The professional skills competition "Best Bus Driver of Regular Urban Passenger Routes" has opened on the square of the Pribrezhny Park. It brought together the best 51 drivers from 40 cities of Russia – a competition of this scale among public transport drivers is being held in the republic for the first time!
The large-scale event is timed to the 400th anniversary of the founding of the city and the 50th anniversary of the release of the first KAMAZ vehicle. Among the organizers of the competition are the Executive Committee, KAMAZ and "City Transport".
The festive event began at the entrance from Khasan Tufan Avenue. Guests and participants visited the exhibition of modern equipment "NEFAZ" and "Moskvich" and got acquainted with the exhibition of works of the city drawing competition "The City Moves – The City Lives" on the park square.
The main stage welcomed the audience with a bright theatrical and choreographic program: musical and vocal compositions were performed, and the number "Fly Forward, KAMAZ" was accompanied by an impressive drive-by of motor vehicles. The culmination of the creative part was a solemn parade: 51 competition participants came out with flags and placards, marking the start of the professional contest.
During the official part, honored speakers addressed the participants and guests of the holiday, giving words of encouragement to the contestants.
Nail Magdeev noted the high social significance of the profession: "It is very symbolic that our autograd hosts this event in its special, anniversary year – the year of the 400th anniversary of the founding of Chelny and the 50th anniversary of the release of the first legendary KAMAZ truck. A public transport driver is a person to whom we entrust the most precious thing every day: our lives and the safety of our children. I wish all participants good luck, endurance, and may the strongest win!"
Deputy Minister of Transport and Road Facilities of the Republic of Tatarstan Marat Khisamutdinov notes the high level of organization of the holiday: "Drivers are our main guides on the roads. Let them compete not only with each other, but also surpass their own achievements, because the best of the best have gathered here. In the Republic of Tatarstan, an international competition among public transport drivers is being held for the first time. This once again proves the high status of Naberezhnye Chelny, which managed to organize such a large-scale event."
At the end of the grand opening, guests of the holiday were presented with prizes.
Holding such competitions directly resonates with the goals of the national project "Personnel". This national project is aimed at meeting the economy's need for qualified specialists and promoting employment of the population. Support and popularization of working professions through professional skills competitions is one of the key tasks of the project, contributing to raising the prestige of labor and the continuous development of workers' competencies.
The races themselves will take place on July 24 and 25: a high-speed maneuvering stage will be held on a special track, and the second exercise – "Comfortable Driving" – on the track. The competitions are held on low-floor NEFAZ city buses. Experienced specialists of the "large-capacity buses" category with at least 1 year of driving experience in category "D" and work at the lead enterprise from 6 months before the start of the competition are competing for the title of the best.
Special nominations are also provided: "Best Debutant" (the youngest participant), "Best Result in the Traffic Rules Knowledge Test", "Best Completion of the High-Speed Maneuvering Track", "Best Completion of the 'Comfortable Driving' Exercise".
The competition will end on July 25 at 5 p.m. with a gala concert featuring the Honored Artist of Tatarstan Firdus Tyamaev and the group "Safari", after which the results will be summed up and the winners will be awarded.