Vancouver and snow might not be the best of friends, but you can call them long-lost friends. They meet occasionally and everyone is pleasantly surprised. Until snow bids adieu and heads to its favourite friends on the North Shore.
So, what do Vancouverites do when they want some snow? They head to the mountains that offer breathtaking views – and of course, there’s snow!
Skiing, snowshoeing, snowboarding, and snowtubing are just some of the activities you can do on snow. The local ski mountains – Cypress, Grouse, and Mt Seymour (from west to east) – attract Vancouverites every winter, urging them to strap on their skis, snowboards, and snowshoes. Some of these also have ice rinks!
The best part – these are all accessible by transit! So, without further ado, The Buzzer blog has some fun ideas!
Note: Resort/activity timings, and prices may be subject to change. Check official websites for exact details.
If “be more creative, get out more, take more pictures, or be more environmentally conscious” are on your New Years Resolutions list for 2019, we’ve got you!
#MyTransLink is a weekly commuter photo series featuring photos taken by you, our customers, neighbours and transit enthusiasts in and around Metro Vancouver. This series has been capturing our hearts and fleeting moments on transit from every corner of this region.
So scroll to through the shots shared below for a glimpse into the daily lives and views of our riders on their commutes.
We want your feedback on our expanding SkyTrain fleet!
The SkyTrain fleet is expanding! Already on the way are 80 new SkyTrain cars for the Expo, Millennium, and Canada Lines.
On top of that, we’re thrilled to share we’re planning to purchase an additional 203 SkyTrain cars for the Expo and Millennium Lines, arriving in 2023–2024. It’s all part of the 10-Year Vision – Phase 2 to add 100,000 new service hours on SkyTrain.
Before we do that, we want to hear from you! Have your say in our SkyTrain Fleet Expansion Survey (open Jan. 14 until Jan. 25).
We’ve already heard that you’d like to see more seating choices and improved spaces for people using mobility devices, strollers, and bicycles. That’s why we’re considering the following improvements in the next generation of vehicles.
Perimeter (sideways) seating in response to requests from customers for more choice.
Flex areas to better serve customers with mobility devices, strollers, bicycles, and luggage.
Bike racks in flex areas to make bike storage more convenient and comfortable, and leaning rails for customers who cannot sit and stand easily.
You can also engage with us in-person at one of the following public information sessions!
Waterfront Station: January 15, 2:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Lougheed Town Centre Station: January 16, 2:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
King George Station: January 17, 2:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
With more options of shared mobility, you can conveniently travel in the region.
Getting around Metro Vancouver just got easier!
We are excited to say we are partnering with with Evo Car Share, Modo Co-operative, and Mobi by Shaw Go bike share to help make multimodal travel easier, more convenient and more seamless for residents in Metro Vancouver.
The partnership will assess and explore how TransLink and the three local companies can provide customers the convenience of bundled mobility services.
Parking spaces around our transit system are often reserved for shared bikes and cars and thousands of customers use these services as a first-mile last-mile connectivity option.
Last year – TransLink, through its Open Innovation Call – invited individuals, entrepreneurs, academics, and industry insiders to present their ideas on the future of mobility in the region. A total of 90 submissions were evaluated against a specified set of criteria and the successful proponents selected by an internal panel.
TransLink’s New Mobility Forum brought together these partners. Leaders in government, industry, and academia met and discussed how we regulate, manage, and deliver transportation in Metro Vancouver.
Speakers included David Zipper, Resident Fellow, German Marshall Fund; TransLink’s CEO Kevin Desmond; Jonathan Cote, Mayor of New Westminster & Chair, Mayors’ Council on Regional Transportation, and others (see photos!).
TransLink’s CEO Kevin Desmond
(L-R): Shirley Samujh-Dayal, Sr Manager, Govt & Public Affairs, TransLink; Jonathan Cote, Mayor of New Westminster & Chair, Mayors’ Council on Regional Transportation; Spencer Chandra Herbert, MLA, Vancouver – West End; and Terry Beech, MP Burnaby North-Seymour
(L-R): Sandra Phillips, CEO, movmi; Michael van Hemmen, Public Policy Manager, Uber; Zack Wasserman, Head of Global Business Development, Via; and mark Hallenbeck, Sr Data Science Fellow, Director of the Washington State Transportation Center
(L-R): Eve Hou, Project Manager, New Mobility, TransLink; Laura Beattie, Special Projects/Customer Service Manager, Mobi; Patrick Nangle, CEO, Modo; and Eric Hopkins, Senior Vice President & Chief Strategic Ventures Officer at BCAA
(L-R): David Zipper; David deKozan, VP Business Development, Cubic Transportation Systems; Jake Sion, COO, Transit App; Chloe Spano, VP Business Development & Innovation, Cityway; and Arnd Batzner, University of St. Gallen
(L-R): