Local government

Public Transit Authorities

The agencies that run buses and trains, and who depends on them. Students act out the same trip twice — once with an agency, once without.

Grades 3–5~35 minNonpartisan

Word document — open it in Word, Pages, or Google Docs and adapt it for your class.

01 Warm-up 5 min

Warm-up:

  • Question: Have any of you rode a bus or train before? (If people raise their hand, ask them to tell you a quick story about when they did).
02 Lecture 10 min

Lecture:

    • What are Public Transit Authorities?
      • A government or public organization that plans, manages, and operates transportation systems! Their goal is to help people travel safely and smoothly.
    • What is it responsible for?
      • Running buses, trains, subways, and light rail systems.
      • Creating routes and schedules so people know where, when, and how they can go to their destinations.
      • Not only that, money managing and budgeting is another thing they organizations do! Of course these are just a few examples of what they do.
    • Why are Public Transit Authorities important?
      • They provide easy and accessible transportation ways for people who don't own cars.
      • They keep the transit systems safe for all to use.
      • They even support the economy because people could get jobs to work there!
    • IMPORTANT
      • Public Transit Authorities are NOT individuals, rather it is a wide range of organizations around the country.
03 Games 2 activities

2 interactive games:

  • Have the kids draw out their own Public Transit Authority logo (before, give them examples). Then on the side have them write 3 bullets in what their agency or organization would do
  • Next activity would have them act things out. It would split into groups and first they would act out a scenario if there weren't any PTAs and then they would act it out the same scenario with the PTAs.
    • Ex: Senario is figuring out what subway to take. Without PTA, you would act lost and confused. With PTA, you would pretend to look at the maps or info desk and find your way.
04 Wrap-up 5 min

Wrap-up:

    • What is one thing you learned about Public Transit Authorities and what is something you now appreciate about them?
  • (Lecture Poster Reference Below on Page 2)