Transit Driver Appreciation Day

Transit Driver Appreciation Day is an annual event to celebrate the public service of public transit vehicle operators. The date of March 18 was selected to commemorate the first bus line, Blaise Pascal's Carrosses à cinq sols in Paris, 1662.

Observing Agencies

 * Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
 * Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon
 * King County Metro
 * City of Winnipeg Transit System
 * Brampton Transit
 * Sun Tran of Tucson, Arizona
 * Corpus Christi Regional Transportation Authority
 * Hill Country Transit District
 * Community Transit
 * Topeka Metropolitan Transit Authority

History
In 2009, Hans Gerwitz and Shannon E. Thomas published a blog post calling for a Bus Driver Appreciation Day. That year it was publicized by local transit-oriented blogs in Seattle, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.

For the 2013 observance, Portland's TriMet established busdriverday.org.

By 2014, TriMet included rail operators by changing the name of Bus Driver Appreciation Day to Transit Driver Appreciation Day. Their site migrated to transitdriverday.org and the Amalgamated Transit Union began publicly observing the day with the new name. This fostered extensive recognition throughout North America.