Matt Chaffin knows the streets of Cincinnati better most Cincinnatians. After six years of working with Cincinnati's official bus system, Metro, he's basically a human GPS!
Matt became involved with Metro six years ago when he took part in Project Search, a program that helps high school graduates transition to jobs in the city. One of the integral parts of Project Search is "travel training", which helps program participants become familiar with Cincinnati's various forms of public transportation, which mostly involves using the bus system. Matt, who works full-time at Cincinnati Children's Hospital, became an expert on using the Metro bus system during his year at Project Search. At the end of the program, the teacher of the class asked Matt to come on as a volunteer. He now "travel trains" for Project Search, specializing in the Metro bus system.
Matt loves being involved as a volunteer for Project Search and Metro. He has memorized the entire bus route for both Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. Matt is a mentor to those involved in Project Search and has helped countless participants learn how to use the bus system and how to expedite their often slow bus travels.
Matt says the best part of being a Travel Trainer is meeting new friends and helping people in the community.
"I'm a mentor. I love to help people get around the city. I love meeting new friends and seeing new faces." Matt said.
Matt said while working as a Travel Trainer, he has witnessed people taking one hour bus trips, when they could be much shorter. He knows the system so well that he helped one of his friends and the people he was mentoring get her trip down from an hour to 15 minutes.
"I know this city really well." Matt said, "It was difficult learning all of the streets and it is visually challenging at night, but it has been rewarding to help all of Project Search's student interns."
Matt is an expert traveler in the city of Cincinnati. His expertise on the bus has helped lots of people and gets him around the city in record time.