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In this episode of That Transit Show, host Monica Spain sits down with Travel Trainer Asch Qattawi to pull back the curtain on Community Transit’s free, one-on-one Travel Training program. Discover how personalized coaching can turn a new commute into a confident journey.
On this episode:
- What is Travel Training?
- How one-on-one sessions work to meet the goals of the rider.
- Pro tips for planning trips, reading complex schedules, and mastering transfers.
- How the program supports youth, seniors, and people with disabilities.
Travel Training is flexible, supportive, and completely free. If you’ve ever felt hesitant about boarding a bus or train, this episode is your first step toward riding with confidence.
Resources & Links:
- Learn more about Travel Training: Communitytransit.org
Creators and Guests
What is That Transit Show?
That Transit Show is produced by Community Transit in Everett, WA. It highlights the people, services, and stories behind public transportation in Snohomish County, Washington.
Hey, everyone. Welcome to That Transit Show. I'm Monica Spain. Would you like to be more confident taking transit? Well, this show is for you.
Monica Spain:Today, we're talking about travel training, which is like community transit one zero one with Ash Katawi, one of our travel trainers. Welcome aboard. Hey, Ash. Welcome to That Transit Show. Hi, Monica.
Monica Spain:Thank you for having me. Yeah. It's a pleasure. Today, we're talking about something that we do here at Community Transit that I think a lot of people don't know about. It's called travel training.
Monica Spain:And I was wondering if we could just start by telling us what is travel training and why do you think people find it helpful?
Ashe Quattiwi:Well, like you said, people don't really know about the program. I've been doing this for a year and a half now, and even among community transit, people aren't too familiar with it. So what I do is I train people one on one to learn how to take public transit. Transit. And this involves anything from pulling up like a map on your phone to how to read the bus schedules to how to not miss your stop.
Ashe Quattiwi:And I train people of all ages, all abilities. Like, my youngest trainee so far has been 14. My oldest trainee has been 84. So, yeah, kind of like the scope. And of course, everyone's got their own things they struggle with, their own strengths.
Ashe Quattiwi:And what's really great about travel training as opposed to like a group class, I get to focus on what they need. So if they need that extra help paying attention to their bus stops, if they need, you know, confidence approaching the bus driver. I run into a lot, especially younger folks who are like, I don't wanna talk to a stranger. I'm like, trust me, the bus driver is your friend.
Monica Spain:Yeah. Yeah.
Ashe Quattiwi:Yeah. And it's it's really rewarding and the best thing about it is that I'm with them like from from beginning to end. So walking to the bus stop, getting on the bus, riding around, and then coming back home so that they're not alone and they have me to lean on for those questions and for that support. For people who've never been on the bus before, that can be kinda scary. Right?
Ashe Quattiwi:They've seen it in movies like, oh, what if I fall asleep and I end up like three towns over? Or even just all the stories they hear about stuff that happens on buses, but then they get on the bus and they go, everyone's actually pretty chill.
Monica Spain:Mhmm.
Ashe Quattiwi:You know, just wanna get where you're going. There's no, there's really no scary part about it unless you make yourself anxious about it. So, yeah, it's been a really rewarding program, and I'm just excited to see more people use it.
Monica Spain:Well, I wanna get into the details about the program, but first I'm thinking this is a really unique job, and I'm just wondering Mhmm. How what drew you to this job? How did how did you find it, and why was it interesting to you?
Ashe Quattiwi:Well, it caught my attention because, one, I like public transit. When I was taking when I was up at Western at Bellingham, I just took the buses and I biked, and I loved it. There's just have a car
Monica Spain:when you were in college or
Ashe Quattiwi:Oh, I did. I just didn't wanna drive it. Oh, okay. I was so close to the college, I was like, I'm not paying $300 to park here. I'm gonna use my legs.
Ashe Quattiwi:Uh-huh. So yeah, I started using public transit like more seriously up in Bellingham, actually. And then when I moved down here, I was looking around for jobs and this one popped up and given my tutoring experience as well, it sounded really fun. And the job itself was more directed towards like assisting people with disabilities, and that's still really primary part of what I do. So that was another aspect that I really liked, you know, like helping a disenfranchised community.
Ashe Quattiwi:Mhmm. Mhmm. That's what really drew me to it.
Monica Spain:Yeah. But it really is for anyone, isn't it?
Ashe Quattiwi:It is. Yeah. Yeah. It's when travel training started, gosh, like fifteen plus years ago, it was very much so catered to the disability community. I But of course, it's expanded since then, and because it turns out everybody could use some bus training.
