KT maintenance team wins regional Roadeo competition

From left to right: Kitsap Transit mechanics Spencer Winslow, Jarred Gregersen and Ruben Castro Guijosa.

Last weekend, Kitsap Transit’s maintenance team took home the top prize at the regional Mechanics’ Roadeo competition in Olympia, an impressive achievement that we here at KT are incredibly proud of.

Kitsap Transit mechanics Rubin Castro Guijosa, Spencer Winslow and Jarred Gregersen took first prize in the competition, which pitted them against peer agencies from across the state at Intercity Transit the weekend of July 15.

Every year, Kitsap Transit employees participate in local, regional and state Roadeo events – both for fun, and to showcase the specific and important skills that go into operating buses safely. The maintenance side of these competitions is equally important, as our mechanics are tasked with keeping complex vehicles running safely and smoothly.

During the roadeo, technicians compete in several events and a written test. The events test mechanics’ skills in diagnosing and repairing performance-related bus issues while on a time limit. Events include identifying hidden defects across a 40-foot Gillig bus and diagnosing and fixing airbrake systems, air conditioning units, control boards and slide-doors.

Kitsap Transit’s team took home second-place honors three years in a row prior to 2023’s victory. The last time KT mechanics went to the state competition, in 2019, they took second overall.

Guijosa, Winslow and Gregersen will compete in the state competition in Vancouver this fall. Congratulations and good luck!