Two Mississauga students were recognized at Council today for their efforts in educating their school community about MiWay.

Gordon Graydon Memorial Secondary School students Umar Bhutta and Syed Kamran took part in the MiWay Ambassador Program designed to develop transit-oriented schools. This year, the program grew to 15 participating schools, from 11 last year.

"The Ambassador program is a huge success thanks to students like Umar and Syed," said Geoff Marinoff, director, Transit. "I challenge all Mississauga secondary schools to take part in the award winning program in the 2012/2013 school year."

Their winning program used interactive technology and media including a website, Facebook page and a video to educate their fellow students about MiWay. They also hosted information sessions about MiWay, prepared MiWay trivia, and organized a MiWay day where students were encouraged to take the bus to school and have a chance to win prizes such as specially designed MiWay cookies.

"These students served as true ambassadors for public transit and they were successful in sharing their positive MiWay experiences with others in an innovative way," added Marinoff. "The City is striving to make transit a faster and more affordable alternative to the automobile and these students cleverly shared the many environmental benefits of Mississauga's transit service."

Umar and Syed will each receive free transit passes for one year, an iPod touch and Gordon Graydon Memorial Secondary School will receive 100 free student tickets.

The MiWay Ambassador Program recently won the City's 2011 Corporate Awards of Excellence (CAFE) Partnership Award for its success in working collaboratively with Mississauga schools.

Visit www.miway.ca/ambassador to learn about the MiWay Ambassador Program.

As Canada's sixth largest city, Mississauga is home to 738,000 residents and 55,000 businesses, including 63 Fortune 500 companies with Canadian head offices or major divisional head offices. A diverse, progressive and award-winning municipality located on the shores of Lake Ontario in the heart of the Greater Toronto Area, Mississauga is "Leading Today for Tomorrow" by focussing on delivering services, implementing its Strategic Plan, delivering value for money and maintaining infrastructure.