In April 2017, we launched our diversity initiative, the Omnibus Project, to promote diversity at Busbud and beyond. Every quarter, our team carries out up to 5 actions to help foster diversity and in turn reports publicly on our progress.
We are thrilled to share the results for Q1 2022, ending March 31st!
1)Diversity by Design – Chapter 1: Diversity in Our Brand
Our brand is the collective perception of who we are and what we do for our users. And we exist because we believe it should be easy for everyone to connect with our world. That’s why the creative team at Busbud left nothing to chance. We wanted our logo to not only reflect our values but also to be universally understandable.
This is why our logo is illustrated as a friendly bus sign. Facing forward, this perfect travel companion tells us about its wish for adventures and desire for assistance. Its bright yellow color cheerfully captures the attention and is reminiscent of the sun we meet on the road. The sign sits on a peaceful and complementary blue background, inviting our users to enjoy their ride stress-free while we take care of the rest.
In addition to its colors, our logo features a fantastic and powerful universal symbol that brings us all together: the smile. The smile is a language understood by all. It connects people from all cultures and civilizations. And it helps us reduce stress and naturally spread happiness around us. That’s why it’s the perfect embodiment of who we are: a team committed to making you travel wherever you want, with a smile.
Here is the latest example of our creative team having fun using the smile as a graphic element. We designed inspiring posters for the Diversity type project that we printed to decorate our offices!
2) Plant Trees in Turkey
This quarter, Naz, one of our team members based in Turkey, reached out to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to plant trees in her neighbourhood.
The ministry was planning an event in March to plant saplings, and Naz and some team members decided to participate voluntarily. Unfortunately, the event was canceled due to bad weather and field conditions. For this reason, Naz and her Busbudies have taken the initiative to plant saplings on their own for a more green world and to encourage sustainability.
3) Quiz Global
Our team is already globally distributed, and has become even more over the pandemic as Busbud embraced a remote-first culture. In January 2022, Busbud had the opportunity to welcome 30+ more talented team members across LATAM with its merger with Recorrido, the leading online travel agency for ground transportation in Chile.
We were looking for a fun way to engage with our new team members, and during our first presentation to Recorrido employees informing them of the merger we found out that they were avid trivia players, hosting regular “Quizzes” over the pandemic as a way that they could come together as a team in their own remote-first environment. It was pretty clear when one of the employees on that call yelled out “Quiz Global”, that a new tradition was about to take form.
Our first quiz took place in April, with 80+ team members participating, questions and answers in both English and Spanish, and held at a time that could accommodate time zones ranging from Guatemala to Istanbul. We hope this is the first of many!
4) Teaching French and English to refugee children
Oberti is based in Utrera, Spain and it offers a non-formal education program for children at risk of social exclusion. Through this program, Oberti aims to prevent pupils from leaving school at a young age.
This semester our employee Boris Jovanovic was teaching children English and French languages. The results at school were very encouraging and Boris’ lessons will continue in the second semester as well.