Why Transit is the Perfect Option for Your Family
With every new generation of parents that grew up conquering the city by transit in their youth, a new kind of family is emerging
It's pretty common to hear about people not owning a car in Metro Vancouver and increasingly, it's including young families. When our communities are so walkable, our neighbourhoods so robust and our transit so extensive, it's easy to find alternate means of transportation. With every new generation of parents that grew up conquering the city by transit in their youth, a new kind of family is emerging – one that actively embraces transit.
Benefits of Transit for Families
- Taking transit is also a useful opportunity to help kids develop life skills. They'll be a lot more aware of their surroundings; they'll learn to recognize landmarks in their community; they'll learn to count coins; they'll learn what's appropriate behaviour in different public situations; they'll learn about traffic safety – there's a lesson to be learned with every nuanced interaction.
- It can be less stressful to take public transit when going on family outings. Kids can look out the windows and parents look at the kids, instead of at other drivers. It's a much more social and connective way to enjoy the day together.
- By living in walkable communities and relying on public transportation, neighbourhoods are better serviced by a variety of amenities, including transit, and become even more engaging, social and safer.
Tips to Get Your Family onto Transit
- Use the Trip Planner to ensure you know when and where to catch your connections.
- Watch out for signs of fatigue, especially if your kids are really young. Keep your journeys short at the beginning so kids don't associate transit with exhausting excursions.
- If you're travelling with a baby or a little one still in diapers, make sure you know of a changing room facility at or close to your destination… just in case.
- If you're travelling with teenagers, give them some independence and suggest they get off a stop or two early so they can explore the neighbourhood on their own before catching up to you.
- Make sure your cupboard at home is well stocked with FareSavers, eliminating the last-minute scrounging for exact change. Better yet, give everyone their own monthly pass.
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