Get on the Bus: Empowering Youth with Free Transit

A leader in Ontario’s environmental/food sector, Burkhard Mausberg has worked for nonprofit groups for 35 years and was the founding CEO of the Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation and the Greenbelt Fund, as well as CEO of several environmental organizations including Environmental Defence and Great Lakes United. As President of Small Change Fund, Burkhard works closely with grassroots organizations, provides expert fundraising advice and creates innovative programs to propel change. Burkhard studied environmental science at the University of Waterloo and the University of Toronto, where he also taught for eight years.

Burkhard will share more about the Get on the Bus program, including next steps to get your community involved and how you can help start a youth transit revolution.

Viveca Ellis is the executive director of The Centre for Family Equity and devoted to ending mobility poverty in BC. Viveca founded the #AllOnBoard campaign in 2018 in her role at the BC Poverty Reduction Coalition. The campaign advocates for free transit for all starting with youth 0-18, a sliding scale pass and fare evasion forgiveness for adults, and an end to all fare evasion ticketing of youth. In 2021, the campaign secured the promising foundation of free transit for youth 0-12 in every transit system in BC through the provincially funded Get on Board program. Viveca now leads the Transit for Teens campaign at the Centre for Family Equity, advocating to ensure youth 13-18 are included in the Get on Board program and have access to universally accessible and free transit in every transit system in BC.

Viveca will speak to her efforts to reform public transit access in BC, as well as the critical link between free youth transit and equity.

As the driving force behind Get on the Bus movement, Dan is a passionate advocate for public transportation and youth empowerment. Dan has spent over a decade promoting public transportation options and engaging young people in their communities. Dan's work on the Kingston Transit High School Bus Pass program inspires and informs Get on the Bus and earned him the moniker “The Bus Guy”. Dan holds a Masters in Strategic Leadership towards Sustainability from Blekinge Institute of Technology (BTH), a Bachelor of Commerce from Royal Roads University and an International Business Diploma from Seneca College.

Dan will provide an overview of the importance of training youth to use passes and transit when implementing a youth transit program.

Re-elected to his third term as Councillor in 2020, he is known for his social media savvy and relentless constituency work. Waye has grown businesses, led member organizations and developed the arts and culture sector in Nova Scotia for over two decades. His career in the music industry spanned artist development to live event production, and he has become a well-known business and strategic consultant both inside and outside the cultural sector.

Waye will introduce the Student Transit Pass Pilot Program in Halifax and discuss the region’s inspiration for the program.

André-Yanne is the Executive Director for The Climate Reality Project Canada. She is passionate about environmental justice and dedicated to empowering people to lead change in their communities. André-Yanne holds a Masters in Anthropology from the Université de Montréal where she now teaches a course entitled "Climate Change & Justice", offered through the Certificate in International Cooperation at the Faculty of Continuing Education. She was elected to the board of Mission Inclusion and the Montreal Regional Environmental Council and was previously appointed to the Canadian Commission for UNESCO in Education and Montreal’s Women Council. André-Yanne is currently appointed to The Canadian Environment Domestic Advisory Group.

André-Yanne will highlight how investing in youth transit programs has positive climate impacts.

Sean is an experienced professional in the field of mechanical design, manufacturing and technological education. He graduated from Queen's Tech Education Program in 2009 and currently serves as the Experiential Learning Coordinator at the Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board where he facilitates practical learning experiences for students. Additionally, Sean holds the position of Technological Education Board Lead and recruits aspiring individuals for the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program. As the Specialist High Skills Major Board Lead and Co-operative Education Board Lead, Sean plays an instrumental role in promoting and implementing these programs, providing students with valuable opportunities to develop specialized skills and knowledge in their chosen fields.

Sean will present on the value his school board sees in investing in youth transit and why they are making the move to do so now.