AUBURN – Western Maine Transportation’s David Webster was edged out, by one point, for top honors at the Community Transportation Association of America’s National Bus Roadeo in New Orleans. According to the official results, Mohamed Jaman of Sacramento Paratransit in California took the win 893 points to Webster’s 892.

The event was tightly contested. Out of a total of 1,000 possible points, one point separated the top two and 16 points separated second from third places. Only 44 points separated the top five finishers. The Roadeo pitted 61 of the nation’s bus drivers against each other, the skills course and the clock.

Webster, a 17-year veteran driver for Western Maine Transportation Services’ green paratransit buses in the Lewiston/Auburn area, won his fifth straight Maine Transit Association/Maine Department of Transportation Roadeo on May 10 at the Owl’s Head Transportation Museum in Rockland. Webster also won the national title in 2006.

“It was a great time,” Webster said of his New Orleans experience, calling as he returned to Louis Armstrong International Airport for his trip home. Webster said, “Everything went like clockwork and it was great having Pat (Christian, WMTS General Manager) here for the end of the competition and the awards.” Christian was in New Orleans to attend the CTAA EXPO conference.

About the competition itself, Webster said, “I was under time for all 10 of the driving skills. The wheelchair tie-down went very well. We were also supposed to find four defects on the pre-trip test and I was able to identify seven. Unfortunately, I had two 10-point deductions for cone touches, a few five-point deductions for having to shift out of reverse and I was a bit far away from the curb for the passenger pick-up.”

Webster said of the finish order, “I was ecstatic to take second place, and I’m still absolutely thrilled about it, but when I learned Monday evening that I missed first by just one point let me tell you, that hurt,” Webster laughed. “I really think it would have been easier to have missed it by 20 points.”

Webster said of the winner, Jaman, “He did a great job it just shows how good and close the competition was in New Orleans. It was an honor to represent the state of Maine in such an excellent field of competitors.” Webster has already begun to set his sights on next year’s National Roadeo, which will be held in Rhode Island.

Western Maine Transportation, established by statute in 1976, is a nonprofit regional transportation corporation. WMTS provides public transportation for Androscoggin, Franklin and Oxford counties. WMTS is responsible for the Sunday River and Sugarloaf Mountain Explorer bus services and runs the Lewiston/Auburn Citylink bus service.