Transit Team Treated to Rodeo on Wheels
ALBUQUERQUE – A Bus Roadeo is similar to a horse rodeo but with buses and cones rather than horses and barrels. Today, from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. at the Yale Transit Facility, ABQ RIDE hosted a busload of fun activities for its staff and their families to show transit worker appreciation.
Common in the transit industry, Bus Roadeos are useful tools for creating friendly competition and promoting networking, skill development, and safe maneuvers. ABQ RIDE’s Mechanics, Sun Van Chauffeurs, Motorcoach Operators, and supervisors competed in buses and vans. The competition included a challenging obstacle course requiring maneuvers such as serpentines, passenger stops, reverse offset street, diminishing clearance, and more – maneuvers which are useful for staff members. Competitors were timed and scored by judges to win bragging rights and hand-welded trophies by a member of the mechanic team.
“Bringing back the Bus Roadeo gives our hardworking transit professionals a chance to enjoy teambuilding while further developing their skills,” said Mayor Tim Keller. “These fun, competitive events help us with retention and keep our team moving in the right direction.”
“This year’s goal is to reintroduce the Bus Roadeo,” said Trainer Mark Warren, “Next year, we hope to build up to the state and national level competitions as we gather interest, learn the ropes of the competition, and prepare our team for more advanced skills such as taking buses apart and putting them back together on a timer.”
The state level competition is hosted by the South West Transit Association and nationals is hosted by the American Public Transportation Association.
“Reigniting this event is a great way to show our frontline workers that we’re changing the culture of ABQ RIDE,” said Training Manager Shaun Gibson. “We are doing everything possible to ensure our workforce provides the best service for Albuquerque.”
As the competition took place, the ABQ RIDE staff enjoyed free food, a LIVE DJ, a bouncy house, a Dunk-Your-Director dunk tank, face painting, and volunteers shuttled food to staff providing City bus and van service.
“We’re creating an event our staff won’t want to miss,” said Transit Deputy Director Bobby Sisneros. “As we rebuild our staffing levels and return to full bus service, we hope to see a full staff of more than 550 people plus their families at next year’s Bus Roadeo.”
ABQ RIDE service will not be affected by this event and 243-RIDE will be available to call during regular hours of operation from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. for questions and Sun Van scheduling.
Learn more about the regional and national transit associations. To find more information about working at ABQ RIDE or hiring incentives, visit ABQRIDE.com.