Explore Your Community by Public Transit for a New Perspective

Explore your community from a new angle by leaving your car at home on your next family outing and using public transit.

If you are planning on heading to the pumpkin patch this month or attending a harvest festival, see if you can take public transit there instead of driving. Or maybe you use public transit for an outing you do more often, like going to the library or grocery store.

Whatever outing you pick, taking public transit will allow you and your family to look at your city from a new perspective.

Once you’ve decided where you want to go, it’s time to research which public transit will get you there and by what route. Is there more than one public transit that can get you there?

For my city, the bus would be the only option. Even when taking a train, I have to take a bus for over an hour to get to the nearest train station. If you live in a larger city, though, you may have the option of taking a bus or metro.

If you have more than one option, decide which would be the best for your family and the outing you’ve chosen. Maybe one is more cost-effective or has a closer stop. Maybe you’ll need to take more than one type of public transit to get where you want to go. Find out how much each type of transit will cost per person. Do you need a special card or ticket you have to purchase before your trip, or can you pay with a credit card or cash as you get on the public transit?

Look up the timetable or map of routes for the local public transit you’re thinking of taking. Once you have them, have your kids help you figure out the route you’ll need to take. Help them find where you live on the map, or let them know what stop you’re closest to if it’s just a timetable.

Then find where you’re going on the map or figure out what stop is closest to where you want to go. Are the two locations on the same route, or will you need to change transit routes? How far away are the stops from where you live and where you’re going? How will you get to the public transit stop to head on your adventure? Will you walk or drive to the transit stop?

What route will you take from the public transit stop you get off at to get to your destination? How far away is the stop from your destination? Don’t forget to figure out what return trip you’ll be taking so you know when you need to be back at the transit stop to catch your ride home.

After your trip, talk with your kids about what they enjoyed about traveling on public transit and what they could have done without. Did anyone notice anything different about your city by traveling on public transit? Was the family more attentive to what was going on outside of the public transit than they would be when traveling in the family car? Why or why not?

Is your family more grateful for the family car, or would they like to explore the area on public transit more often? Whether you travel by public transit again or not, your family will have gained a new perspective of your community and the people living there by seeing things from a different point of view—the view from public transit.