Press Release: SOLTRANS BUS DRIVER WINS TRANSIT EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR

NEWS RELEASE
November 15, 2019
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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Vallejo, CA – SolTrans bus driver Andre Smith was awarded one of the highest awardsat the Solano Transportation Authority 22nd Annual Awards Dinner. on Wednesday, November 13 , Transit Employee of the Year for Solano County.

Andre Smith has been a bus operator since 2009 before the inception of SolTrans. He is dedicated to providing exceptional customer service to the people of Solano County and the wider Bay Area. Andre has received many commendations during his 10 years as a driver. He has an excellent attendance record, with many passengers asking where he is and if he’s okay if he ever goes on vacation. It’s a rare day that Andre is not at work. In fact, Andre had booked vacation time for the first week of July this year, but he came into work to ensure the June 30^th Service Changes went smoothly.

Andre works well with management and his peers and is always offering solutions and ideas to better the trasit service for the riders. For example, when the Transbay terminal was closed, he offered to pick up passengers from the Embarcadero. He came into work hours before his shift began to drop off a hand-drawn map of the exact location to the General Manager. His solution was implemented immediately and the route 82 still serves there to this day. His safety record is impeccable with zero accidents and incidents. Due to his passion and dedication to the service, Andre is a well-respected employee among his peers.

“We couldn’t be more proud of Andre and winning this award, he truly deserves it and more!” said Stephanie Maher, General Manager of NEXT. “All of our team members deserve recognition, it’s hard to pick just one but everyone is definitely happy for Andre.”

SolTrans is always looking for exceptional people to join the SolTrans team. Applications for operators, customer service, maintenance and dispatch are always accepted.

Solano County Transit (SolTrans) has been the public transportation provider for south Solano County since July 2011. SolTrans provides local and regional fixed routes, complementary paratransit, dial-a-ride service, and subsidized taxi programs. The agency is a Joint Powers Authority (JPA) that is governed by a six-member Board of Directors, composed of two representatives from the cities of Benicia and Vallejo, Solano County’s representative on the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), and a representative from the Solano Transportation Authority.

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