Launching a Youth Transit Movement

A decade ago, Dan Hendry helped lead a simple but powerful model to transform public transit in the City of Kingston, Ontario. The Kingston Transit High School Bus Pass Program was born when Limestone District School Board partnered with Kingston Transit to offer high school students in the City free bus passes. But what made the program stand out was the training offered to the students – equipping them with the skills needed to make the best of their new passes.

As a school board employee, Hendry realized from the beginning that providing training would be critical to the program’s success: “Training is not that hard with the right people involved and it’s so important. Think of the last new thing you did without training, it probably caused anxiety,” says Hendry. “Would the program still work without training? Sure. But providing training to the students reduces barriers.”

The program has increased high school bus ridership in Kingston from 28,000 to close to 600,000 (pre-COVID), drawing international attention.  Over the years, Hendry became “The Bus Guy,” championing the program at speaking engagements, online and in one on one conversations. But while there was plenty of interest in expanding the program beyond Kingston, the job was too big for one individual. In 2021, Hendry came across Small Change Fund, a charitable crowdfunding site that helps people and communities by providing expert advice and an award-winning crowdfunding platform, as well as through their own community and communications projects. 

“We were immediately impressed by Dan’s knowledge and passion for this work, as well as the incredible results in Kingston,” says Burkhard Mausberg, President of Small Change Fund. “It was clear that expanding this program into other communities would have major benefits for both the environment and local youth.” 

Together, Hendry and Small Change Fund created Get on the Bus - a national movement to inspire a youth transit revolution in communities everywhere. The program officially launched in June 2023 with a webinar featuring speakers from across the country, including the voices that matter most – those of students benefiting from the program in Kingston. Hendry is still The Bus Guy, but now he has a team behind him to help revolutionize youth transit in Canada.