Cards and Transit Education Provide $10 ORCA Youth State funded - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

ORCA Youth Cards and Transit Education

Provide $10 ORCA Youth Cards To King County Teens

• State funded
• Joint effort with the Regional Partners
• Coordinated marketing campaign

Goals

• Increase long-term ORCA

usage in teens by lowering barriers to

• btaining a card
• Provide mobility

education and resources to students

• To center equity in

planning and outreach

Why High School Youth?

Teens Need Options

• Teens need flexible, affordable

transportation

• Teens frequently asked for cards for their

siblings and friends

• Teens need help with costs
• Teens need context
• As potential riders, teens need more

information about how transit improves their access to the community

Opportunities

• Teens will enter the work force soon
• Teens need to get around on a

budget

• Increased mobility opens up

educational and financial

• pportunities
• Mobility is key to breaking poverty

cycles, building strong communities, and promoting civic engagement

ORCA Youth is Difficult to Obtain

• The mailing form is complicated
• ORCA To-Go usually operates during

school hours

• The Customer Service Office operates

during school hours

• Paying full bus fare getting to and from

an event or the Customer Service Office

Schools Lack Transit Knowledge

• School staffs have limited knowledge of

transit options

• McKinney-Vento Liaisons face

restrictions and insufficient information

• Schools encourage or require after-

school activities, like community service, but cannot recommend robust options for transportation

Highlights

Participating School Districts

• 11 School Districts
• 35 participating high schools
• Plus 11 school-related

departments/organizations

Non-School Organizations

• 40 organizations and departments received

enrollment kits

• 35 successfully distributed cards
• 29 additional organizations and

departments received marketing materials and/or information to share with their communities and networks

6,319 ORCA Youth Cards Distributed

Community Stories

“The thing is, the [volunteer] hours are required by school to graduate but there’s no help to get him there, not even ideas where to start looking.” Parent, Bellevue

“But there’s no buses, so what’s it for?” Student, Kentlake HS

“It’s a whole new world. I’m giving them more

• freedom. Before, I’ve always driven them

everywhere so I didn’t know where to start when we decided they could start riding the

• bus. I think a lot of people don’t have any idea

where to start.” Parent, Shoreline

Strengths and Future Improvements

Project Strengths

• Having cards on-hand for distribution
• $10 in free rides as an incentive
• Movie ticket raffle for taking the survey
• Digital and physical marketing materials
• Flexible event/distribution structures
• Event did not require school staffing
• Most schools still asked to continue

enrolling students

Roadblocks

• Delayed materials prevented Back-to-School outreach
• Cards did not arrive until October
• Marketing materials delivered in November
• Contacting new school districts usually slow
• Districts with no prior KCM project experience

slower to respond, if at all

• Wide variance, even in positive responses
• Renton does not allow resource-distribution in school
• No communication permitted with staff, either

Recommendations

Spatial:

• 1. Ensure high schools are served by

routes with viable access to job centers and community hubs

• 2. Establish bus stops within safe

walking distance to all high schools

Institutional:

• 1. Simplify the ORCA Youth

enrollment form

• Consider an online portal
• 2. Waive the $5 ORCA Youth

purchasing fee for all students with lunch assistance

• Requiring guardian enrollment in

ORCA LIFT is a significant barrier

Awareness:

• 1. Develop and offer in-person training for staff
• Short and flexible
• Barriers differ between schools, organizations
• Staff time is limited
• 2. Design and distribute a toolkit for school staff
• Good resource for new employees,

stakeholders, and partners

• Can be shared organically within school and

youth organization networks

• Grows school and staff buy-in

Build Ongoing Relationships with School Districts

1. Invest time in building relationships with school districts

• Well-maintained communication supports

long-term investment and success 2. Ask for a designated contact

• Or get permission to ask schools directly

for a designated contact 3. Provide contact information for a designated KCM contact

• Some districts are looking for creative

solutions and don’t know who to ask

Build Ongoing Relationships with Schools

1. Explore channels to distribute ORCA Youth in schools

• Students are not able to come to you
• Schedule ORCA To-Go at school lunches and

fairs during “Back to School Week” and other start of school events 2. Empower schools to enroll students who are already qualified for lunch assistance

Looking Forward

Transportation and Academic Success

• Access to transportation impacts student success
• Participation in after-school activities improves

attendance and engagement

• Standard school bus routes do not serve sports
• r activity schedules
• Some students count on school lunch as their
• nly reliable meal
• Student transportation needs impact school

budgets

Better Options for Schools

• Reduce strain on school resources
• Improve options for schools and students

navigating barriers to transportation

• Help school staff know where to start
• Know who they can contact for answers
• Transit choices for the whole family
• Meet needs that school buses don’t

Schools are Hubs In Their Communities

• Teens can’t get to resources,

so the resources come to them

• Instead of misinformation,

supported staff share accurate choices and resources

• Students share this

information with their peers

• A lasting shift toward

communities well-educated in their transportation options

Almost 89,000 teens are enrolled in King County high schools. By investing time into developing sustainable relationships with school districts, by providing accessible training to staff, and by investing in meaningful assistance for their students, we are positioned to empower these students to build more resilient communities and futures.

Questions?

AJ Gabriel Hopelink, Youth Mobility Coordinator agabriel@hopelink.org 425-943-6750 (office) 425-417-1887 (cell) Sara Sisco Hopelink, Education and Outreach Program Manager ssisco@hopelink.org 425-943-6756 (office) 425-625-6945 (cell) Staci Haber Hopelink, Director of Mobility Management shaber@hopelink.org 425-943-6769 (office) 425-625-6856 (cell)