The purpose of this resource is to support the creation of a program that encourages students in Kindergarten through Grade 12 to use transit services by giving them the knowledge and skills they need to be able to do so safely and confidently.
Description
Education session(s) designed to teach kids about the transit services in their community and how to use them. Offering Transit Skills Training can help young people develop independent, sustainable mobility skills that will serve them throughout their lives, not just for the school journey.
A Transit Skills Training program typically covers the following elements within its learning curriculum:
- The many benefits of public transit
- What public transit services are available locally and how to plan a trip
- Knowledge and skills to use public transit confidently, including how to board and pay, rider etiquette, how to know your stop and get off, and how to store a bike on a bus bike rack.
- Experiential learning through taking a test ride on a local bus and/or train
These are skills that some parents may teach their children on their own, but to proactively encourage transit riding for the school journey, consider offering a formal Transit Skills Training program. It can be effective to combine the skills training with a broader effort to increase public transit ridership, e.g., by offering free or subsidized bus passes for youth and/or by encouraging transit use through promotional communications.
If you are also running a Pedestrian Skills Training program, be sure to consider how it could be delivered in coordination with Transit Skills Training to improve the efficiency of program delivery.
What you will need
- Trained instructors
- Curriculum
- Equipment
- Suitable learning space, such as a classroom, gymnasium, school yard, community centre, or local transit station/bus/train.
Who can help
Teachers, public health nurses, transit staff, and municipal staff.
Key words
Public transit, bus, subway, streetcar, train, students, curriculum, sustainable transportation, transit, route planning, tickets, ridership, life skills.