MetroAccess Driver Takes Silver

Capital MetroAccess Van Operator Jeff Mercer brought home a 2nd place trophy from the National Paratransit Roadeo in Providence, Rhode Island, on May 31. Competing against 61 other drivers from throughout the nation, Jeff missed first place by a mere 18 points (out of 1,000 total).

Jeff was a definite underdog in the competition, as this was his first time competing in the national competition.

Also competing from Capital Metro, and the current Texas State Bus Roadeo Champion, was MetroAccess Van Operator Ted Ward, who placed 21st nationally.

Way to go, Capital Metro! Read more

Arthur tries for Four

Capital Metro Bus Operator Arthur Murillo is in Seattle, Washington, to defend his title in the 2009 International Bus Roadeo. Arthur has won the international title in the 35-foot bus competition three times. He'll attempt tomorrow to rack up a fourth title.

Earlier today, Arthur was interviewed by Seattle Public Radio Station KOUW. Listen to the interview below.

You may be familiar with Arthur: in recognition of his third championship win last year, Capital Metro designed a bus wrap in his honor. Arthur was also voted "Best Bus Driver" in the Austin Chronicle's readers' poll.
But Arthur isn't the only one representing Capital Metro at the International Bus Roadeo this week. Bus Operator Abdelkader Tenouri is competing in the 40-foot category, and Mechanics Mike Clements, Phillip O’Neal, and Gary Hosea will compete in the Vehicle Maintenance competition.

Good Luck, Capital Metro! Read more

2009 Capital Metro Roadeo Results--UPDATED

Here's a video recap of the 2009 Capital Metro Roadeo. Behind the cut are the full list of winners in each category. Stay tuned for the State Bus Roadeo in Dallas, April 18.

Vehicle Maintenance Team
1st: Mike Clements, Phillip O’Neal, Gary Hosea
2nd: Eddie Resendez, John Proske, Jose Santamaria
3rd: Kevin Tuel, Eddie Jimenez, Ted Garcia

MetroAccess
1st: Ted Ward
2nd: Jeff Mercer
3rd: George Guerra

35-Foot Bus
1st: Abdelkader Tenouri
2nd: Arthur Murillo
3rd: Juan Maldonado

40-Foot Bus
1st: Porfirio "Pete" Rivera
2nd: Tony Payton
3rd: Amos Underwood

The Big Shoot-Out
1st: Fred Gilliam
2nd: Mayor John Cowman

Amateur Team
1st: Detour Divas & a Dude
2nd: Thunder Road Two
3rd: Death on the Yard (A scoring error had initially placed us in 2nd place.) Read more

Wrapping up the fun in Leander

The 2009 Capital Metro Bus & Paratransit Roadeo is offically over. Tomorrow we'll post full results, but I don't want to leave anyone hanging. Here's how Juan, Mary, and George fared.

George Guerra and Juan Maldonado each took third place in their categories. Mary Molina wasn't in the top three of her category. Her concern that she hadn't had time to practice the course may have been a factor.

Fred Gilliam won the Big Shoot-out. Death on the Yard placed second. Read more

Thorough judging from every angle

At each challenge on the obstacle course, judges evaluate the operator's performance. There are also three judges onboard the bus. The team of judges working on "Death on the Yard's" bus included bus operators Leo Guerrero and Debbie Teague, and Safety & Security Director Mark Ostertag.

Leo was judging safety habits, like the use of turn signals and seat belt. He's been with Capital Metro since 1995 and just earned his Million Mile safety award. Debbie also joined Capital Metro in 1995, and her role today was to judge smoothness of operation. For example, during my turn behind the wheel, I got a little happy with the brakes once, and so Debbie was obliged to deduct a few points. Mark was the timekeeper--he's been with us for 10 years, and this is the 10th local roadeo he's helped to produce. The roadeo is one component of a comprehensive safety and training program at Capital Metro that produces our team of safe, courteous, and responsible drivers. Read more

"Death on the Yard"

Here I present "Death on the Yard", made up of Marketing's Dolores Jones and yours truly. Here we are onboard our 40-foot bus just prior to our competition. We competed against "Detour Divas & a Dude" and "Thunder Road Two".

I have no idea how we did. In the main, "real" competition, drivers must complete the course in seven minutes. They give amateurs a longer period of time, but to put it into perspective, I was responsible for driving half the course, and by the time I completed my portion, we were already at 6:49! Read more

CEO Gilliam vs. Board Member Cowman

After the main competition, Capital Metro employees have a little bit of fun, with the "Big Shootout" and an amateur team competition.

