Oct. 5–9 is I Love Transit: Be Kind, Be Calm and Be Safe. It’s a week-long celebration of all things transit and as part of that, we have myriad opportunities for teachers and students to unleash their inner explorer and take learning beyond the classroom!

There’s free bus travel for students in kindergarten through Grade 12, while teachers can enter their class to win a visit from a TransLink bus and transit tickets for the entire class.

Keeping with our theme — Be Kind, Be Calm, Be Safe — just tell us in 250 words or less, what’s your class’s ideas how we can be kind, calm and safe on transit as we move forward, getting back into the swing of things and return back to school.

Maybe it’s as simple as making sure you have a mask and hand sanitizer while on board, and remembering to give up your seat to people who need it more. Or perhaps it’s an idea like having the bus operator announce a daily meditation or uplifting thought over the intercom system. Maybe even a bigger idea like self-cleaning buses, contactless food pickup onboard transit or computers to have virtual classes while onboard buses. There are no wrong answers!

Contest closes at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 13, 2020, and you’ll want to read the terms and conditions for full details. We’ll work with the winning teacher on a date that works best for the bus to visit your school in a fun and safe way.

Wanna put your class’ application over the top? Photos, videos, drawings, recordings, poems, and whatever else you can dream up that best represents your vision can accompany the submission. Just make sure you include the link to where we can access them in the submission form.

Need an idea of what we’re looking for? Check out these submissions from the past that impressed us! In 2017, a class created a video of them travelling to all the SkyTrain stations and another created a video on why they love transit and their ideas for the future of transportation. When creating your submission, make sure you keep this year’s “be kind, be calm and be safe” theme in mind.

You can also email the accompanying materials to thebuzzer@translink.ca with the subject, “I Love Transit Application” or drop it in the mail to The Buzzer, c/o Social Media Team, 400 – 287 Nelson’s Court, New Westminster, BC, V3L 0E7.

Just want transit tickets for your class? Ten randomly selected Metro Vancouver school classes will win DayPasses for up to 35 students in their class to take transit for free on any day of their choice. For students who are learning at home, 15 randomly selected parents will win DayPasses for themselves and their child. You can also purchase Compass Tickets with a DayPass on them for your entire class by emailing a request to bulkorders@translink.ca.

You’ll want to visit translink.ca/ilovetransit to learn more and enter!