Transit buddies

One of the reasons, probably, that as a white person I ride the bus in DC is that someone at my then girlfriend's work (this was back in 1987) rode WMATA buses. She introduced us to riding the buses. So when people would come to visit us they'd be shocked to learn that we often rode buses instead of the subway. When they asked why, I would say, because depending on where we are going, the time we spend walking to the subway station and waiting for the train can instead be spent going to our destination.

A few years ago, I wrote about Arlington County's "Rides in the City" program, see "Making Transit Sexy" and they have a number of focused programs to better engage youth and other demographic segments. A bicycle ambassador program helps acclimate people to biking.

On the East Side of the Puget Sound, a "bus buddy" program does the same thing. See "Bus Buddy helps hesitant individuals become confident transit riders," from the Eastside Business Journal.