TRAVEL TRAINING
Empowering individuals through transportation education
Center for Mobility Equity's Travel Training program is a free grant-funded program that teaches targeted populations and communities the necessary skills to ride fixed-route public transportation through one-on-one and small group approaches, as well as a unique train-the-trainer approach. Since the program's inception in 2011, over 1,500 employees from human service, education, and government agencies have been trained to work with members of their communities and determine how different disabilities and situations affect a person's ability to travel. Thousands more have benefited from CME educational workshops, group learning trips, and one-on-one sessions focused on the needs of the individual rider.
The mission of CME's Travel Training program is to promote effective transportation solutions so that all people are able to move about with purpose and without harm, ensuring that everyone be allowed the dignity afforded by independent travel.
Travel Training sessions include topics such as:
Trip Planning: How to get service information, how to pay fares and purchase passes
Reading schedules and maps: How to find and read route maps, how to recognize bus numbers, how to get to bus and train stops, how to locate and transfer to other buses
Transit Safety: How to get on and off the bus safely, how to use lifts with a mobility device, how to position mobility devices in vehicles, how to ask the driver for help
CME Travel Training is available in three formats
One-on-One
Consists of one trainer training one trainee at a time, usually out on a public bus or train. This type of training often start with a specific route in mind, which sets a foundation to build skills upon. This type of training includes all of the sights, sounds, and experiences that independent, personal travel brings.
Small Group
Very similar to One-on-One training, only a travel trainer may work with two or more trainees at a time. Usually intended for people who just need a little practice at first, but who are very close to becoming independent riders. A trainee may start out with One-on-One Training, but graduate to Small Group Training before becoming a full independent rider.
"Train-the-Trainer"
A unique approach where CME Travel Trainers teach human service, education, and government agency employees the skills they need to be able to run their own Travel Training programs. This type of training exponentially spreads the reach of the Travel Training program, and allows even more people to reap the benefits of utilizing public transit in their communities.
Interested in Travel Training?
Travel Training is available to the general public, but focused on individuals with disabilities, senior citizens, veterans, transitioning youth, students, and low-income families.
If you are within our service area (Baltimore City, as well as Baltimore, Carroll, Harford, Howard, Anne Arundel, and Prince George's Counties) and believe Travel Training could have a positive impact on your life, then we'd love to meet you.
For more information on the program, contact Alex Pelzer, Travel Trainer, at (240) 346-4967, or via her email at [email protected].