The Delaware Transit Corp. in Wilmington, Del., won the Grand Champion Award at the prestigious 33rd International Bus Roadeo held in conjunction with the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) Bus and Paratransit Conference in Austin, Texas, this week. This honor, recognizing the men and women who keep North America’s bus systems safe and efficient, is given to the bus operator and maintenance team that has the highest combined score.

Second place for the Grand Champion Award was the State of Florida Broward County/Lynx Transit team in Pompano Beach, Fla. Third place went to the team from the Metropolitan Transit Authority in New York City.

More than 88 public transportation systems in North America competed in the 2008 International Bus Roadeo competition. The winners were announced at an awards dinner on May 6.

Seventy-six bus operators competed in the 40-foot bus competition, a test of bus operators’ driving skills. Jesse Dela Cruz of Alameda-Contra Transit District in Oakland, Calif., was named the best driver in North America, winning first place in the 40-foot bus competition. Second place was awarded to Rendol Whidden of Broward County Transit in Pompano Beach, Fla. Gilbert Castro of Tri Delta Transit in Antioch, Calif., received third place honors.

Twenty-four bus operators competed in the Operator Competition for 35-foot buses. Arthur Murillo from Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority in Austin, Texas, won first place as the best bus operator in North America in the 35-foot category. Lloyd Eisenman of Jefferson Transit Authority in Port Townsend, Wash., won second place, and Abdelkader Tenouri of Capital Metropolitan Transit Authority in Austin, Texas, earned third place.

Forty-seven maintenance teams competed in the Maintenance Competition, which tests mechanics’ abilities to troubleshoot mechanical problems and fix them quickly. The Orange County Transportation Authority team from Orange, Calif., won first place in the category. The maintenance team from Delaware Transit Corp. in Wilmington, Del., earned a second place finish and the team from the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority in Los Angeles, Calif., received third place honors.

The third annual Customer Service Challenge Awards, which judges professionalism, customer service skills and problem-solving creativity, were also held at the conference. William Webb of the Delaware Transit Corp. in Wilmington, Del., won first place in the Customer Service Challenge and Michael Grady of King County Metro earned a second place finish.