Metro News Release
For immediate release: April 18, 2003
Yee-Hah, It’s bus "Roadeo" time Again!
On Saturday, April 26, 2003, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Metrobus "cowboys" are set to drive their ’steers" " in this case 40-foot long, 30,000-pound Metrobuses " to victory in the 26th Annual Bus Roadeo. This annual event will take place at the Landover Bus Division, 3433 Pennsy Drive, in Landover, Maryland. (The Landover Bus Division is across the street from the Carmen E. Turner Maintenance and Training Facility, just one block north of MD Route 410 and Pennsy Drive intersection in Landover.)
Called a " Roadeo" because the Metrobuses are put through their paces on a road, this event challenges both operators and maintenance workers to demonstrate their skill in timed skill events. Individual bus operators and teams of bus mechanics compete for first through third place in the local competition which scores the competitors on professional appearance and on the ability to safely and quickly complete an obstacle course.
" Operators and mechanics look forward to this event each year as it allows them to showcase their excellent driving and mechanical skills which demonstrate why Metrobus is one of the safest bus systems in the nation," stated Jack Requa, Chief Operating Officer for Bus Service.
For example, one of the timed skill events for operators involves being able to stop a bus before hitting an obstacle, in this instance, an orange traffic cone. The operator who gets the closest to the cone without knocking it over is judged the winner of that event.
One of the events mechanics compete in involves the identification of planted defects on buses. The mechanics team which identifies the most planted defects correctly and in the shortest amount of time is deemed the winner of that event. The first place winners of the local Roadeo will advance to the international competition in Salt Lake City, Utah, in September 2003. The international competition is sponsored by the American Public Transportation Association.
The competition will include added events and entertainment for family and friends of the competitors: music; catered food; visits from McGruff the Crime Dog, Max the Metro Mascot, and the Metrobus Robot; face painting for children; bus displays; and free giveaways.
" In addition, this year’s competition will feature a heavy-duty towing and recovery demonstration by the system’s crack Bus Maintenance Recovery Team; a safety-related competition for the participants; and the participation by local police agencies in the day’s activities," stated Steve Petruccelli, coordinator of this year’s event.
The first place operator and mechanics team winners will represent Metro at the International Bus Roadeo, sponsored by the American Public Transportation Association. The first through third place winners, announced at the end of the competition, will all receive trophies.
News release issued on April 18, 2003.