Research
Triangle Park, N.C. - Research Triangle Park, N.C. – Triangle Transit Authority (TTA) sent seven bus operators to the annual North Carolina Public Transportation Association (NCPTA) Bus Roadeo May 14-15 in Wilmington.
Operators must qualify to participate in the event. The qualifications include no preventable accidents, no disciplinary suspensions and an outstanding attendance record in the previous year. NCPTA set the criteria, and each company sent operators who qualified.
The following operators qualified for the Roadeo: Abraham Gebremariam, Deborah Smith, Stephonie Smith, Alton Holeman, Demetrius Hyman, Elizabeth Moss and Audrey McClearn. Bus operators Esther Nunn and Clarence Yarborough served as judges for the competition. Dispatcher Dennis Peterson served as the team leader.
Hyman, a TTA employee for seven years, placed first in the cutaway division. He has participated in the event for five years and has four trophies, two first-place finishes and two second-place finishes.
“I am proud of all our operators who participated in the Roadeo,” said Laurie Barrett, director of bus operations. “Their participation in the event demonstrates TTA’s commitment to safety.”
The Roadeo encompasses a driving slalom, written test, pre-trip inspection, wheelchair securement test, drug and alcohol training and several other classroom events. Participants earn points for completion of the tasks.
The wheelchair securement test and the pre-trip inspection test are timed. Each participant has 10 minutes to complete the multiple and lengthy tasks of the pre-trip inspection. The slalom competition has a seven-minute time limit.
TTA is a regional public transportation provider, offering a wide variety of transit and vanpool services to North Carolina's greater Triangle Region and outlying counties. Bus service is available to Apex, Cary, Chapel Hill, Durham, Garner, RDU International Airport, Research Triangle Park (RTP) and Raleigh. The Triangle Transit Authority also provides commuter resources and hosts GoTriangle.org, the on-line resource for the public transportation information in the Triangle. TTA plans to implement a 35-mile rail transit system with 16 stations connecting Durham, RTP, Cary and Raleigh, with shuttles linking RDU International Airport and RTP. The rail transit system is expected to be operational in late 2007. For more information, visit www.rideTTA.org or call (919) 549-9999.