Metro News Release

For immediate release: May 14, 2010

Metro finishes fourth in International Bus Roadeo

Yearly international competition evaluates maintenance, operator skills

Metro employees led the agency to top-10 finishes in the maintenance, operator and overall team categories at the International Bus Roadeo in Cleveland May 2.

The agency’s maintenance team, consisting of William Morgan, Locksley McKenzie and Truc Hoang, finished seventh among 26 teams. Robert Miles, a Metrobus operator at the Landover Division, also finished seventh, competing against operators from 52 transportation agencies. Those efforts led Metro to an overall fourth-place finish.

In the operator competition, drivers were evaluated on such skills as judgment stops, intersection turns, obstacle avoidance and pre-trip inspections. Maintainers were graded on their ability to identify engine, brake, transmission, and heating, ventilation and air conditioning problems.

Morgan and McKenzie work at Metro’s Carmen Turner facility, and Hoang works at Bladensburg. The maintainers have more than 70 years total experience maintaining Metrobuses. They’ve each competed in at least five International Bus Roadeos.

The maintainers hone their skills on the job and during Metro’s yearly maintenance and operator contests. Winners of in-house competitions represent the agency at the international competition.

“The roadeos and practice before the competitions are great learning tools,” said Morgan. “During practice, you can take your time and study the equipment. At the competition, you get to watch and learn from people with high skill levels. You get to meet vendors and manufactures who design the buses. Talking with these professionals in the bus maintenance field makes me better at my job.”

Morgan says he and other roadeo competitors return to Metro with information that helps improve the safety and quality of maintenance operations.

Miles has represented Metro at 20 International Bus Roadeos. His seventh-place finish in this year's competition marked the 12th time he's finished in the top-10, according to Miles. Last year he finished ninth.
“It’s an honor to be selected to represent Metro at bus competitions around the country,” he said. “If you’re chosen to represent your company, it means you’re doing your job well.”

The 38-year veteran of Metro credits his success to fundamentals he has trained and retrained on since joining the agency in January 1971. He says safety is first among those basics.

“Whether you’re on the job or at a competition, you have to think safety first,” said Miles. “If operators focus on protecting passengers, pedestrians and their bus, training and experience will take care of handling the vehicle.”

Miles, of Bowie, Md., is a member of Metro’s Million Miler Club, having driven more than 3.2 million miles without a preventable accident.

Morgan is from Mitchellville, Md.; McKenzie is from Fredericksburg, Va.; and Hoang lives in Centerville, Va.

Metro has participated in the International Bus Roadeo since it began in 1988. Last year the agency finished 23rd overall.

News release issued at 9:29 am, May 14, 2010.