The Climate Reality Project: 24 Hours of Reality

I helped lead the charge a decade ago and developed a simple but powerful model to transform public transportation. In my role with the Limestone District School Board, alongside the City of Kingston (Kingston Transit), we created the Kingston Transit High School Bus Pass Program, now deemed the “Kingston Model” for youth transit programming. 

On-bus orientation and free passes have increased high school ridership from 28,000 to close to 600,000 (pre-COVID) annually in Kingston, Ontario. The underlying philosophy in developing this project is that with encouragement, mastery of transit tools, authentic life experience and a bus pass in hand, students will gain independence and confidence.

The “Kingston Model” for youth transit programming is a game-changer for combating climate change and increasing youth independence and confidence. This year the model will be highlighted in Al Gore and the Climate Reality Project: 24 Hours of Reality held on October 7, 2022, for its innovative efforts in combating climate change by reducing greenhouse gases through increased public transit ridership.  

With the program being featured in this year’s 24 Hours of Reality Project, it’s the perfect time for me to answer some popular questions I receive from students, councillors, and sustainability leaders.

What sparked the idea for the Kingston Transit High School Bus Pass Program? How did you start? 

Let me take you back to 2012 when the city of Kingston’s council recognized the benefits for young people using public transportation and decided to allow grade nines free access to Kingston Transit.

I worked at the city and the school board at the time and noticed the two systems were slightly different. Grade 9s, when wanting to get their free pass had to take their student ID to 1 of 2 locations, and they had to bring their itinerary… these were the parameters the city set up, which made sense.

The problem is that students didn’t get their IDs until November, and many of them didn’t regularly use public transportation. These seemingly small tasks proved to be large barriers to students without the freedom of mobility.

I got started in the sector because of my passion for sustainability. A passion for living sustainably using the "rules" given to us by the biosphere, namely thermodynamics, and not human ego-imposed feelings. At the end of the day, we didn't make up the rules, therefore, to live in balance, we have to respect our living conditions, and certain constraints; by doing this we can get creative and innovate.

And this got me thinking… when was the last time I changed my behaviour or excelled in something that someone DIDN’T guide or help me with… 

Ultimately, we don’t know what we don’t know, and if nobody shows us, we won’t know.

How does the program combat climate change? 

So many ways, fewer trips by parents and guardians, fewer yellow bus trips for field trips, but the harder impact to quantify is students being multimodal. Some might choose to use transit their whole life, when others now have the confidence to use public transit even if they drive, as they are comfortable with the system. 

What was your reaction when you heard the program was selected as a spotlight in this year’s 24 Hours of Reality Project?

I was very excited. This program works; it can be scaled, and it creates an indescribable amount of impact for a community, however, it takes a bit of work to figure it out. The program needs to be scaled for each community, as every community will be a bit different. 

The opportunity to be featured in the 24 Hours of Reality Project is another on top of the Tedx Ottawa, and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities guidebook, as it will keep the program model relevant, and more and more people will see it. 

Eventually, I know we will work with another community to refine the scaling model, and then, BOOM, the dam will break, and we will change transit in North America, as you need good transit for people, but it requires people to build good transit. This program helps get the people!

Do you have recommendations on how others across Canada can help improve sustainability in their city? 

Reach out! Watch the TEDx, read the guidebook, and then use these as tools to inspire others and bring your community stakeholders around the idea.

Try, learn, and participate. Look for other good people trying to do good things and support them. Part of mobilizing people will always be a good story. It is also essential to reach out to the right people with the right skills, responsibilities and passions and make it easy for them to act. This is accomplished through clear, honest communication and explaining environmental, financial, health, and equity benefits. But above all, clear timelines and expectations, receiving clear commitments, and knowing everyone’s interests are aligned, make this all possible. You must often be willing to adjust your message based on your audience and speak to their goals.

If you’re interested in learning more about The Youth Transit Bus Program and other nations are exploring the state of climate-smart transportation today, tune in to Climate Reality’s 24 Hours of Reality Project: Expand Zero-Emission Vehicles and Transportation conversation for free on Oct. 7, 2022, at 9 AM EDT.