For the second year in a row, the Oahu Metropolitan Planning Organization (OahuMPO) team, including Senior Community Planner Samantha Lara, Senior Transportation Planner Chelsea Dau, and Transportation Planner Lily Zheng, was invited to present at Aliamanu Elementary School on March 14, 2025. They delivered an interactive session to four fifth-grade classes, introducing students to the role of MPOs, the fundamentals of transportation planning, and the day-to-day responsibilities of transportation planners.
The presentation encouraged student engagement through discussions, activities, and prizes. At the beginning of the session, students were asked how they traveled to school that day. At the end, they were challenged to imagine their ideal mode of transportation. The results of this activity, shown below, provide valuable insight into students’ transportation preferences.
As with last year’s event, the data collected will contribute to the development of OahuMPO’s next long-range transportation plan. By engaging students in discussions about transportation, OahuMPO aims to inspire the next generation to think critically about mobility, sustainability, and urban planning.
| Mode | 2024 Data | 2025 Data | ||
| How do you get to school? | How would you like to get to school? | How do you get to school? | How would you like to get to school? | |
| Walk | 23 | 18 | 21 | 11 |
| Bike | 6 | 28 | 6 | 14 |
| Car | 48 | 19 | 41 | 17 |
| Bus | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2 |
| Rail | 0 | 6 | 0 | 16 |
| Other | 0 | 3 | 8 | 13 |
| Total | 77 | 78 | 77 | 73 |
If you would like the OahuMPO to speak at your next event, please contact us at (808) 587-2015 or oahumpo@oahumpo.org.