A new bus bay at our Public Transportation Center has just been built and we’d like to have a grand opening event to showcase the many attributes before the first bus drives through. Although our Transit Center and original bay was built only 5 years ago (although built to look like a historic landmark to match other Down Town buildings), our service has grown with leaps and bounds- so this new transit bay is a much needed addition for all of the fixed route buses, trolley’s, shuttles, Greyhound buses, etc. that come through our Transit Center on a daily/hourly basis. In addition to the space, we have taken this opportunity to add real-time bus stops in this new bay that show where each bus is on each route- and when that bus will reach the Transit Center (based on new GPS technology installed on each bus). We’ve also installed another jumbo-tron showing each route and the estimated time each bus will arrive (like at the airport) inside the transit center building- all of which are powered by solar panels.
We live in a small community- and our Public Transportation (although recently given a facelift) still holds a negative stigma (only low-income people ride the bus). We feel like this grand opening event, like any thing else we do, has the opportunity to shed a positive light on public transit and what it offers to our community. Any thoughts on a grand opening idea?

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Jay’s Answer: How about a series of party buses rolling through? For example, a jazz band arrives on the first bus, then play, then leave. 30 minutes later, a magician arrives, etc. The message: “The easy way to find fun on the bus”.