2017 NEBRASKA PUBLIC TRANSIT WEEK EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES

• Veteran's Appreciation.
• Passenger Appreciation.
• Driver/Staff Appreciation – Open House: 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. with giveaways and snacks. Staff will take turns coming to greet visitors and enjoy the treats.

• Passenger Appreciation – Hand out gifts with personal thank you in each gift.
• Driver/Staff Appreciation – Pizza party or other dinner supplied to the employees.
• Dump the Pump – Free bus rides. Puzzle handed out to all riders this week. Winner will receive a free bus ticket.
• Let’s Make a Deal – Like the TV game show we'll have envelopes and prizes under boxes, etc.

• Veterans Appreciation – Veterans ride free.
• Passenger Appreciation – Free ride to the Center for lunch and back home. Bring one grocery bag of recyclables to the recycling facility then get a free ride day. Half off rides, free gift, and drawing for a $20 bus pass.
• Driver/Staff Appreciation – Drivers get a polo shirt.

• Daily giveaways and registration for drawings to give away bus passes.

• Passenger Appreciation Day – Open to the public. Free ride to and free chicken dinner and cake at Senca 174 South 4th Street, Tecumseh, NE. You must contact Senca 24 hrs in advance if you wish to have dinner and you must sign in otherwise you have to pay.
• Buddy Days – Two ride for one fare trip to Nebraska City. Buy one ticket, get one free (limit 4 total - 4 tickets for $20).
• Other – $1 round trip day within city limits. One free round trip within city limits for donation of non perishable item to the Food Pantry. Will collect items on bus.

• Monday – Passenger Appreciation: All the passengers that ride will get bags of free stuff when they spot a balloon.
• Tuesday – Buddy Day: Bring a new rider along and receive a surprise.
• Wednesday – Ice Cream Wednesday: Take a ride with us, spot an oxen on a building, and receive a free ice cream cone.
• Thursday – Open House: Come on in and let's talk transportation 1-3 p.m. Punch and cookies will be served.
• Friday – Driver/Staff Appreciation: Staff to receive a free dinner.
• Additionally, all week whoever rides may enter their name in for a drawing for a $10 ticket giveaway.

• Passenger Appreciation – We thank our passengers for their patronage. Goodies provided will include stress buses and bus shaped cookies. Several businesses that support our local public transit will also have a goodie bag with the same items delivered to thank them.
• Driver/Staff Appreciation – Dial-A-Ride drivers Jack, Kathy, and Gordy bring us more than a ride each day with their smiles and amazing care along the road to our destinations. On Friday, we thank our public transit drivers for their dedication and exceptional service to riders.
• Backpack Day – All backpacks for pre-school to second grade children will be stuffed with a Transit Maze Activity page. All completed mazes that are returned within one week will be entered in a drawing for a youth T-shirt. Drawing will be completed the following Tuesday.
• Wednesday – Water Wednesday: The cost of a one-way ride is as simple as a bottle of water so Dial-A-Ride drivers will be providing a bottle of water to each rider on Wednesday.
• Thursday – Thrifty Transit with Thriftway Market: Go green with Dial-A-Ride Public Transit and Thriftway Market! Spare the fuel expense and plastic bag for a ride with Dial-A-Ride and a cloth grocery bag from Thriftway Market. The first 300 customers at Thriftway Market will receive a cloth grocery bag compliments of Nebraska Public Transit Week!
• March 1-2 – Booth at the 2nd Annual Antelope County Ag & Home Expo advertised 2017 Public Transit Week and had visitors play "Plinko." Participants answered a transit question and won a sweet treat prize.

• Passenger Appreciation: All passengers will receive free items with Nebraska Public Transit Week or our program information on them. Current passengers will be encouraged to share a free round trip ride coupon with friends, family, and neighbors who have never ridden with our program before.
• Other: Free round trip coupons for new passengers.

• Stuff the Bus.
• Passenger Appreciation: Drawings upon boarding for a chance to win a half price trip or a free trip. We will have "swag bags" filled with sanitizer, kleenex, stress balls, and other items. Door prizes include umbrellas and lunch bags.
• Driver/Staff Appreciation: During driver appreciation we will have a chicken dinner and give shirts to the drivers.

• April 10-14 – Stuff the Bus: Donate grocery, furniture, and household items to be split between the Volunteers of America and local churches.

• Stuff the Bus: All week long stuff the bus with food and supplies for animals to be donated to local animal organizations.
• Passenger Appreciation: All week long we will have buttons that say “We Love Public Transit” – if the passengers wear that button each time they board, they get 50 cents off the cost of the ride.
• Driver/Staff Appreciation Lunch: Giving away hot dogs and nachos for all drivers, families, and friends.
• Facebook drawings all week long for giveaways and T-shirts.