Monica Spain:Yeah. Yeah. Totally. Don't wanna leave anybody out who needs that extra help. Okay.
Monica Spain:So tell me how it works kind of from start to finish when people call us about travel training or email us. What's the process? What should they expect?
Ashe Quattiwi:Step one is an intake appointment. And all of these sound so much more like formal than they really are. But what an intake appointment is, is I show up at their house or sometimes workplace. Sometimes people work their home is their work because they are there all day. But I'll show up and we just do really simple paperwork, and I also just talk and get to know them, like, where do they wanna go?
Ashe Quattiwi:You know, have they been on the bus before? If not, what are the things they think they're gonna struggle with the most? So it's kind of like, an unofficial plan scope out to see what they need, where they wanna go, also get to know them a bit.
Monica Spain:Yeah. A meet and greet, it sounds Yeah. A
Ashe Quattiwi:meet and greet, think is better term than intake Yeah. Appointment. And also it helps them. Right? Because you hear travel training, travel instruction.
Ashe Quattiwi:You think maybe I'm gonna show up in like like stiff collar up to my neck and like with a business bag. It's no. It's not that at all. And yeah, establishing that comfort really helps them just get into the program easier. Also, I get to check out the neighborhood, see what the buses are like, walkability, that kind of thing.
Ashe Quattiwi:Mhmm. Take all that into account, the sidewalks, the crosswalks, if there are crosswalks. Mhmm. That's a kind of a big problem the further out you go from cities.
Monica Spain:Yeah. Mhmm. Yeah.
Ashe Quattiwi:Yeah. So step one, and then step two is just scheduling our appointment. And I if people don't have their ORCA card, I'd love to make that our first appointment. Mhmm. Go down to Linwood Transit Center if we're near it, or Everett if we're near that one.
Ashe Quattiwi:Because then also I get to show them the transit hubs. Mhmm. And people are amazed at just how many buses, community transit alone, that are servicing the area.
Monica Spain:So do they usually have an idea in mind, like, need to know how to get to my doctor's appointment
Ashe Quattiwi:Mhmm.
Monica Spain:In the next city over or whatever it is? Yeah. Or sometimes is it just more open ended than that?
Ashe Quattiwi:It's both. I would say most people wanna learn how to get somewhere specific. Mhmm. Doctor's appointments are big ones, especially, for older folks who just can't drive anymore. Grocery stores, friends' houses.
Ashe Quattiwi:Mhmm. Just like getting people out into the community. And for the people who don't have any idea where they wanna go, you know, that's I just get to know them. Like, hear what they like, what they like to do. And then I start throwing out suggestions.
Ashe Quattiwi:Or we'll just take the bus around the neighborhood and then they can see places and be like, oh, I didn't know I could bus there. Like, oh, I can bus over here.
Monica Spain:So they're learning about those destinations that are available to them taking transit.
Ashe Quattiwi:Yeah. Wow. It's really eye opening for everybody who does travel training, especially for maybe the younger folks who are just at home all the time. Mhmm. They have no idea what it's like to go out without their parents.
Monica Spain:If you're working with kids, do you have to work with their parents too? How does that work?
Ashe Quattiwi:The 14 year old I had, their mom was totally cool with them training with me. And of course, that's part of what the paperwork is too. Right? Like their guardian Mhmm. For under 18, of course.
Ashe Quattiwi:The parents got assigned as well. But, family actually can join if they want, not for the whole training. Right? Because you wanna you want your kid to feel independent. But I had one trainee.
Ashe Quattiwi:He was 19, wanted to go to Edmunds College for the first time, he and was just having his mom drive him. He she was also a busy working mom. She's just like, okay. You gotta learn to take the bus. And the first trip, his mom joined because she'd never been on a bus.
Ashe Quattiwi:So it's kind of like a learning experience for her too, but then second trip it was just me and him because you can tell they wanna rely on the parents. I go, they'll get me where I need to go, and it's like, nope. This is up to you now. But he he did great. He did really great.
Ashe Quattiwi:And I actually saw his mom at a resource fair, and she came up to me and just like thanked me, like Oh, really? Yeah. She didn't she kinda doubted he could do it. Yeah. But then when she saw the skills he had, it really just like gave both of them more confidence.
Ashe Quattiwi:Yeah. Yeah.
Monica Spain:And confidence is a big part of it. Right? When you're doing something new, you wanna you're maybe not you don't have that confidence and you need to build And I'm gathering that that's something that you have to work on with people.
Ashe Quattiwi:Yes. Because nobody likes to mess up in the first place. Right? Mhmm. Nobody wants to make mistakes when they're out on public transit.
