The Enid News and Eagle, Enid, OK

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February 21, 2012

EPTA safety record lauded

By Robert Barron, Staff Writer Enid News and Eagle

ENID — Kim Watkins is proud of the drivers at Enid Public Transportation Authority. Last year, they traveled 350,000 miles without an accident.

Enid Transit received Oklahoma Transit Authority’s state safety award, the top award given to 26 transit systems in the state. Watkins, director of Enid Transit, said transit systems submit entries in several categories, and this year Enid entered the safety and training  category.

“It was the best record in the state,” Watkins said. “We beat out Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Lawton, Norman, Stillwater — all the big cities, because our drivers had a better safety record.”

Enid Transit operates 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday. There are nine buses on the street at any time during the day, Watkins said. Enid Transit employs 18 part-time drivers and two full-time drivers.

“I attribute the safety record to the drivers watching traffic and knowing what they need to do,” Watkins said. “They are professional drivers. They all have their commercial driver’s license, but they know to worry about the other drivers.”

Watkins holds a safety meeting every other month on a Sunday afternoon. Enid Transit also conducts PASS training, which is mandated by the state and covers all parts of professional driving, including driver service, training and dealing with angry customers.

A commercial driver’s license is required after one year to continue employment, and drivers must have a five-year clean driving record.

“This is not an award I got,” Watkins said. “The drivers got it all by themselves. Through their driving abilities and ability to watch out for the other person, they achieved that award.”

In 2011, Enid Transit drivers logged 123,000 miles of curb-to-curb pickups and more than 227,000 miles of fixed-route travel without a single accident.

“EPTA holds service to the highest degree of excellence and strives to provide each rider a safe, worry-free journey wherever their travels may take them throughout Enid,” said Becky Hodgen, public information director for the city of Enid.

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