Metro News Release

For immediate release: August 29, 2006

Metro Offers Back-To-School and Pedestrian Safety Tips As Children Return to School

As the school year gets underway, parents should take the time to review some important safety tips with their children before they hop on a Metrobus or take Metrorail on their way to-and-from school.

While accidents are few and far between on buses and in Metrorail stations, there are several things that can be done to help ensure a child’s safety. Travel safety tips include the following suggestions:

• Children should ride public transportation with a companion whenever possible.

• Children waiting for trains should wait near other customers, and away from the platform edge.

• If a youngster becomes separated from a companion on Metrorail, the child should notify the station manager at the station where the separation occurred. The companion should do the same at the next Metrorail station. Parents should talk with their children about the importance of remaining calm and not panicking, if separated.

• Parents or guardians should travel the route with the child and his or her companion a few times to make sure he or she is familiar with traveling without an adult along the route. This is especially true of younger children, off to school for the first time, or older elementary and middle school-aged children taking a new route to a new school.

• When children must travel alone, they should sit as close as possible to the bus operator or in the first rail car where the railcar operator’s cab is located.

∙ Children should not place anything of value, such as money, or electronic games in an outer backpack pocket because valuables so placed are easy targets for pickpockets. If those items must go into backpacks, they should be placed at the bottom of an inner backpack compartment.

∙ Parents should remind children to watch their step and take extra care when boarding and exiting buses and trains or when stepping on and off escalators, especially when it is rainy, snowy or icy.

∙ Children should never run, sit or play on escalators; they should always hold the escalator handrail.

∙ It is also important that children be informed of the importance of keeping loose clothing away from the sides of escalators and keeping shoelaces tied and shoe buckles fastened at all times.

∙ Pedestrian safety is critical, especially walking to and from Metrobus stops and Metrorail stations.

∙ Children are reminded to walk carefully to their bus stop or rail station and if possible, to walk with a parent or guardian to their initial destination. 82 percent of all Metrobus passengers walk to a bus stop and 60 percent of all Metrorail trips begin with a walk to a station.

∙ In case of an emergency, parents should tell their children to look for a uniformed Metro employee. Look for the kiosk or booth where the station manager sits. If he or she is not there, wait at the kiosk.

∙ For emergencies, children should use the intercom at the end of each rail car or the emergency phones located on all station platforms to contact the police, or tell the Metrobus operator, who will then contact the proper authorities.

Many communities in the region have a “Safe Routes to Schools” program that provides education for children and corrects unsafe sidewalk and street crossing conditions. For more information, see the National Center for Safe Routes to school at http://www.saferoutesinfo.org. Local programs include those in the following areas:

∙ Arlington County: http://www.walkarlington.com/walkable/saferoutes.html

∙ Montgomery County: http://montgomerycountymd.gov.

∙ District of Columbia: http://www.waba.org

For more information on riding Metrorail or Metrobus, please call Metro’s customer information center at (202) 637-7000 or TTY (202) 638-3780. For more safety tips, passengers with Internet access can visit Metro’s web site at www.metroopensdoors.com.

News release issued on August 29, 2006.