Local Bus Roadeo Contest June 15th

Press Releases
06/10/2002

The nation’s “Best of the Best” Bus Driver and Bus Maintenance Team begins vying for rights to defend the national title again. The teams meet this Saturday in AC Transit’s local Bus Roadeo, which is the first step toward this year’s American Public Transportation Association (APTA) international roadeo.

Bus driver Jesse de la Cruz, who swept to top place in APTA’s 1999 and 2000 competitions, is one of the many entrants in AC Transit’s local 2002 roadeo. Contestants, who spend their normal work days contending with traffic while serving the District’s 236,000 daily riders, are evaluated on personal appearance, job knowledge and skill, and their dexterity at maneuvering a 40 foot bus through a tough driving course consisting of 10 obstacles. Inches count. The AC driver who scores highest in the local and Northern California regional roadeos goes on to this year’s APTA competition.

The three AC Transit mechanics who have taken national first-place honors in the Year 2000 and 2001 events – James Souza, David Splan, and Eduardo Villarreal – also are entered in this year’s local Maintenance contest. In addition to testing their driving skill, this roadeo gauges the mechanics’ ability to swiftly diagnose and correct deficiencies in various bus mechanical systems. Maintenance teams, like bus operators, also race against a stop watch.

AC Transit’s local Roadeo competition begins shortly after sun up and continues until all contestants have been evaluated by Roadeo judges and completed the challenging driving obstacle course.

Events take place at AC Transit’s Training & Education Center, 20234 Mack Street in Hayward. For more information, contact Mike Mills, Public Information Manager, at 510 891-4875.