Transportation YOU Takes Virtual Transit Tour Around the World
By Britton Hammit, WTS-DC
The 2020-2021 school year has been unlike any other. However, our WTS-DC Transportation YOU adapted and is actively seeking ways to engage with high school students in Washington, D.C.
In December, WTS-DC engaged with students at Dunbar High School for an interactive virtual presentation hosted by Kim Kinnison of King County Metro in Seattle, Washington and Britton Hammit of Kimley-Horn in D.C. Throughout this session, students participated in the presentation using Poll Everywhere, which allowed them to text in responses to questions. The presentation started with a discussion of “what is transit” and “why is transit important.” Then, Kinnison and Hammit took the students on a virtual tour around the world to learn about many different forms of transit.
Students started at home with a review of WMATA transit service; moved to Denver, Colorado to learn about light rail; traveled south to Bogota, Columbia to learn about bus rapid transit (BRT); flew across the Atlantic ocean to Glasgow, England to see one of Europe’s oldest underground metro systems; moved to Tokyo, Japan to see one of the world’s most extensive transit networks in which 74% of the population uses the rail system; and, ended their virtual trip in Venice, Italy to talk about gondolas and public transport ferry boats.
The session concluded with a virtual scavenger hunt, where the students learned how to load their bikes on a WMATA Metrobus and how to use Google Maps to route between two destinations using transit. WTS-DC is looking forward to continuing opportunities to engage with students in this virtual environment. If you are interested in participating in the committee or supporting an event, please reach out to our committee chair, Barbara Moreno. And be sure to follow Transportation YOU on Instagram!