Putting his bus driving skills to the test, Paul Klimesh placed 10th in the American Public Transit Association’s Annual North American Bus Roadeo held in Cleveland, Ohio.

Klimesh enjoys the competition and said, “It’s always fun, you get to meet people from across the United States and learn about other bus systems.”

The competition showcases the driving skills of bus operators by maneuvering the bus through 90-degree right and left turns, and reverse movements in close proximity to the curb.

The drivers also had to complete a pre-trip bus inspection to identify eight defects and one safety hazard within a seven minute time span.

“Some things are easy to spot, like missing bell cords, but sometimes it’s things we just assume are working like fire extinguishers, and they once took off a license plate, or they would turn it upside down,” Klimesh said.

Klimesh has been driving for CyRide since 1995. He started driving part-time when he was working on his agricultural engineering degree at Iowa State. After college, he decided to continue driving full-time and participate in state and national level bus roadeos.

His love for the competition began here in Ames. “It started as something for fun, to see how you stacked up against others on a local level.” After the competition he qualified for state and decided to keep competing.

Last year, Klimesh competed in the 23rd Iowa Bus Roadeo. He received second in the large bus competition and third in the small bus division. He competed against 40 operators from 17 different transit systems. His success in the Iowa Bus Roadeo allowed him to advance on to the national competition this past May.

For Klimesh, one of the hardest parts was getting used to the buses.

“It’s hard because we aren’t using our buses, we are using the competition city buses. So there are all these differences, like where the mirrors are that we have to take into consideration.”

Out of a total of 700 possible points, Klimesh received 534 points. This score placed him in the top 10 in the nation. The points system includes safety, smoothness and driver appearance. The 11-obstacle course must be completed in less than seven minutes, or points are deducted.

“Everyone’s goal is to get the the perfect score, but of course nobody is perfect. Still, I am trying to get as close as possible.” Klimesh said. “It’s always that you want to keep doing better than the previous year.”

Sheri Kyras, CyRide Transit Director said in a press release, “We are very proud of Paul and recognize the great job that he does in safely providing service to Ames residents each and every day. This national honor highlights the great job our drivers, dispatchers and trainers do in delivering quality service to the community.”

Klimesh has consistently finished high in the ranking of contestants. In 2004, he earned 2nd place at nationals, the highest he has ever gotten.

As well as high ranks in the Bus Roadeo, in 2009 Klimesh was one of several CyRide bus drivers who received the Million Mile Award from the National Safety Council for a million miles, or 25,000 hours, of accident-free driving.

Klimesh’s next roadeo endeavor will be to compete in the state bus competition to be held in June in Sioux City.