Join us in celebrating Transit Month in the Bay Area!
September is Transit Month in the Bay Area! This month is all about celebrating the vital role of public transit for our communities, getting elected leaders to make transit a priority issue, and - this year in particular - encouraging people to get back on transit.
Check out the Transit Month website for a complete list of events - including a Ride Contest where riders can log their transit rides all month long and win prizes. Below, we're highlighting a few things in particular that may be of interest to Seamless supporters.
All month long: Join the Ride Contest, take transit, and win prizes!
Want to get rewards for riding transit while engaging in some friendly competition with transit fans and elected officials? Sign up today for the Transit Month Ride Contest, and start logging all the trips you take on transit this month on the Bay Area’s many transit operators. Prizes will be announced at the end of the month at the Rider First Awards on October 1 (more info coming soon).
Sept. 8 and 10: Transit Month kickoff rallies in San Francisco and the East Bay
Join local leaders, advocacy groups, and riders that are leading the fight for better transit at one of two Transit Month kickoff rallies! On Wednesday, September 8, San Francisco Transit Riders is organizing riders across the city to meet SF elected officials and rally at San Francisco City Hall at 8:30 a.m. Learn more and RSVP on the event page.
Two days later, on Friday, September 10, the first ever East Bay rally will take place in Latham Square at 9:00 a.m. in Oakland. The rally will be an opportunity to show support for the restoration of East Bay transit service, thank operators and employees for their tireless work, and show elected officials that championing transit is a winning issue! RSVP here.
Sept. 21 webinar: How does Bay Area transit stack up? A conversation with Christof Spieler
Join Seamless Bay Area for a conversation with transit and urban planning expert Christof Spieler about how Bay Area transit compares with the systems of other North American regions. On September 21 at 5:00 p.m. PT, we’ll get Spieler’s insights on a range of issues covered in the newly-issued second edition of his book, Trains, Buses, People: An Opinionated Atlas of US and Canadian Transit, including fare policies, wayfinding, transit governance structures, customer experience, how to create inclusive transit systems that work for all riders. The event is free and open to all. RSVP here.
Sept. 23: Connect the Bay Virtual Game Night & Happy Hour
Paint transit lanes, remove transfer penalties, and strategically build job and housing centers to create the Bay Area transit network of your dreams! Join us on Thursday, September 23 at 5:30 p.m. PT for a festive virtual gathering where we’ll play a lively round of Connect the Bay - The Seamless Bay Area Transit Game. This will be a fun and engaging event for people who supported our Connect the Bay Kickstarter this spring, or those who are 100% new to the game! RSVP here.
Sept. 26: Measure RR Party Train
In the summer and fall of 2020, riders and advocacy groups came together to pass Measure RR, a critical funding measure for Caltrain that kept service going throughout the pandemic and will help the service transform into a more frequent, reliable, and equitable service in years to come. Now that the vast majority of people are vaccinated, we can meet up in person and celebrate this victory.
Join the Measure RR Party Train on September 26 for a unique celebration across three counties!
Nominate a transit hero to be honored at the Rider First Awards!
On October 1, Seamless Bay Area is joining San Francisco Transit Riders, East Bay Transit Riders Union, and Friends of Caltrain to honor transit heroes at the Rider First Awards party (outdoors, vaccinated, time and location coming soon).
We need YOUR nominations for people who have made life better for transit riders in the past year. Nominees could be a special bus driver, an effective advocate, or whoever is responsible for the transit lanes or boarding island that makes your ride better and smoother (if you tell us what they did, we'll track down the people!). Who is a transit hero in your community who cares about public transit and riders, and has taken action to improve our rides? Use this form to let us know!
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We hope to “see” you at one or more of these events, whether virtual or in person! And throughout September, don’t forget to share your transit experiences on social media and use the hashtag #TransitMonth to encourage your friends and family to get back in the habit of using transit!