JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Bus operators and maintenance teams had the chance to show off their best driving and engineering skills during the Jacksonville Transportation Authority’s local bus and maintenance "Roadeo" held Sunday morning.
Ramon Farfan’s was one of twelve bus operators who competed in this year’s event. He has won the operator competition 11 times before.
“I can teach all the new drivers the skills that we’ve learned here…practice that’s what it takes," Ramon Farfan, a bus operator, said.
Bus operators navigated a 40 foot bus on this course set up with obstacles they face every day. Teams also competed in the maintenance part of the competition where they were tasked with fixing bus malfunctions.
But the competition was more than just showing off. There are more than 20 openings for bus operators at JTA and the event allowed the company to showcase their employment opportunities.
“We are still continuing to be short on operators and we have a class right now of about 33 operators, but we’re not to our full ranks and it’s a challenge everyday serving the public. But this competition celebrates these operators, shows our appreciation and hopefully we’re able to recruit a few new operators into our fold," Nathaniel Ford, the CEO of the Jacksonville Transportation Authority, said.
Farfan has worked for JTA for over two decades, and describes his career as rewarding.
“I see a lot of people out there on a daily basis and sometimes you see their children grow, and now their children are riding the bus and you meet a lot of really good people out here," Farfan said.
The winners will represent JTA at the statewide 2023 Annual Triple Crown Bus Roadeo in March.