What if learning to ride the bus was part of the school day?

Natalie Lawrence returns to That Transit Show to share how Community Transit is helping young people build the skills and confidence to use public transit.

Natalie was the very first guest on That Transit Show. Now she’s back with an update on Bus and Basics, Community Transit’s youth education program that brings transit lessons directly to schools across Snohomish County.

Students learn how to plan a trip, use a Youth ORCA card, ride safely, use features on the bus and ask a bus driver for help. Then they put those lessons into practice aboard a real Community Transit bus.

Natalie joins host Monica Spain to talk about what kids really want to know about transit, how their questions and feedback are shaping the program, and Transit Tales, a program that introduces younger kids to public transit. They also explore how learning to ride at an early age can give young people more independence and more options for getting where they want to go.

Hear how Community Transit is helping a new generation learn how to use public transit with confidence.

Learn more about Community Transit: https://www.communitytransit.org/

Paul Comfort, host of Transit Unplugged—the world’s #1 public transportation podcast—joins Monica Spain in Seattle to explore the future of public transit.

Drawing on nearly 40 years in the transportation industry, Paul shares lessons from transit systems around the world and explains how Transit Unplugged and Transit Unplugged TV bring the people, places, and innovations behind public transportation to a wider audience.

The conversation covers:

• The four cornerstones of a great transit system: safety, efficiency, reliability, and world-class customer service
• How agencies can better connect bus and light rail networks
• Why bus rapid transit and microtransit are gaining momentum
• How on-demand service can improve first- and last-mile connections
• The future of accessible transportation and paratransit
• Opportunities for high-speed passenger rail in the United States
• Why transit agencies should measure their impact beyond ridership
• How transit-oriented development can strengthen communities
• What leaders can learn from Paul’s book, Find Your X Factor

Listen for a global perspective on the ideas shaping public transportation in the Pacific Northwest and across America.

CHAPTERS

00:00:00 Meet Paul Comfort
00:00:39 Paul’s 40-year transit career
00:03:20 The story behind Transit Unplugged
00:04:25 Transit Unplugged TV visits Seattle
00:05:27 Connecting bus and light rail networks
00:05:59 Four cornerstones of great transit
00:09:19 Bus rapid transit and microtransit
00:13:53 New mobility lessons from Dubai
00:16:11 Accessibility and paratransit
00:17:58 High-speed rail and federal priorities
00:20:24 Measuring success beyond ridership
00:22:06 Why transit employees should ride the service
00:24:05 Transit-oriented development
00:26:54 Leadership and Find Your X Factor

Follow That Transit Show for more conversations with the people shaping mobility in the Pacific Northwest and around the world.

If you think transit is just for the slog that is your work commute, think again! In this episode of That Transit Show, Community Transit’s Phillip Jefferies sits down with Host Monica Spain to share how he’s made transit his go-to not just for work, but for fun too.

Jefferies details his personal experiences taking transit to his favorite destinations in Snohomish County and beyond. He shares how to plan for a day trip, surprising detours that wouldn’t have made the itinerary if he had to park, and how he discovered the freedom of going car-less for a night on the town.

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Subscribe to That Transit Show for more stories about the people, places, and history behind public transportation in Snohomish County: communitytransit.org/about/that-transit-show

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