Twin Cities bus driver Dave Webster was named the best driver in the state for the fourth year running, coming out on top at an April 21 Rockland contest.

But this year he has some competition, from Community Concepts’ Roger Boisvert. The two tied in regular competition at the Maine State Roadeo at the Owls Head Transportation Museum.

Webster, a paratransit driver for Western Maine Transportation, rose above by being able to quickly secure a wheelchair in his bus.

“Since we don’t have wheelchairs in our buses, I think Roger did pretty well,” said Community Concepts’ Mary Ellen Theriault.

Both men will represent Maine at the national competition May 19 and 20 in Reno, Nev.

“They don’t normally send two drivers,” said Western Maine’s Sandy Buchanan. “But then, they don’t normally have two drivers get tie scores.”

Webster will defend his national title at the Reno contest. This will be the fourth year Webster has won the Maine competition and gone to the national level. He posted the best overall score at the Community Transportation Association’s bus division’s National Roadeo in Florida last year, topping 58 other bus drivers from Utah to British Columbia in a test of transportation safety knowledge and bus-driving skill.

Boisvert drives a van for Community Concepts. This is the first year he’s gone to the national contest.

The contest honors bus and public van drivers with the best skills and the most knowledge.

Drivers in both the state and national contest first take a written exam to test their knowledge of arcane bus rules and safety procedures. Next, they competed in a series of driving skills – maneuvering the bus through slalom courses, backing up while turning right and left, stopping on demand and close to a curb as well as passing around an obstacle.

Drivers are judged on how close they come to each obstacle without knocking over any traffic cones, as well as how smoothly they perform their maneuvers. They also have to complete all the events within nine minutes.

Webster drives a paratransit bus for Western Maine. That’s a full-sized bus equipped to carry riders in wheelchairs to appointments around Lewiston and Auburn. Webster said he’s looking forward to the competition and has few expectations.

“But then, I didn’t expect to win last year,” he said. “I hoped to finish in the top five, so I was more surprised than anyone else when I won it.”