For nearly half a century, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority has held a gathering for the public, friends and family of drivers and mechanics. Known as the Bus Roadeo the event is a chance for the LA Metro to showcase the best talent in the agency in a series of competitions.
After finding out the event existed last year, I did a piece on it that caught the attention of LA Metro representatives. They promised to invite me out to the 2024 Bus Roadeo. They kept their promise and my family and I were invited out to the Bus Roadeo the weekend of October 5.
The event is split into two main competitions focused on bus operators and mechanics. At this year’s event, the mechanics side of the competition consisted of four main categories: drive axles, powertrain, HVAC, and air brake board. In each of those categories, mechanic teams have to identify and fix a problem within one of those systems.
With the powertrain event for instance, a three-person team had to identify an issue in a Cummins diesel engine or with the Allison transmission. Teams can earn a max of 350 points; 50 points for each issue found. Things get more interesting if two teams tie: a sudden death round occurs in which the fastest team to get the engine started wins. These events take place over a four hour period, but they’re much less public than the rest of the event as the teams work intently inside the shop of the bus service area.
The transportation side of things is more impressive and attracts the most public attention. Over 20 seasoned bus operators compete in timed obstacle courses that they navigate with the buses. We’re talking 20 and 30+ years of experience. These operators showcase their driving know-how through 12 courses, each more challenging than the last. For instance, one part of the course requires the drivers to perform a multi-point turn before backing into a space. This is all down in a narrow area with no room for error. Any touching or knocking of cones results in a points reduction against the driver.
Once drivers run through the course, they have to make a fast finish through a sharp turn and a narrow pathway of cones before coming to an emergency stop in front of a cone with a tennis ball on top of it. The distance from the front of the bus to the ball is then measured and taken into account when tallying the points. This last part is an impressive display of just how good the brakes on these 60,000 pound machines are. Seeing one stop on a dime was almost shocking.
The bus roadeo isn’t just about competitions though. While there are winners of the event (thought I didn’t get to see who got trophies as the heat of the day got the best of me), LA Metro makes it an event for everyone. Aside from seeing the cool camaraderie and teamwork of Metro drivers cheering each other on, there were activities for everyone. There was a small car show featuring low riders and classic cars (and a random Infiniti Q60 for some reason), activities for kids and parents, lots of food. There were even things to get up close and personal with, like LA Metro’s mobile command center which they use for emergencies or during the annual Rose parade.
I even got to geek out over one one of my favorite buses. There was a mint GMC RTS on hand for everyone to check out, done up in orange, white and red of the old RTD (Rapid Transit District).
Some may think that it takes a special kind of person to willingly attend an event like this but the roadeo was more than just a bus driver showcase. It put the transit agency’s dedication to excellence on display as well as showing just how focus, skill and determination of the folk who ferry thousands of passengers across LA County everyday.
