List #13: Why public transit is awesome for families

On the #19 bus to Stanley Park for Bright Nights

This list comes from our experiences as a transit using family in Vancouver, but a lot of these things hold true in other cities as well.

• It's cheaper than driving, taxis or chartered buses (like to Victoria)
• You can read, text, crochet, talk on the phone or write while en route (wrote this on bus & Skytrain, in fact)
• There's often interesting people-watching 
• You can relax & pay attention to the scenery
• It's greener than driving
• You never have to find & pay for parking
• You can drink 
• It's a lot easier to take young kids & babies on the bus: no car seat to fumble with, no need to fold the stroller
• You can play with your child, hold them on your lap or even breastfeed them while travelling on transit
• You'll meet a wider variety of people on transit--immigrants & tourists from around the world, people of all socioeconomic levels & abilities--which exposes your kids to diversity
• Sitting at the front of the bus where the strollers, wheelchairs & seniors are, you'll always meet a friendly oldster who will interact with your kid
• It's safer: you're much less likely to be in an accident on transit
• You meet & talk to interesting people sometimes
• You get more exercise walking to bus stops

When was the last time you took the bus with your kid(s)?



- - - - - - - -
Why Monday lists? Reading the lovely Chloe's blog, Tea Swamp Park, I found an idea I had to 'steal': a list of all her Halloween costumes, with quite a few photos. She got the idea from Hula Seventy's List Project. I've decided to do the weekly lists for a year that Hula Seventy is doing.