Although you may use a car to get around the city in your day-to-day life, practice using transit with your children for a number of reasons. It's increasingly common in major cities in Canada for people to go without owning a vehicle, and they may use the bus or trains to get around, so exposing children to this early can help set them up for success over the long term. Try out different types of transit, buses, trains, but also Uber, Lyft, or taxis as well to set yourself up for success with this.

It's good to practice and to commit to a schedule once every month or two. You can practice this on its own so it doesn't need to be part of a broader outing where you're going to go to the zoo or something like that. Practice going on transit just for transit sake and maybe do something small like get an ice cream cone at your destination, hop back on the bus and go back to your home. We recommend starting with a shorter journey somewhere in your neighborhood so you can practice some of the basics like walking on the right hand side, holding hands if it's a smaller child, quickly and efficiently and safely boarding the train or the bus together and then getting back off. You can set it up for success with forward planning, looking at your route in advance, mapping out on either your local transit app or with photos. There are YouTube videos of bus routes and train routes in many cities. Sometimes these are created by autistic adults and can provide a really good preview of what the route might look like for the child. As your child ages, you can expand on this by having them help plan the route with you, pick where you might go, and they can learn how to use the travel app that's provided by your city to help coordinate a route. You can review some of the rules of transportation with your child ahead of time. Things like we keep our hands to ourselves on the bus or the train, how to identify an empty seat to sit in, keeping track of your personal belongings, as well as how to watch for your route and listen for your stop.

If you're nervous about trying this out for the first time, you can ask a friend or family member to come along so you have an extra adult there to assist with the stops and getting on and off the bus. You can take some fun activities for your child to do if the journey is a little bit longer, an iPad or a book or maybe some music they can listen to. Practice that when we're out on public transit, headphones are a good thing to use and that we don't listen to videos and music aloud. Try out riding transit for the first time on maybe a school holiday where people may still be attending work and it won't be as busy as on a weekend. However, it'll still give you the opportunity to practice with the full bus schedule with a few less patrons on the route.

Finally, spend some time considering fare payment. For many of us, prepaid transportation approaches work well because of their convenience and the simplification of the payment process. This eliminates the need for additional planning for cash on hand and navigating multiple individual fare interactions with people or vending machines. However, cash payments might work best for you for personal or budgeting reasons.

Tips list for parents on how to support their child on public transit:

1.     Practice Using Transit: Even if you usually drive, practice using public transit with your children.  This can help them to get used to buses, trains, uber, Lyft, or taxis, which are common in major cities.

2.     Commit to a schedule: Try to practice using transit once every month or two.  You can make it a small outing, like getting an ice ream cone, to make it enjoyable.

3.     Start With Short Journeys: Begin with shorter trips in your neighborhood to practice basics like holding hands, and safely boarding and exiting the vehicle.

4.     Plan Ahead: Look at your route in advance using local transit apps or YouTube videos of bus and train routes.  This can help you and your child know what to expect.

5.     Involve your child: As your child gets older, involve them in planning the route and using travel apps.  This can help them learn how to navigate public transport independently.

6.     Review Transportation Rules: Go over rules like keeping hands to themselves, identifying empty seats, keeping track of belongings, and watching for your stop.

7.     Bring a Friend or Family Member: If you’re nervous, ask a friend or family member to come along.

8.     Prepare for Fare Payment: Prepaid transportation approaches might be the easiest way to manage payment and not require additional planning for cash funds to be available. This can help avoid the hassle of navigating purchasing fares via machines or personal interactions.