Iowa DOT News

AMES, Iowa – June 29, 2009 – Two Iowa transit vehicle operators are bound for a national competition by earning top honors in Iowa's 23rd Annual Public Transit Roadeo held in Dubuque June 20.

·         LaVeta Root took first place in the small bus competition. Root represents the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Black Hawk County based in Waterloo. Root will compete as Iowa’s contestant in the small bus competition of the National Community Transit Roadeo sponsored by the Community Transportation Association of America (CTAA). The competition will be held in Long Beach, Calif., in June 2010.

• Ron Myers, representing Iowa City Transit, took first place in the large bus competition. Meyers will make his first trip as Iowa’s representative to the American Public Transit Association's 35^th International Bus Roadeo conducted in conjunction with the organization’s annual meeting in Cleveland, Ohio, in May 2010.

The Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) and Iowa Public Transit Association (IPTA), with funding under a Federal Transit Administration program, co-sponsor the annual transit roadeo. This year's event was held at the Eagle Windows and Doors parking lot in Dubuque. The roadeo's purpose is to promote and provide recognition for safe driving skills by Iowa's public transit vehicle operators.

At the 2009 roadeo, 40 operators from 17 transit systems displayed their skills. Each operator performed a series of maneuvers representing many of the actual situations encountered as they carry out their daily duties. The maneuvers included pulling up to a curb at a bus stop closely flanked by parked cars, making left and right turns in narrow lanes that might be created by parked cars along a route, stopping short of an obstacle, and backing into parking stalls.

KeyLine and the Delaware, Dubuque and Jackson County Regional Transit Authority, both based in Dubuque, co-hosted the roadeo. Members of the IPTA, a representative from the Iowa DOT and local volunteers from the sponsoring organizations judged the competition. Jon Rodocker, KeyLine’s manager, noted that he and Iowa’s 34 other transit managers promote the roadeo to recognize drivers for and assist drivers in serving Iowans safely and – especially through this competition – to emphasize skills drivers use daily.

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Small bus division

·         First place: LaVeta Root, Metropolitan Transit Authority of Black Hawk County (MET Transit)

·         Second Place: Susan Davis, KeyLine

·         Third place: Paul Klimesh, Ames Transit Agency (CyRide)

Large bus division

·         First place: Ron Myers, Iowa City Transit

·         Second place: Paul Klimesh, Ames Transit Agency (CyRide)

·         Third place: Ben Dodge, University of Iowa (Cambus)

There are 35 transit agencies in Iowa providing service to all 99 counties. For more information on public transportation in Iowa visit: www.iatransit.com

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Contact: J.P. Golinvaux at 515-233-7879 or [email protected]