Metro Magazine

JUN 2013

Magazine serving the bus and rail transit & motorcoach operations since 1904

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metro news APTA Bus Roadeo tests skills, fosters learning w hile technicians competed in the mechanics portion of the American Public Transportation Association's (APTA) International Bus Roadeo, the competition provided a wealth of knowledge for the 30-plus teams of three to bring back to their shops. "It's just a one-day event, but the benefit of competing in the Roadeo lasts for years," explained Mark Catenacci, vice chairman, mechanics, at APTA and sr. project designer, vehicle technology at the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA). "These teams are practicing, learning, studying with their teammates and taking this knowledge back home to share with the rest of their co-workers." The competition, held this year at Allison Transmission's test track in Indianapolis in conjunction with APTA's Bus & Paratransit Conference, includes a 30-minute written Automotive Service Excellence-formatted test with questions split between general knowledge, engines, HVAC systems, brakes, electronics and transmissions. Thirty-two teams of three from around the U.S. and Canada competed in the mechanics portion of this year's APTA International Roadeo. Following testing, teams then performed a vehicle inspection where 14 equipment-related defects were planted on or in a bus that would make a bus operationally unready. Defects are of a type that a mechanic should find during a minor maintenance inspection. This year, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority won the Grand Champion Award, which recognizes the system with the highest combined score. "The Roadeo tests skills, like vehicle inspections, that our technicians perform every day," said Jose A. Tovar, director, maintenance, for Texas' Corpus Christi Regional Transportation Authority (CCTA). "It is just their job, but it gives them the ability to show how well they do it day in and day out." The teams of three, which this year represented 28 states and three Canadian provinces, then competed in seven different modules, testing their skills on everything from two different power train pairings to brake systems and HVAC and multiplex systems to gauges and doors. "What I learn from competing in the Roadeo is the way my technicians think and how they approach a problem, especially as it pertains to troubleshooting or diagnosing an issue," said Joe Diaz, maintenance technical coordinator for San Antonio's VIA Metropolitan Transit. "What is their frame of mind and path of logic? After finding that out, I can then assess where our training failed or succeeded." James Mashburn of the Ala.-based Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit CONTINUES ON PAGE 11 8 < mETRO mAGAZINE JUNE 2013 metro-magazine.com

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