Ashok Singh, a 24-year veteran with SamTrans’ maintenance department and bus operator Harish Reddy, a 20-year employee, have been named the agency’s 2014 Employees of the Year.
SamTrans annually recognizes the achievements of its maintenance and bus operators with Employee of the Year honors, and Singh and Reddy will receive those awards at the agency’s board of directors meeting on Wednesday.
Singh is an “A” class mechanic working out of SamTrans’ North Base facility, where his regular duties include maintaining and repairing all of the SamTrans bus fleets. As an “A” mechanic, he has earned the highest classification at SamTrans, meaning that he has the skills and knowledge to troubleshot, diagnose, and repair all subsystems inside and outside of the bus, bumper to bumper. Hired in August 1991, he’s been named Employee of the Month seven times in his SamTrans career, most recently in November 2014.
“As a maintenance employee, my main goal is to make sure our buses serve our customers and come back to the base without any problems,” said Singh. “I try and set the bar high for myself so my fellow colleagues can follow my lead.”
Reddy joined SamTrans in January 1995 and he regularly drives the Route 250, 280 and 295 buses. He was named Employee of the Month in February 2014. He has achieved 17 years of driving without any preventable accidents, and he takes particular pride in knowing that by driving a bus, he helps reduce traffic congestion and contributes toward a cleaner environment.
“This job provides me with an opportunity to meet so many interesting people from so many different ethnic backgrounds,” said Reddy. “I’m also lucky to work with so many other outstanding operators. I feel like I have 300 co-workers who could have won this award. I’m very grateful to be recognized as the Employee of the Year.”
“Ashok and Harish truly embrace the ‘SamTrans Way’—a commitment to providing safe, reliable and efficient service,” said Chuck Harvey, SamTrans Deputy CEO of Operations, Engineering and Construction. “Their lengthy tenures here have exhibited how dedicated they are to their craft, and how well they perform their respective duties.”
Singh lives with his wife Sangita in Hayward. They have two daughters—the eldest, Shanna, is scheduled to graduate from the University of Pacific in May, while his younger daughter, Shanel, is a student at Saint Mary’s College. Singh enjoys riding his bike, gardening, hanging out with his family and rooting on the 49ers.
Reddy shares his Stockton home with his wife, Praveen. Like Singh, he also has two college-aged daughters. One, Kalsha, is enrolled at UC-Davis, while the other, Prashanti, is at Cal State-Stanislaus. Reddy enjoys tinkering with his car, watching soccer and helping out his local church.
Both Singh and Reddy are natives of Fiji. Singh is from the town of Sigatoka and Reddy hails from Lautoka, the island nation’s second-largest city. Singh and Reddy enjoy travelling with their families, particularly back to their native country.
To be considered for the Employee of the Year Award, the SamTrans workers couldn’t have any preventable accidents, unexcused absences or disciplinary actions on their 2014 record.
