The holidays are here, which means the winter season is just beginning! Shorter days and colder nights can make traveling a real hassle, especially if you must ride public transit. If you don’t properly prepare for your daily commute, you could put your health and safety at risk and make your day harder than it has to be! Here are a few winter safety tips for riding public transportation during this chilly season. Give Yourself Extra Time When the weather conditions are not ideal, ensure you give yourself enough time to make it to the train or the bus stop…. Read more »
How a bus stop looks and feels can largely impact your overall bus riding experience. Nothing beats frequent service to make transit more appealing, but if you must wait, small improvements like shelters and information about when the next bus is coming can make the wait feel shorter! Here are a few ways to make your bus stop a better place for you and your community. Create an Inviting Place For this step, take inspiration from local parks and public spaces: why do you like to spend time there? Is it the benches? The tables? Or the general welcoming atmosphere?… Read more »
Public transportation is a quick and easy way to get where you need to go, and with today’s gas prices, it’s the most cost-efficient way to travel. When riding on public transportation, you must be alert and exercise-sense precautions for safety and crime prevention. Here are a few top tips for staying safe on public transport! Stay Awake and Alert You may be tempted to read a book, check your messages, or take a quick nap on public transportation, but that’s the perfect way to have your wallet, camera, backpack, and other items stolen. Plus, you could end up in… Read more »
For those people who feel like they constantly have to be doing something productive, the commute to and from work is often a dreaded part of daily life. While the average commute is about 20-30 minutes, it is not uncommon to travel 45 minutes to an hour for work—and that’s just one way! When you double those numbers, commuting becomes even more time consuming. The good news is, however, that time spent commuting to work doesn’t have to be time wasted. If you, like many others, take the bus, metro, or another form of public transit, you have even more… Read more »
Public transportation is a staple in every community, even though many people don’t realize it. There are many ways you can personally benefit from using public transportation. Not owning or as frequently using a car, for example, can save you a lot of money. You’ll have extra downtime to relax, which is difficult to come by in our work-oriented society. Plus, using public transit gets your body moving as you walk between bus stops and destinations. But perhaps even more important than the individual advantages public transportation has to offer, are the larger-scale benefits it offers the locality in which… Read more »
Ah, the smartphone. It’s a technological marvel that has both blessed and cursed us at the same time. While it’s incredibly useful and convenient to have instant communication capabilities and information access at our fingertips, it’s also a distraction that can make us behave unconsciously (or for some, consciously) rude to others. Nobody likes being cut off when someone else takes a phone call mid-conversation or feeling like they’re talking to a wall while someone scrolls through Facebook at the dinner table. One place where cell phone use can be especially annoying and inconsiderate? Public transportation! Buses, metros, trains, and… Read more »
Did you know that anxiety disorders are the most common mental health issue among Americans 18 and older? Nearly 20% of the U.S. population suffers from anxiety every year—that’s approximately 40 million people! There are a lot of different triggers that produce anxiety symptoms in different people. Although you may not hear it about it as much, public transportation is a common source of anxiety for many individuals. The lack of control, being surrounded by strangers, navigating unfamiliar routes and schedules, and being in a confined space can all contribute to a fear of public transit. If public transportation is… Read more »
Nobody likes the idea of traveling alone in the dark, but sometimes it’s unavoidable. If you have to commute to work or are returning from the city before or after the sun comes up, riding public transportation may seem a little scarier than it is in the daylight. Fortunately, there are some easy steps you can take to ensure your night trip is as safe as possible. Here are a few precautions you can take to ease your mind when riding the bus at night: Stay on top of bus schedules. Thanks to modern technology, there are plenty of ways… Read more »
As you get older and start living out your golden years, there are a lot of different reasons driving a car may no longer be an option for transportation. It could be a medical condition that makes it unsafe to drive, or simply the lifestyle changes that come with aging and make owning a vehicle impractical. Fortunately, there are plenty of alternative transportation options that allow senior citizens to maintain their independence—including public transportation. If you’re a senior trying to navigate the public transit system, we’ve got a few tips to help keep you moving as safely as possible! Watch… Read more »
One of the first milestones toward independence many children reach is the ability to travel around their neighborhood by themselves. When they’re younger, this means walking to the corner store or biking to their friend’s house. As they get older and more mature—especially for kids who live in or near the city—it means riding public transportation on their own. If your child is finally ready to take that next step, use these tips to teach them how to use public transit safely and confidently! 1) Practice with them first. Public transportation systems can be tricky when you’re navigating them for… Read more »
