UW bus driver competes in national driving competition

“I don’t get nervous too often,” he said. “Either way, it’s going to be a learning experience and a whole lot of fun.”

Sullivan has worked with UW Transit and Parking Services for three-and-a-half years, starting on the LaramieLink route — a path connecting many places in Laramie to UW and the Laramie Community College-Albany County campus — before being promoted to full-time floater.

“That’s more of a leadership role for our part-time staff,” he said. “I can cover any route that any driver needs, so my daily routine is covering morning breaks, covering afternoon breaks and then filling in for drivers when they need it. I don’t have to do the same thing very often and I get to bounce around a lot. It makes it really nice.”

Sullivan was one of five UW drivers to compete in the Wyoming Public Transportation Association’s 2017 Roadeo in Casper. He took first place during that competition, which included a written test on the rules of the road, wheelchair securement and safety inspection.

“There were four predetermined faults with the bus that we had seven minutes to locate and we had to do it in a strategic manner,” Sullivan said. “We couldn’t just bounce around from section to section. We had to start in one area, move onto the next area, and so forth. We had to make it flow.”

The main event, however, involved an obstacle course, during which Sullivan outperformed public transit drivers from across the state, clipping fewer cones than anyone else.

“For the driving test, each cone was assigned a point value — hit that cone, lose those points,” Sullivan said. “It involved left-hand turns, right-hand turns, lane switching, a passenger drop-off area (and) a 90-degree right-hand turn back and a 90 degree left-hand turn back — you were basically in this box that was a couple inches wider than your bus, so it was pretty tight.”

In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Sullivan took part in a similar competition during the Community Transportation Association of America’s National Bus Roadeo on Sunday.

“He’ll be competing with 66 other people from around the country, all higher-performing transit operators,” Transit Supervisor Tim Nichols said Friday. “We’re very proud to have (Sullivan) compete on the national level. He represented the university well on a state level and I’m sure he’ll do the same on a national level.”

Sullivan was given an overall score which took into consideration the scores of his fellow bus drivers, as well as a contingent of mini-van drivers. Of these 86 competitors, Sullivan took 33rd place.

“It’s not bad for my first nationals,” he said.

For his part, Sullivan has been practicing, studying the rules of the road and trying to bring down his time on the wheelchair aspect of the competition.

“(There’s) a seven-minute time limit on the wheelchair securement,” he said. “I was nailing it in three minutes and 14 seconds, so I’ve picked up the pace quite a bit. Really looking forward to showing that off.”

Following the competition, Sullivan and Nichols will remain in Pittsburgh, attending workshops during the national association’s weeklong conference. Sullivan said he plans to take part in a two-day intensive course that could lead to certification needed for more supervisory roles.

“I think he’s shown the state — and hopefully he’ll show the rest of the competitors — the quality of driver that we employ,” Nichols said.