• Friday – Employee Appreciation Day: Please show your appreciation by saying thank you to the drivers, dispatchers and other transit employees who are dedicated to serving our communities!
• Travel Training – "How Do We Get From Here to There in the Nebraska Panhandle and Beyond?": Have you ever wondered what intercity public transportation is? What transportation services are available? How do I use these different services? Please join us for Travel Training from 10 a.m. – Noon at the Panhandle Trails Bus Depot, 816 Flack Avenue, Alliance, NE.
• Wednesday and Thursday – Buddy Days: Bring a friend or caregiver and they receive 50% off their boarding fare. Reservations on a first come, first served basis.
• April 9-15 Environment – “Dump the Pump”: Collaborating with Keep Alliance Beautiful to encourage everyone to reduce their carbon footprint by walking, biking, and using public transportation. Wednesday – Panhandle Transportation Coalition Meeting at 10:30 a.m. at The Harms Center, Scottsbluff, NE. This meeting is for those who want to be active, working participants only.
• Wednesday – Empowerment through Mobility: Those with disabilities ride free, caregivers or friends get a 50% discount. Routes #101-104: Alliance/Angora/Bayard/Minatare/Scottsbluff/Gering/Alliance. Travelers with disabilities or special needs are encouraged to try out intercity public transportation on any of our regularly scheduled routes free!
• Thursday – Empowerment through Mobility: Those with Disabilities ride free, caregivers or friends get a 50% discount. Routes #201-203: Alliance/Hemingford/Crawford/Chadron/Sidney/Ogallala. Travelers with disabilities or special needs are encouraged to try out intercity public transportation on any of our regularly scheduled routes free!
• Panhandle Transportation Assessment Survey: April 1-30 submit completed surveys for a chance to win one of four Visa gift cards. Survey Purpose: To gather meaningful community and regional input on intercity transportation needs. Please provide accurate information as it pertains to your personal transportation needs or that of someone whom you represent. Please complete separate surveys for each individual, including their contact information. All participants who complete the survey in its entirety by April 30, 2017, will have a chance to win one of four $25 VISA gift cards.

• Free rides to the senior center for lunch. Free rides for first-time riders and all veterans. All riders have a chance to win a free bus ticket. These events will go on throughout the week.

• Passenger Appreciation: During the week, all passengers using the Plainview Handivan within the city limits of Plainview will get free service.
• Driver/Staff Appreciation.
• Newspaper Publicity.

• Passenger Appreciation: All riders for the day will be put in for a drawing for a $5 pass. All non-winners will be put in a drawing for a $20 pass. Driver will be recognized. Person who referred the most first-time riders will win a prize.
• Driver/Staff Appreciation.
• Bring or Refer a New Friend Day!

Wednesday-Thursday

• Passenger Appreciation: Providing free transit with the donation of a non-perishable food item for your local food pantry.
• Stuff the Bus: Holding food drives in each Saline county community at various locations. Proceeds given to local food pantries.

• Passenger Appreciation: We will be showing our appreciation for our riders! All passengers that ride with us will ride for free that day. Transportation will be within Wahoo city limits only. All riders to receive a gift bag.
• Driver/Staff Appreciation: Lunch will be provided for our staff and we will be handing out certificates and awards. They will also receive a small gift.
• Buddy Days: Our riders can bring a friend to ride for free to Fremont on April 11, and/or to Omaha on April 13.
• Public Transportation Awareness Day: We will be going to various towns in the county to hand out our calendar and flyer explaining our services.

• Passenger Appreciation.
• Driver/Staff Appreciation.
• Daily drawings for prizes and a free ride day.

• The week prior we will be meeting with the county commissioners and mayor for proclamation signings and informational presentations regarding Seward County Public Transit. We kick off our Public Transit Week events on April 5 at the Seward County Health Fair where over 1,000 people take part and visit local information booths.
• Each day during Public Transit Week we will be giving appreciation giveaways to our riders and recognizing individuals who bring a friend with them for a trip on the transit vehicle. Giveaways include umbrellas, lunch boxes, travel mugs, pens, and notepads. On Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday Seward County Public Transit will be hosting lunch presentations at the three local senior centers in Seward county and will be distributing information and giveaways. Throughout the week, riders will be participating in "Spot the Balloon" contests and entered into drawings for different prizes. This year we will be offering a presentation and brownie sundaes at Linden Village (HUD housing facility).
• Also, new this year, we are working with a Concordia student intern to create a focus group of Concordia students to determine their transportation needs and offer two outreach events, information, and lanyards with Seward County Public Transit logo and phone number.

• Passenger Appreciation – Passengers riding during the week will have their name entered into a drawing for free rides. Placing transit signs around town. Placing proclamation in our newspaper.
• Driver/Staff Appreciation: Rolls and coffee for staff.