Adventure #4: Metroadeo

Last year my friend Rob, who works as a bus driver for King County Metro, told me that there is a bus driving skill competition called the King County Metroadeo. While I was unable to attend last year's event, I made a promise to myself that I would attend this year, and I was NOT disappointed.

I don't often think about the inner workings of public transportation. In fact, I imagine that most of us don't think about all of the work it takes to run an incredibly detailed and intricate system that is utilized by literally thousands of people every day unless it's malfunctioning. Then we complain.

There's a whole facility dedicated to training drivers. Who knew?

The Metroadeo involves drivers completing an obstacle course (map seen below), a safety check of a bus with several things wrong (lights out, broken elements, and a security breach) and a uniform check. The obstacle course includes things like pulling up to a stop with a minimal distance between the bus and the curb, backing around a corner in both directions, a slalom course, pulling the vehicles tires between a series of tennis balls, driving through a diminishing alley at 20+ mph, and a judgement stop that must be within 6 inches of the cone. Points are deducted for each cone hit, or each second over the 7:00 minute mark. 

Also, there are free hotdogs, a golf cart rodeo for the managers, and vintage busses from the Metro Employee Historic Vehicle Association!

I am incredibly impressed by people's ability to safely maneuver enormous vehicles full of people on narrow roads and at high speeds. It clearly takes a lot of training, patience, and skill to get where these people are in their careers, and while I've definitely expressed my frustrations at bus transportation (and usually actively try to avoid riding them whenever I can), I feel like my experience at the Roadeo gave me a greater appreciation for the amount of work that goes into moving many, many people. Thanks Rob, and all King County Metro drivers!