Oli: the yellow bus from Olivais gave children a polished book

Bringing children closer to public transport is the main aim of a new children's book produced by mobility consultancy TRENMO and Carris. With drawings and a story conceived by the young illustrator Margarida Sampaio, the book tells the story of Oli, o bus yellow Olivais, which takes the little ones to school every day in a fun way.

The Oli is actually one of the buses that runs on the 29B, the Carreira de Bairro dos OlivaisThe 29B bus is operated by Carris and offers a local service in this parish. Every morning, route 29B takes several kindergarten and primary school children to Olivais schools, with adult monitors accompanying them, as part of the project Yellow. This school mobility project is active in seven parishes through the respective Neighborhood Career.

The presentation of A Trip With Oli: the Olivais Bus took place this Tuesday, March 5th, at the Carris Museum. In a brief introduction, Pedro Bogas, President of Carris, revealed that the public transport "it's a project for the future" and that "For this project, we have to win over the children. We have to bring them onto public transport and make sure they have a good travel experience". For Bogas, there is nothing better than a book to "communicating with children". "It is thanks to books that we acquire wisdom. Books help us grow freely and happily. And this book we have here today fully fulfills that function."

The Carreiras de Bairro network and its optimization for the project Yellow was a work commissioned by Carris from TRENMOa consultancy specializing in mobility and territorial planning. For Álvaro Costa, who has a PhD in Transport Economics, is a former STCP administrator and founder of TRENMO, the communication between transport companies and their passengers - both current and potential - is fundamental. If providing real-time information on the location of buses, for example, is essential for more adult audiences, the creation of books and fictional stories like Oli's should not be overlooked, especially if we're talking about children.

Making this book "it's an idea that's been in my head for more than ten years, maybe"he explained during the presentation. "By chance, I met Margarida and thought that her illustration style would allow me to materialize my dream. And that's how this came about." In the eyes of any adult reading this article, the story of A Trip With Oli: the Olivais Bus is basic: a bus that travels around the parish of Olivais, picking up children at various stops and ending the journey at school. Along the way, it connects with city life, with the Metro and also with walking and cycling. The journey is painted as fun, despite the difficulties along the way, such as rain and heavy traffic. But these adversities are always overcome and there's a rainbow to show that rainy days aren't so bad.

The illustrations and story are by Margarida SampaioTRENMO was involved in the creative process with the most technical details to ensure that the book, although fictional, connected with the reality of Olivais and the 29B route. That's why the market, the church or the council are materialized, also showing that a Neighbourhood Route like the 29B is a local route, one that connects the most important and essential points of a parish - not just the schools. "What I do for a living is design public transport networks."Álvaro explained. "TRENMO doesn't make books for children, so our work here was all technical. This book shows the route of the Olivais bus and everything is in its place. If you open the book, you'll recognize the place you live in, the school you go to and the bus you use. I just told Margarida what I wanted, the elements that should be there and that I thought were the right ones to communicate."

The presentation of A Trip With Oli: the Olivais Bus It culminated with the author reading the story to a group of children from five schools in Olivais. Margarida Sampaio asked the class who rode the bus, and most of them raised their hands. The session ended with the Deputy Mayor of Lisbon, Filipe Anacoreta Correia, who spoke about dreams and how the Yellow resulted from a "dream" of the Municipality. "For dreams to happen, we need each other's help"he said, highlighting the "spectacular role" Carris and TRENMO. "Parents often tell us that they need to drive because they have to take our children to school. And we think: if we get a bus, the parents won't need a car any more. And that's good for the parents. It's good for you. It's good for the city. This is a dream: a city with less pollution."

The book A Trip With Oli: the Olivais Buspublished by Afrontamento Editions, can be found in the Carris Museum store. But you can also download a free drawing to print out and color in at home, as well as a map of the parish of Olivais that outlines Oli's route. Both materials are available on the TRENMO website.