Media Relations Contact:
Chad Chitwood, APTA

June 13, 2017

Santa Clara Valley Transportation Wins Operators Competition, BART wins Maintainers Competition

San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Wins Top Honors at 2017 APTA International Rail Rodeo

Baltimore, MD - The San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) of Oakland, CA, won the prestigious Rail Transit Team Achievement Award at the 25th annual American Public Transportation Association (APTA) International Rail Rodeo held June 8-11 in conjunction with the 2017 APTA Rail Conference in Baltimore, MD. The Rail Transit Team Achievement Award is given to the system with the highest rail operator and maintainer team combined score. The winning team members are Mike Gross, Gary Crandell, James Moon, Tenikia Jackson, and John O'Connor.

The over-all second place finisher was the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (Dallas, TX) team consisting of John Bailey, David Jit, Carlos Garza, Antaeus Chandler, and Christopher Kress. Meanwhile, third place was won by the Massachusetts Bay Area Rapid Transit District (Boston, MA) team of Adam Rooney, Joel Ramirez, Troy Jollimore, Christopher Ramsdell, and Herly Augustin.

"Our maintainers and operators strive to make our rail systems among the safest and most convenient forms of transportation in the world," said APTA Acting President and CEO Richard White. "I am so appreciative of the work all our competitors put into being the best public transportation providers they can be. The accolades they have received this weekend are the result of years of hard work and training."

The Operators Competition measures professional skills, including train operation, knowledge of safety regulations, train equipment, and track right-of-way rules and procedures. Rick Fredriksz and Pedro Diaz, on behalf of Santa Clara Valley Transportation (San Jose, CA), won first place in the Operators Competition while Tenikia Jackson and John O'Connor of BART (Oakland, CA) placed second. The team of Logan Packer and Tom Claxton of The Utah Transit Authority (Salt Lake City, UT) took third-place honors.

In the Maintainers Competition, participants are evaluated on their ability to troubleshoot maintenance problems. The BART (Oakland, CA) team of Mike Gross, Gary Crandell, and James Moon were named winners in this category. The Valley Metro (Phoenix, AZ) team of Michael Dechant, Luke Aboud, and Alex Caron placed second. The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Los Angeles, CA) maintainer team of Ezequiel Garcia, Marcos Martinez, and Parker Rounds won third place.

The APTA International Rail Rodeo Competition encourages excellence and professionalism in rail transit operations. This years' competition included 14 teams with rail operators from 16 transit systems and 15 mechanic teams from the United States and Japan. The competition was hosted at Cromwell Station in Baltimore, MD.

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) is a nonprofit international association of 1,500 public and private sector organizations, engaged in the areas of bus, paratransit, light rail, commuter rail, subways, waterborne services, and intercity and high-speed passenger rail. This includes: transit systems; planning, design, construction, and finance firms; product and service providers; academic institutions; transit associations and state departments of transportation. APTA is the only association in North America that represents all modes of public transportation. APTA members serve the public interest by providing safe, efficient and economical transit services and products.