7.1 The Bus is a Safe Place

Teaching children that public transit buses are a safe place to seek help is important as they may need to take the bus to get to school, activities or other destinations. Encountering situations where they feel unsafe or need help is a possibility, and knowing that the bus is a safe place to go to can empower children to seek assistance. It is a common mode of transportation for many, including children, and by teaching them this, we can help keep them safe and confident.

You can say “Do I look friendly?!” “Yes, I promise I am friendly – and my colleagues are too! We will always help you if you need it!”

Bus Drivers Help the Police

The children love to hear about how bus drivers help the police and other emergency services while out driving on the road.

Bus drivers can help police find missing people by reporting any lost or disoriented child or person they see, providing information about the person’s description and location, using the bus’s communication system to alert the authorities or receive updates on the search, and checking the bus to see if the person is still on board or left any belongings behind.

Taylor’s Tips: Storytime!

Children are often captivated by stories, so if you have a relevant story from your time as a Transit Operator, and it is appropriate, please feel free to share it with the students. Stories are an effective way to provide context for the information you are teaching them. By setting the information in a real-world context, you can help the students imagine how this information could be useful to them in the future.

I often paraphrase to the children what happened here in this story: