Students Design Transit Solutions, Win Awards at Lane County Challenge

In Springfield, Connected Lane County and Lane Transit District hosted the annual codeORcreate competition this month, bringing together high school students for a concentrated challenge to make transit more accessible and youth friendly. Students worked in teams on either a coding track or a creative marketing track with industry mentors, spending 48 hours developing prototypes and campaigns that addressed youth safety and ways to connect riders to art and cultural activities.

The coding track winner, Team Bagels with Suits, captured first place in Challenge Number 1, Connect to Art and Culture. The team produced an interactive game that guides players around the University of Oregon using public transportation, encouraging exploration of local art and cultural events while teaching riders how to use the bus system. That approach aims to reduce barriers for young riders who are unfamiliar with routes, transfers, and transit etiquette.

The creative track winner and overall competition champion, Team THIS, won Challenge Number 2, Youth Safety on Transit. Their project combined a comprehensive awareness campaign about existing safety features on LTD buses with a proposed QR code based reporting tool to let riders quickly notify drivers or dispatch about unsafe behavior. The team also presented on bus advertising concepts, an infographic, and two social media videos. Team THIS included four students from South Eugene High School, Churchill High School, and A3, and one member was a Ukrainian foreign exchange student. Judges praised the team for intense collaboration, clear communication, and a thoughtful approach to designing a campaign with real world application.

The event concluded with a public showcase at Spark at Booth Kelly where teams presented to judges and community members. Connected Lane County described the competition as part of its ongoing work to provide young people with hands on learning experiences, mentorship, and pathways to future education and careers. For local residents, the projects offer actionable ideas that could increase youth ridership, improve passenger safety, and strengthen links between transit and community cultural life, while giving school students practical experience in civic problem solving.