The Southern California Regional Bus Roadeo was held last Saturday, April 13 at OCTA in Santa Ana. Metro bus operator Mark Holland came in first place in the Overall Bus Operator competition, beating out operators from eleven other transit agencies. Metro’s maintenance team came in third out of the four maintenance properties that competed.
The next competition is the APTA International Bus Roadeo in Indianapolis, Indiana, which will take place the first week of May. Metro won the Grand Championship in 2007 and 2009 and hopes to bring the title back again this year.
Categories: Inside Metro
What does a driver actually do in a bus roadeo? Drive an obstacle course? Deal with unusual passenger problems? Respond quickly to new road conditions?
And how is a maintenance crew ‘judged’? Is there a standard problem they have to fix in a certain amount of time?
Hi Linnea,
Bus drivers have to complete a 14-obstacle course and are graded on their speed, accuracy and smoothness of operation. Obstacles include making certain turns and stops. The maintenance crews take a written test similar to ones they all had to take to be certified, then must troubleshoot and repair engines, electrical systems and complete a bus inspection under a certain time. Sounds dry, but when there are teammates and family members around cheering, it can be pretty exciting!
Anna Chen
The Source, Writer