The Big Shootout is the next competition, and Capital Metro President Fred Gilliam will compete against Leander Mayor and Capital Metro Board Member John Cowman.

They've met on the course before, and Fred has consistently won (which sort of makes sense, since he's been in the public transportation industry for three decades). But, Mayor Cowman is both a competitor and a good sport.

The final competition is the amateur team competition, and I'm beginning to get nervous. I was talking big this morning, boasting about team "Death on the Yard" and our mad skills. Now I'm having a hard time remembering how to open the doors and kneel the bus. Uh-oh. Read more

Forty footers rolling out next

Bus Operator Mary Molina has been with Capital Metro for 13 years. She's up next in the 40-ft bus category. She says she's not nervous just yet. She's been through this before. Seven times before, to be exact. Two years ago she took 3rd place at the state roadeo, and last year she took 2nd place... so she's hoping to continue the trend.

Mary is not sure how she'll do this year--she wasn't able to practice the course beforehand. Although the challenges at the roadeo encompass the foundation of skills needed to drive a bus safely with passengers through all kinds of traffic conditions, the competition itself is quite technical. "Everything is a little different," Mary says. "Your mirrors and your seat position are different. It's challenging."

Good luck, Mary! Read more

Challenge #9: the passenger stop

Meet Risk Manager Mike Nyren and Safety & Training Manager Andrew Chavira, volunteer judges on the 9th challenge in the obstacle course: the passenger stop.

The objective of this challenge is to simulate a bus stop. The operator has to pull close to the curb but not touch it. The front wheel should be within 6 inches of the curb, and the back wheel, within 15.

Competitors must also announce the stop, kneel the bus, and open the doors for passengers. Read more

Thirty-five-foot competition

There are two bus categories at the bus roadeo: 35-foot buses and 40-foot buses. Juan Maldonado has been driving with Capital Metro for 23 years. His competition, the 35-foot bus, is up next. Juan Maldonado gears up to drive in the 35-ft bus category.
Juan reports that the dynamics of maneuvering a 35-foot bus are very different than a 40-footer. "Your reference points are different just because of the extra length," he says. And reference points are pretty important for depth perception when turning, backing up, etc.

Juan has earned the designation Million Miler, having driven more than one million miles without any accidents. Even so, he'll have his work cut out for him in today's competition, as he'll be competing against three-time international champion in the category, Capital Metro's Arturo Murillo. Read more

MetroAccess drivers ready to show their skills

Good morning! I'm on site at the Leander Park & Ride for the 2009 Capital Metro Bus & Paratransit Roadeo.

First up this morning is the MetroAccess van competition. Six drivers will be competing, beginning at 8 a.m.
MetroAccess Van Operator George Guerra, with his game face on.


This is George's second year to compete in the roadeo. Last year, he won the Customer Service Challenge. He's hoping to win the overall competition this year so he can advance to the next level. He's been a MetroAccess van operator for the past four years. Good luck, George! Read more

2009 Bus Roadeo!

Some of Capital Metro's finest will be competing in our local 2009 Bus & Paratransit Roadeo this weekend in Leander. The annual competition for mechanics and bus and van operators is part skills showcase, part learning exercise, and reinforces Capital Metro's emphasis on safety and customer service.

The local competition is the precursor to the State Roadeo and then the International Bus & Paratransit Roadeo. The top two winners in each division move on to the next competition.

Three teams of Capital Metro mechanics competed today in various timed challenges in which they diagnosed and fixed various engine problems. On Sunday, twenty-three operators will complete an obstacle course of nine challenges that test the operators' technical abilities, as well as the use of safe driving techniques and good customer service. The fun begins around 8 a.m. Sunday at the Leander Park & Ride.

The local bus roadeo also includes an amateur competition. The criteria for being an amateur: you're a Capital Metro employee but you've never had a commercial drivers license. Amateurs participate in teams, splitting up the nine challenges among the members. I'm participating on a team called "Death on the Yard," and I'll have you know I only ran over one curb at the Leander Park & Ride last weekend during our practice session! Wish me luck.

Driving a bus is hard. After the practice session, I had a renewed appreciation for this major portion of our workforce who transport people safely all over the city, all hours of the day and night.
Read more