Ride On Holds Annual Bus Roadeo

Bus Roadeo winner Leslie St. Louis (second from right) accepts his award from MCDOT managers (left to right) Dan Hibbert, Carolyn Biggins, Mike Nesselt and Gary Erenrich.

On Saturday, October 10, Montgomery County’s Ride On bus system held its annual bus “Roadeo” where bus operators compete to demonstrate their driving skills. The winner of the competition was Leslie St. Louis from the Gaithersburg Depot. He will now go on to the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) International Bus Roadeo that will be held in May. Last year’s Ride On winner, Alex Folgar, placed seventh in the International competition.

In the roadeo, bus operators are judged by their ability to successfully maneuver around 11 obstacles within seven minutes. Operators are also judged on personal appearance, smoothness of operations, their knowledge of the Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines, safety habits, and how they perform a pre-trip bus inspection. The guidelines and judging criteria are specified by APTA.

Both Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) Acting Director Al Roshdieh and MCDOT Transit Services Division Chief Carolyn Biggins were on hand to present the awards.

This year’s other participants included Lawrence Marshall, George Agyekum, Patrick Simen, Julio Fernandez, Murid Omid, Eze Iheme, Carlos Nichoai, Tomeka Brown, Ana Fernandez and Warren Jackson.