Skyline Automotive faculty and staff visited SamTrans North Base site on September 6, 2023. Ellen Hofler, Sr. Admin Analyst, currently taking our AUTO 711, and Fred Ocampo, Manager, Bus Maintenance North Base, came to pick up the Skyline group and drive down to their North Base by SFO.
The San Mateo County Transit District is the administrative body for the principal public transit and transportation programs in San Mateo County: SamTrans bus service, including Redi-Wheels & RediCoast paratransit service, Caltrain commuter rail and the San Mateo County Transportation Authority.
The Skyline Automotive group was given a tour of their facilities and saw how the buses were maintained. SamTrans does extensive in-house training of their mechanics and operators. Professor Julia Johnson was given a lesson on the simulator bus that SamTrans uses to train its operators.
The group also met up with Skyline Automotive alumnus Tarik Najdawi, who has been with SamTrans for several years, then proceeded upstairs to meet with David Harbour, Director, Bus Maintenance, and his team.
Skyline Automotive is in the initial stages of planning on how to proceed with a partnership between the department and SamTrans.
Article and Photos by Nancy Lam