He's off to a "roadeo" - but he's no cowboy, he's one of the best bus drivers in the country.
Nimon & Son driver Barrie Gledhill travels to Dunedin today to represent Hawke's Bay for the third time in the annual Tranzqual Bus Roadeo.
The roadeo will test the skills and knowledge
of 24 drivers from around the country. During the weekend they will compete in events testing their driving skills, customer service, road knowledge and ability to detect bus faults.
The drivers were chosen by their companies because of their excellent technical and driving skills, great customer service and professionalism.
Nimon operations manager Ian Hughes is confident Mr Gledhill will do well for the Havelock North company.
"Barrie was the winner of the Commercial Road Skills Award for Excellence in Customer Service," he said.
"He is one of our ITO Workplace Trainer/Assessors and is regularly requested by many of our customers as their preferred tour driver and is a popular choice with many of our school groups. He is a mechanic by trade, so a well-rounded person to have on our team here at Nimon & Sons Ltd."
Mr Gledhill is looking forward to defending his customer-service title.
"Last year we role-played different situations," he said. "There was a man who had lost his wallet, a dazed and confused passenger and a lady who was late and screaming at me."
He learned to drive a bus because he wanted to go away on trips with his children when they were at Ongaonga School.
Bus and Coach Association chief executive Raewyn Bleakley said the Roadeo was a chance to see the skills required.
"Bus drivers are the frontline of our industry. This event is the industry's opportunity to recognise and reward the contribution they make both as a group and individually."