Ashe Quattiwi:Mhmm. Because then, you know, you might get lost. And me being there really does build that confidence because it's like, you do have these skills and I'm here to help you learn them and keep you safe.
Monica Spain:Mhmm. And so does that happen in one trip or do you do multiple trips with people?
Ashe Quattiwi:Most I'd say most trainees do maybe five to six sessions.
Monica Spain:Okay.
Ashe Quattiwi:You have some who will do like one or two and they're like, okay, yeah, I got this. Mhmm. But then you have others who just need a little bit more help or they are just really excited and more like, oh, I wanna go here. Oh, I wanna go here. I wanna go here.
Ashe Quattiwi:Right? But I do try to do repeat trips because that repetition is what really helps. Start to recognize the landmarks, start to just know your bus number when it's arriving without even having to pull out your phone. Yeah. So it's it's very catered Mhmm.
Ashe Quattiwi:To the person.
Monica Spain:So you mentioned some destinations in Snohomish County, and I'm wondering, do you also help people who wanna figure out how to get to Seattle Tacoma International Airport or Seattle?
Ashe Quattiwi:Yes. A lot of people wanna learn how to ride the light rail. Mhmm. Especially to Sea Tac. I say mostly the older folks wanna ride to Sea Tac.
Ashe Quattiwi:And they a lot of them haven't been on the light rail before. Mhmm. So that's really exciting. Yeah. And I wanna say so the furthest north I've trained somebody is Stanwood.
Ashe Quattiwi:Uh-huh. Furthest south was Shoreline. But I've taken people from like Marysville onto the light rail. I've taken people from
Monica Spain:And you ride all the way to Sea Tac with them?
Ashe Quattiwi:Oh, yeah.
Monica Spain:Okay.
Ashe Quattiwi:Yeah. Nice. They're in back. Although one time we did stop in Westlake, which Westlake Station, I gotta say I still get confused. Not not my strongest training session when we get to Westlake.
Ashe Quattiwi:But once we're out of Westlake, it's fine.
Monica Spain:But but actually, I think that's like there's some realism there. Right? For the person you're working with, like, okay, let's let's figure this out, Yeah. You
Ashe Quattiwi:And one time we found out that one of the maps was wrong. It was pointing towards an exit that was not there. Mhmm. And so we tracked down staff to let them know about the map. So like, hey, you know, we did a good deal.
Ashe Quattiwi:Yeah.
Monica Spain:Okay. So going back to the process a little bit, we talked about the kind of the meet and greet, which you called the the intake meeting. And we talked a little bit about being out in the community riding together. Yeah. How do you go about helping people plan a trip?
Monica Spain:Because I think that's like kind of one of the barriers. It's like, how do I figure this out? Like, I wanna go here but I'm not sure what I need to do and then maybe that's a barrier for some people.
Ashe Quattiwi:Yeah. Some people don't have computers at home. That's just like, I guess, not a thing anymore, but at least they've gotten their phones. So with Community Transit's website, I showed them the like four menus at the top, finding your bus, finding your route, trip planning, and just like finding bus stops near you. And then trip planning, of course, is like the big one.
Ashe Quattiwi:Right? And I really like to use that one because it tells you if you if you put in your when you want to arrive by, it just tells you when to leave the house. Mhmm. And sometimes that sort of like decision making can be hard for some people. Mhmm.
Ashe Quattiwi:So when trip planning is like, yeah, leave your house at like 10:30, get your bus up at 10:40, be on your bus at 10:50, it's just like, it gets all the timing for them. And of course, you know, I try to teach them that skill outside of just depending on that, but getting started is really, really good for that. And it's Some people, the longer the trip is, they kinda get confused by transfers. Mhmm. So transfers are a really big thing I work on with everybody because that transfer is really important.
Ashe Quattiwi:Right? If you don't time it right, if you get on the wrong bus. So that's the top skill I make sure people have before I graduate them. Grad
Monica Spain:Talk a little bit more about what, like, what that might look like. Give me an example. So,
Ashe Quattiwi:there's a point where I start to it's kind of like like I'm the guide. Right? But then as they start to get more skills, there will be a day where I'm like I try to surprise them with it. They're like, hey, actually, you lead me today. It's like we've done this like, we've done this route before.
Ashe Quattiwi:You lead me. And once they do that successfully, I start to sit, like, further apart on the bus so that I'm kind of just in the background. Like, I'm there if they need me, but I'm not providing the cues. And once people can do that part, usually they're ready to go. There are some it kind of depends on where the bus routes are.
