Happy Valentine’s Day! Remember our “Ode to Bicycling”  or “The Romance of the Greyhound“? What about when we wrote about “love seats” on buses in Copenhagen? Well, if you’re looking for similarly romantic ideas to woo your sweetie on sustainable transportation today, look no further than these special events and occasions…

SHARE YOUR LOVE STORY

“In celebration of the many customers who have found love while using transit,” Calgary Transit launched a contest asking riders to submit stores no longer than 500 words for a chance to win a free adult monthly transit pass and a Valentine’s treat. The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) also asked riders to share their “moving” love stories to compete for grand prizes, including an elevated ride on the “Love Letter Train Tour” to view 50 rooftop murals along Philadelphia’s Market Street corridor, followed by a champagne and chocolate reception, plus an invitation to a special screening of the “Love Letter Project” movie.

PLAN THE PERFECT DATE

Ride the “Love Bus” in Downtown Raleigh, the second largest city in the Carolinas, to receive candy, flowers, coupons to local restaurants and a romantic serenade from local singing groups. Visit www.YouRHere.com for more information on this Valentine’s Day (and second anniversary) celebration, brought to you by the Capital Area Transit R-LINE , which offers free hop-on-hop-off rides on hybrid electric buses throughout the city’s central business district.

FIND YOUR SOULMATE

The New York City Metropolitan Transportation Authority is hosting a “love in transit party for all would-be romantics” at the Transit Museum. The New York Times Metro writer Alan Feuer will read poems and illustrator Sophie Blackall will display a pop-up art exhibit based on Craigslist “Missed Connections” posts.

DELIVER A GIFT

What better way to show someone you care than by sending a present on two wheels? Love by Bike, based in Portland, Ore., will deliver flowers, coffee, chocolates, handmade cards or a bicycle tune-up. The company donates 10% of sales to the Portland Women’s Crisis Line to really spread the love. If baked goods are more your thing, place an order with Natalie from Bike Basket Pies, a homemade pie-making and bike delivery service in San Francisco. Or place a call to Max from The Piecycle, a a late-night pie delivery service that runs on Friday and Saturday nights in the neighborhoods around the University of Washington in Seattle.

TAKE ACTION

If one-on-one romance makes you queasy, get with a group and channel your love into advocating for public transit, instead. The Rider Rebellion of Transportation Alternatives, a New York City-based membership nonprofit, is staging a Transit Sweetheart ACTION campaign at subway stations in Manhattan and Brooklyn, where riders will have a chance to sign a giant Valentine’s Day card asking elected city officials to support transit. Local 100, a New York City transport workers union, is also organizing a Valentine’s Day Campaign for Transit, handing out leaflets and chocolates to riders and gathering petition signatures to prevent cuts to public transportation.

GET CRAFTY

Turn your bicycle chain into a Valentine’s heart. Or browse for handmade arts on websites like Etsy.com, where you can find tandem bicycle cards, screen printed t-shirts or messenger bags, and “love bus” bookmarks.

GET MARRIED

Buses are for lovers…at least it seems so in Canada. On Prince Edward Island, Ken MacKenzie met his wife, Gloria MacWilliams, while working as a driver for a Charlottetown transit bus (the couple eventually took their vows on board.) In Calgary, another couple tied the knot after a chance encounter on a city bus: Amanda Hodson took a friend’s $40 bet that she would kiss the next passenger. Little did she know, the kiss with stranger Brendan Miles would lead to a few dates and, eventually, a marriage.