International Bus Roadeo

The International Bus Roadeo is an annual bus driving and bus maintenance competition, or roadeo, hosted by the American Public Transportation Association. A grand prize is given to the bus transit system with the highest composite bus operation and bus maintenance score. The bus driving competition consists of an obstacle course. For the bus maintenance competition, teams of mechanics must locate and fix defects in a number of bus power trains and other systems.

The International Bus Roadeo is the final competition in a system of qualifying roadeos held at the regional, state, and district levels. Bus operators from across North American are represented at the roadeo. For instance, the Corpus Christi Regional Transit Authority Roadeo winners go on to a state competition in Waco. The winners of each regional or state roadeo go on to represent their region at the international roadeo.

The 2016 International Bus Roadeo was held in Charlotte, North Carolina in May.

The name "roadeo" is derived from the rodeo competition. The original roadeos, which began in 1937, featured trucks in various categories going through the same obstacles that the bus drivers go through in the current roadeo.

The first International Bus Roadeo was held in 1976. Regional competitions below the international one have been held since at least 1982.

Each transit system is allowed to compete in the bus operation competition (the "operators' roadeo"), the bus maintenance competition (the "technicians' roadeo"), or both.

On the day before the competition, the bus operators are required to inspect an inspection bus and find eight planted mechanical defects, as well as one planted security-related defect. The mechanical defects can appear in areas such as flooring and seats; the security-related defect may consist of an "abandoned" briefcase or package.

Bus operators must drive their buses through a course containing various obstacles while under a strict time limit:

As drivers negotiate the obstacle course, their buses are equipped with a device that generates a "smoothness of operation" score. Awards are given in the thirty-five-foot bus and forty-foot-bus categories.

Bus maintenance teams usually consist of three employees from a transit system. In the technicians' roadeo, technicians must diagnose and repair various mechanical issues with buses. The roadeo consists of a number of portions:

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