Additional Takeaways:

• Youth value the autonomy they have when using public transit and biking, and appreciate the ability to socialize on transit and to not be limited to whatever number will fit in a car. They also value looking at their surroundings and being able to space out. 

• Of our smaller sample of 19 students who participated in video conversations, 63% mentioned interest in biking, and 37% already regularly bike, though only 11% primarily get around by bike. Interestingly, 71% of the students who said they regularly bike use he/him pronouns.

• Among their reasons for not biking, students mentioned the lack of bike safety and infrastructure, fears of theft, and that Blue Bikes are inaccessible or expensive.

• Youth would like their T-pass to be accessible on their phone, which is often the only thing they consistently carry with them. Middle school students do not seem to have access to the subsidized or free T passes that high school students can access.

• Students want access to subsidized or free T passes during summer months, and don’t understand why the program ends at the end of June, when they often have even greater needs for transit.

• One younger student remarked on the fact that Black children are often stereotyped as loud when on the train, and gave the advice to “be careful of how you talk, how you speak, and how you act in public.”

• In large part, students wanted to clarify that dirty train stations should not prevent you from trying public transportation, and that taking the MBTA actually saves money rather than being expensive.

• Many of the youth mentioned being taught to ride public transit or bikes by their mothers (as well as by friends and other relatives)!