BOSTON — The key to success as an MBTA bus driver, according to Lowell’s Reynaldo Beato, is patience.

There can be challenges: traffic, waking up before dawn for an early-morning shift, occasional rudeness from passengers who are running late (or those who are rude for no real reason). But through all of it, Beato tries to empathize and help.

And as the newly named best of the MBTA’s 1,600 drivers, Beato, 54, knows a thing or two about success.

“I want to be patient with (them) because I put myself in their situation,” he said in an interview Thursday at the T’s Charlestown garage. “I could be a passenger on any train or any bus and I want to be treated fairly when I’m riding myself, so I treat them in a good way.”

Beato was one of about 35 drivers who competed in the MBTA’s annual “Roadeo” competition last Saturday, a series of events in which drivers navigate their buses through fields of cones, attempt to park closest to the curb and announce stop names as clearly as possible. The most challenging, Beato said, was one task that involved driving the bus in reverse.

As the victor, he will compete in the American Public Transportation Association’s International Bus Roadeo in Reno, Nevada, next May against winners of similar competitions in other parts of the country. Beato was also named the T’s best driver for his success.

“I’ve been feeling excited,” he said. “My co-workers have been congratulating me everywhere I go, if they see me on the bus or around the garage. It’s been pretty exciting.”

And yet despite his victory, Beato remains humble and described himself as a “pretty good” driver.

Michelle Smallcomb, Beato’s supervisor, complimented his dedication.

“It’s great that he won,” she said. “He deserves it. He’s a diligent employee.”

Beato immigrated to the United States from the Dominican Republic 40 years ago — the same year, he quickly notes, that the MBTA held its first Roadeo competition. He moved to Lowell in 1993, and has worked as a T driver for more than 20 years.

Currently, he works an early morning shift starting at 4:30 a.m., meaning he needs to wake up just before 3 a.m. This is his second time working that shift since drivers change their hours periodically.

Unsurprisingly, he does not exactly enjoy the early mornings, though he will pick something new in December.

“The first time I picked it, I didn’t like it, and this second time around, I still hate it,” he said while laughing.

Like many T drivers, he sometimes deals with impolite passengers. So while patience is the biggest key to success, it is also the biggest challenge.

“Some people can be rude if you are 10 or 15 minutes late,” he said. “They don’t see why we’re late and things like that. Sometimes, it’s obvious that there’s a lot of traffic out there. It is the same thing: patience.”

On Thursday morning, Beato was driving the 111 route and stopped at Haymarket to pick up his first passengers. A wide variety of people trudged onto the bus, but Beato, as he said is key, was smiling patiently.

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