For the fourth straight year, VIA Metropolitan Transit’s maintenance personnel have taken top honors in a statewide competition.
The 2013 Texas Transit Association State Bus/Van/Maintenance Roadeo was held in Austin, Texas, on April 14, and in direct competition against transit agencies from across the state, vehicle maintenance personnel from VIA took the top spot in the contest.
Phil Davis, Carlos Fuentes, and Ernesto Ovalle — along with their coach, José Diaz — made up the maintenance team that won first place in Austin. They competed against teams from across Texas to diagnose planted problems on transit vehicles. VIA’s team members were challenged to identify various problems in electrical, air brake, and air-conditioning systems as well as total bus operating systems.
In addition to the first-place accomplishment by the maintenance personnel, VIA made a strong showing in the bus portion of the Roadeo. Bus operator Rogelio Dominguez ended up in second place overall in the competition, finishing just twelve points off the lead score.
VIA’s winners will now go on to represent the agency and Texas in the International Bus Roadeo, which will be held May 3-7 in Indianapolis as part of the American Public Transportation Association’s annual Bus and Paratransit Conference.
