METRO Operator Walt Young will compete at the American Public Transit Association's 2012 International Bus Roadeo in Long Beach, CA this Sunday. Send Walt good thoughts so he comes home with a medal matching the sunny Golden State.
"What's a bus roadeo?", you may ask.
It's an obstacle course designed to test driving skills. In the first test, challengers drive down a narrow path between tennis balls lined up on the asphalt. The goal is to make it through without touching the tennis balls. Next up is a series of winding turns and back-up maneuvers made through tight-set rows of orange traffic cones. To finish out the course, operators gather speed and drive between a gauntlet of blue barrels set apart just wide enough to let the buses pass through.
Walt took top honors at a June roadeo, with operators from METRO and Stark Area Regional Transit Authority (SARTA) vying for a chance at first place.
METRO winners – First Place: Operator Walter Young; Second Place: Operator Marshall Preston, 2010's champion and overall winner, and; Third Place: Operator Lloyd Melton
SARTA winners – First Place: Operator Dana Featheringham, SARTA’s first-ranking operator from 2010; Second Place: Debra Franklin, and; Third Place: Operator Michael Ross
First place finishers from both transit authorities are competing Sunday.
METRO Operator Walt Young reacts to his victory at the June 2011 METRO/SARTA Roadeo.