Texas Transit Association

     The 34th International Bus Roadeo Grand Champion Award from the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) went to Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The Grand Champion awards recognize the bus operators and maintenance teams that have the highest combined score. The Grand Champion 2nd place winner was San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency team, and 3rd place went to Austin’s Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority team.

     “The winners of 2009 International Bus Roadeo showcase professionalism and top-notch skill in their work,” said APTA President William W. Millar. “These performances are an  example of excellence to the entire industry.”

     The best driver in North America is Brentt Mackie of Pierce Transit, Lakewood, Washington who beat 53 other bus operators to win first place in the 40-foot bus competition. Second place winner was Juan Navarro of Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and Elroy Williams of the Dallas Area Rapid Transit, took home third place honors.

     Twenty-four drivers competed in the 35-foot bus category. Daniel R. Schmidt of Ben Franklin Transit, Kennewick, Washington won first place as the best bus operator in North America in that category, while Darrion Mitchell from Metro Transit System in Columbus, Georgia took second place, and Kevin Grady from the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency earned third.

     Community Transit of Everett, Washington won first place in the Maintenance Competition, which tests    mechanics’ abilities to troubleshoot mechanical problems and fix them quickly. This year, 36 teams competed, with Omnitrans in San Bernardino, California winning second place and Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority winning third place.

     Other competitions in pre-trip inspection and customer service challenges rounded out this year’s national bus roadeo competition in Seattle, Washington.

 What’s a little rain to a bunch of dedicated transit folks? NOTHING!
     The rainy 2009 Texas State Bus Roadeo, sponsored this year by Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART), and held on Saturday, April 18th at their Arapaho Station in Richardson, was one of the biggest and best bus roadeos TTA has ever had.
     Our association owes sincere thanks to Mr. Chester Hall, DART Training Manager, and the entire DART staff, plus a stellar group of over 70 volunteers, as well as 10 generous sponsors for helping make the roadeo happen. They did a wonderful job. Hundreds of details go into the planning and execution of these bus roadeos, including everything from making sure there are tents, toilets and tables set up, to making sure everyone is safe and well fed, and the scoring is accurate and fairly done.
     We registered 43 bus operators from 19 transit agencies and 18 mechanics (6 teams) who were not daunted by a little wet weather. The First Place Winners will represent Texas at   National Competitions, thanks to Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT).

Rain or shine we promised you a bus roadeo! And it rained! But the 2009 Texas State Bus Roadeo was a huge success! Check out the photos here: Roadeo Photos.pdf

Once again, we want to thank all of the participants, sponsors and dedicated volunteers who turned out to make this bus roadeo happen. They are all winners!

40 Ft. Division                      (scores)
1st—“Easy” Williams—DART (574)
2nd—Frank Gonzales—METRO (513)
3rd—Tony Payton—Cap Metro (511)

35 Ft. Division
1st—“Ace” Murillo—Cap Metro (514)
2nd—Abdel Tenouri—Cap Metro (502)
3rd—“T Man” Smith—DART (477)

25 Ft. Division
1st—Ted Ward—Cap Metro (637)
2nd—George Supulvede—DART (592)
3rd—Philip Pummer—Alamo Transit (567)

Maintenance Team Competition
1st—Simmons, Furino, Wheeler—DART (1415)
2nd—Dunn, Schmidt, Eubanks—The T (1275)
3rd—Santoyo, Lugo, Davis—VIA (1150)

This year, DART is hosting our state bus roadeo events. We are indebted to the many volunteers who give of their time and energy to help judge and manage our roadeos, and to our generous sponsors for helping to make it a success.

This year, we want to thank Q’ Straint, Thermo King, Carrier, JAM Distributing, National Bus, Champion Bus, RouteMatch, American Seating and Transmark for their financial contributions. 

      Texas Transit Association’s Executive  Director, Loren “Ben” Herr, has been named as The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) Vice Chair of State Affairs. APTA’s State Affairs Committee provides a forum for identification, discussion, and resolution of public transit issues by state transit associations, state departments of transportation, transit systems, and affiliated interests.