New Tool for Teachers
A recently launched program is now available to help teach youth about the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) and its transportation services. It’s called the Road Trip to Learning, and if you are a teacher, you can receive the curriculum at no cost.

The curriculum is part of the Orange County Register’s newspaper in education program and is suited for grades 4-10. By using maps and bus schedules along with the 16-page curriculum, your students will gain practice in reading comprehension, math skills, map reading skills, vocabulary skills, geography, civics and science.

You will receive a teacher’s guide with the curriculum that can be used in conjunction with the newspaper to teach your students about transportation. The Road Trip to Learning program is an 8-12 week curriculum that integrates California State Standards for Education, making it appealing to you as a teacher and valuable for your students, especially in the current test score driven environment of education.

As part of the Road Trip to Learning program, OCTA will help out by providing you with guest speakers, field trips using fixed-route bus service, and information about OCTA special events and programs.

If you are interested in the Road Trip to Learning program, sign up here. The program is available to all 29 school districts in Orange County at no cost. Help your students gain comprehension and study skills while learning about public transportation.

An Outreach Program for Kids and Teens
The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) has a free program on "How to Ride the Bus" for schools and organizations. It's called youthNmotion and it's designed for youth from ages 11 to 16.

With the youthNmotion outreach program, a professional team from OCTA will come to your location, at a time you select, to teach kids and teens how to ride the bus. Our presentation is lively and informative, and at the end, everyone gets two free one-day bus passes so they can try the bus first-hand with a friend or parent.

Why This Program Is Important
As kids grow into adolescence, their desire to be independent and do things with their friends grows with them. Work and other factors often make it impossible for parents to take kids where they want to go. Unless a parent or an older sibling is available to shuttle them around, non-driving teenagers and pre-teens are essentially grounded.

Fortunately OCTA has a solution—the fixed-route bus system. The bus is safe, clean and reliable. Travel by bus is also easy, inexpensive and can take kids where they want to go when they want to go.

What our Research with Kids and Teens Revealed
As part of our youth outreach program, we conducted focus group research throughout Orange County with kids and teens ages 11 to 17. The research was revealing:

•  Kids felt that riding the bus gave them freedom or independence.
• The kids most likely to ride the bus were those whose parents felt that riding the bus
  was both advantageous and safe.
• Once kids rode the bus, they thought the process was easy.
• Most kids ride the bus for leisure-time activities.
• Most kids felt that it was safe to ride the bus when they travel with a friend or group.

OCTA feels that if we can teach kids how to ride the bus and encourage them to ride with a friend or group, they would have a greater sense of independence at this critical stage of their development. Navigating around the community by bus also builds a sense of confidence young people can use for rest of their lives.

Important Youth Links
Visit our online trip planner to get started. Got a question about riding the bus, bus fares or passes? Just Contact Us and we'll get an answer for you!

For information on a youthNmotion presentation, or to schedule one for your school or organization, contact us.

To familiarize yourself with OCTA bus fares and special passes for students and youths, visit Fares and Passes.

If you or your facility would like more information or if you would like to schedule a presentation, please call Judy Leon at 714.560.5358 or email jleon@octa.net.