SEPTA is welcoming home champions.

SEPTA’s four-member team took the top prize in the 2013 International Bus Roadeo, which was held May 3-7 in Indianapolis in conjunction with the American Public Transportation Association’s (APTA) Bus and Paratransit Conference.

Participants in this year’s Bus Roadeo represented 28 states and three Canadian provinces. The competition is designed to show off the driving and mechanical skills these employees use during the course of their work day – and put them to the test against their peers throughout North America.
Once the competition was over and the results tallied up, SEPTA’s team came out on top, winning the Grand Champion Award.

“SEPTA’s team demonstrated their outstanding abilities, and dedication to their work,” said SEPTA General Manager Joseph M. Casey. “We’re very proud of them – not only for their big win at the Bus Roadeo, but also for the outstanding service they deliver to our customers every day.”

SEPTA’s team members included bus operator Zenon John Rinylo, who works out of the Southern Bus Depot, and Midvale Depot mechanics Joe Miller, Gene Bonner and Bill Beirn.

“I want to congratulate the winners of the 2013 International Bus Roadeo,” said APTA President and CEO Michael Melaniphy. “All the winners are model examples of excellence in the public transportation industry.”