combined, they have almost 90 years at CTA.
This year was the second year competing for Brown and Damon and the first year for Tietz. They said they learn so much from meeting others from across the country and with the technical sessions they attend, Tietz said they enjoy the opportunity to experience all the new technologies.
Greater Lafayette Public Transportation Corp. (CityBus) Operator Wayne Reeder had just finished his drive through the course and was pleased he did better than during his practice run on Saturday.
With Reeder was CityBus Operations Manager John Connell, who said the competition is a great experience for building employee morale.
Reeder said with a laugh, “You think you’re a better driver than you until coming out here.”
And while everyone talked about the challenge of running the course, a point Boyco had mentioned running through the precision of a roadeo course gives her even more confidence in her daily routine. “You see what the bus is capable of doing,” she said.
Winners will be announced at an awards banquet, Tuesday evening.
Sponsors of this year’s Roadeo were Allison Transmission, Bendix, BYD Motors, Cummins Inc., Custom Training Aids, ERA Contract USA LLC, LiquidSpring LLC, Motor Coach Ind., New Flyer, Thermo King Corp., TrackIT LLC, Vapor Bus International, Ricon Corp., and Voith Turbo.