Ashe Quattiwi:I like to actually let the bus driver know, hey, I'm in my car and I'm gonna be following to see how my trainee is doing. But sometimes bus stops aren't like near where my car is parked and I can't really make that work. Like I tried it once. I ran to my car, got in my car, and the bus was just like five minutes ahead of me. So I really have to time that one nicely.
Ashe Quattiwi:I prefer to just sit at the back of the bus and observe because that way I am there. But once people can do all of those skills without me, then they're ready. Right? They don't need me anymore if they can trip plan, know where to catch their bus, know how to signal the bus driver to stop, knowing what to do when they get lost. That's always something I incorporate because I get lost.
Ashe Quattiwi:Right? We all get lost. It's okay. It happens. I always make sure people have that skill as well.
Ashe Quattiwi:Mhmm. But then once they can show all of that, then they're ready to graduate. What's graduation look like? Oh gosh. It's I just fill out some paperwork.
Ashe Quattiwi:They might get like something in the mail that's like, thank you for doing travel training. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Monica Spain:You've talked a little bit about all the different kinds of people you've worked with. Interesting thing about working in the public is you do work with people who have different abilities, certainly, come from different backgrounds. May maybe they don't even speak English as their first language. Mhmm. How do you work to get to know that person and tailor this for them, and just sort of, I guess, be flexible?
Monica Spain:You have to be flexible, I would imagine, in dealing with different personalities.
Ashe Quattiwi:Well, something really nice about riding the bus is there's a lot of time to sit and talk. So definitely And I get some chatters. Oh my gosh. To the point where I'm like, gotta watch for your bus stop. But that's where I really like learn people, especially in like that first session where we're just next to each other on the bus and they just start talking and talking.
Ashe Quattiwi:And that's where I start to figure out like where they wanna go. But yeah, there are just like there's hours for me to be able to talk and figure out my different trainees. Yeah.
Monica Spain:So you get to you get to know people and they get to know you a little Somebody who's listening might be kinda on the fence about whether travel training is for them or not.
Ashe Quattiwi:Mhmm.
Monica Spain:What what advice would you give them?
Ashe Quattiwi:I'd say just give it a shot, you know? It's free. It's not like you have to sign up for any amount of time. Just give it a go and if it felt good, keep doing it. Or if you're like, no, think I can figure this out on my own.
Ashe Quattiwi:That's at least you learned, you can figure it out on your own. So either way, you Have
Monica Spain:you worked with anyone who is just new to the area or maybe even new to new to The United States or Washington State?
Ashe Quattiwi:Yeah.
Monica Spain:What has that been like?
Ashe Quattiwi:That one's fun because I get to show them a lot of bus routes. Mhmm. Especially if it's like in Linwood. I had somebody in Linwood who was she had lived on, I think Camano for most of her life. So when she moved to Lynnwood, she was just like, I don't know where I'm going.
Ashe Quattiwi:I know there's a transit center and I can walk to it. So I just like showed her the different routes that she was on. I definitely took her on the light rail and she loved that. Mhmm. And I've actually got a new person I'm meeting this week who's new to the area.
Ashe Quattiwi:And I mean like new new, didn't know if Linwood was South Of Everett or North Of Everett. So we're gonna have a lot of fun figuring out those buses. Mhmm. Yeah. I'm looking forward to that one.
Monica Spain:So we've heard about travel training now. If somebody is interested, how do they go about signing up?
Ashe Quattiwi:Well, I know that there is a sign up sheet on the website. Okay. And you can choose to do your email or phone. I suggest both, especially because most people don't answer their phones because we all think it's spam. Right?
Monica Spain:Uh-huh.
Ashe Quattiwi:So I put both forms of communication just to be safe. And I'd reach out pretty soon, like within one to two days. Mhmm. And I can even get people on my schedule like same month, maybe even depending, maybe even the same week. I wouldn't say that I'm like super booked up so I can still get people in before spring.
Ashe Quattiwi:Although I'm finding nobody wants to travel train in the winter. But hey, you know what? The buses are heated and I say don't let that be a barrier, like rain or shine. We gotta get out there and get stuff done. Right?
Ashe Quattiwi:Yeah. So just go on to the website, fill out a really, really simple form, and you'll hear from me.
Monica Spain:Okay. So for people who are interested in travel training, they should go to ctgo.org/traveltraining.
Ashe Quattiwi:Correct. Yeah. And it just takes a few minutes to fill out, and then they'll hear from me very shortly.
Monica Spain:Wonderful. Well, Ash Kataway, thanks for being on that transit show. Thanks. Great having you here.