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UMass Transit employee Tom Vincent finished first in this year’s Collegiate Bus Roadeo, which was hosted by Harvard University’s Transportation Services June 21. Fellow UMass Transit employee and student driver Jay Peters also finished seventh at the event.

Competitors at the event, which included drivers from Harvard, UNH, Princeton, Vermont, Virginia Tech, Georgia, Boston College, Penn State, Boston University and Stony Brook University, navigated a complex set of obstacles with a full-sized transit bus on a timed course, and were judged on their driving skills, safety acumen and ability to respond under pressure situations.

UMass Transportation Services Director Connie Englert noted that this is the second time in recent years that UMass has taken top honors – Sebastian Harder, departmental assistant in UMass’ Transportation Services, won the event in 2023 – and credited employees in the training, maintenance and operations teams of UMass’ Facilities and Campus Services for their roles in contributing to the win.

In preparation for the competition, UMass Transit held its own RoadEo on the UMass campus, organized by Derek Pires, departmental assistant in Transportation Services. Vincent also claimed first place at the UMass RoadEo, with Peters, Harder and Transportation Services’ departmental assistants Jesse Ball and Zack Suranofsky rounding out the event’s top five finishers.