The good old Buzzer newsletter turned 96 last Saturday, June 2, 2012!

It seems like I was just talking to historian Jim McGraw about how the publication started when we were celebrating the Buzzer’s 95th. A lot has changed since the first issue was printed, including the price of daily items in Vancouver! Take a look at this diagram from the October 21, 1955 issue comparing prices from the summer of 1939 and 1955.

Just because the Buzzer is one of the oldest newsletters in the province (does anyone know of an older one still in production?), doesn’t mean its importance or popularity has waned. Every month, we try to provide transit-related information that informs and hopefully entertains. Being so old also doesn’t mean that the Buzzer’s days are numbered. A fresh new issue will be out this Friday and probably many Fridays to come!

Over the past year that I’ve been putting issues together, I’ve noticed a lot of people entering our Contest Corner looking to win a monthly FareCard, a lot of interest in Back Issues and, of course, schedule changes. We always love including community events and try to include your story ideas, photos or other items you think transit riders would like to see or read about.

Now that the Buzzer is another year older and both Jhenifer and I have had experience writing it for a while, you might notice a few small changes and tweaks to future issues. We always welcome feedback and like to hear new ideas on how to improve the newsletter, so please keep emails rolling into thebuzzer@translink.ca. Here’s to another great year of the Buzzer!