Community Transit’s free service helps anyone learn how to use transit through personalized, one-on-one support.
Vee Harris has been riding buses for more than half a century. She’s made lifelong friendships on the Metro buses as a teen, commuted across Seattle throughout her career, and she once fell asleep on a trip downtown — waking up past her stop and navigating her way back. For her, taking transit has always been a part of life.
When she moved to Lynnwood in 2008, she found herself driving more than she had in Seattle. After retiring a few years ago, she was ready to try riding transit again — but things had changed. The system felt different. Light rail had arrived in Lynnwood along with new Swift stations and new bus routes. And for the first time, the woman who had ridden transit all her life felt unsure.
“Light rail is a good thing — I know people who rely on it to get out and about — but it just intimidated me,” she says. “Walking up all those steps, going through the parking garage, trying to figure out where to go. I’ve got some arthritis, so it can be a lot.”
What Vee needed wasn’t a map or a schedule. She needed someone to help her get started. She found that person through Community Transit’s Travel Training program.
What Is Travel Training?
For many people, the biggest barrier to taking transit options like the bus and light rail is uncertainty. New routes, unfamiliar stations, physical challenges, or simply not knowing where to start can stop someone before they ever take a trip. Travel Training addresses those barriers directly through a free, one-on-one service with a trained specialist who meets you where you are — literally — and goes with you.
When you take Travel Training, a real person walks you one-on-one through stations, practices real trips, answers questions, and helps you build confidence until you are ready to ride solo. For people who are unsure how to even plan a trip, trainers also walk you through tools like Plan My Trip and Find My Bus, taking the guesswork out of getting started.
Sessions can be a single hour or stretch across multiple trips, as long as someone needs. The goal is simple: help people feel ready to ride transit with confidence.
The program is open to anyone who wants extra support before venturing out on their own.
Getting Started
Vee discovered Travel Training through a brochure at the Lynnwood Senior Center. In December 2024, she began working one-on-one with travel trainer Asch Qattawi.
“To find out that someone actually has the time to offer this kind of help — that meant a lot.”
Vee and Asch met in a Safeway parking lot. They started with a short trip. Next time, they went farther. Asch showed her stops she hadn’t known existed — routes that crossed the same street but led somewhere completely different.
“I was used to the transit I knew from years ago,” she says. “I didn’t realize there were different colors and different lines that could take you to completely different places from the same street. That opened things up for me.”
One session took them to Everett Station — somewhere Vee wouldn’t have thought to explore on her own. They walked around and took in the sights — the station’s grand hall, its large arches, the iconic clock. It was more than a transit lesson; it was an adventure.
“Did you know there’s beautiful art there? Culture in the middle of the train station!” Vee says. “I wouldn’t have found that on my own.”
Support That Builds Confidence and Connection
What Vee remembers most about the experience isn’t any particular route or stop. It’s Asch.
“Asch was so personable and empathetic — especially working with seniors,” she says. “Asch helped me slow myself down.”
The relationship extended past the sessions. Vee mentioned she was downsizing and had a collection of CDs she’d rather give to someone who’d enjoy them. Asch was that person. They bonded over music — rock and jazz — and they still keep in touch.
Their connection points to something real about what makes Travel Training more than just a helpful option for people. Feeling seen and heard, enjoying human connection, and having a helpful person at your side when trying something new can make all the difference.
Vee still has her car and she’s ready when she needs other ways to travel.
“I don’t like to drive at night anymore,” she says. “Knowing I have options as I age — that’s important.”.
For Vee, the most surprising thing about Travel Training was simply that it existed, that a transit agency had thought carefully enough about its riders to offer something so personal.
“It’s really a good thing,” she says. “And people need to know about it — so they have the option.”
To learn more or request a free Travel Training session, visit communitytransit.org/traveltraining.
Source: Community Transit
Author: Sponsor Article
One Response
SMART W0RK I was kind of worried about the entire thing. I’ve never worked from home, But Yeah, (Ds2) I did just join and all is good. so I will post back how it goes!_____ click on the name in my profile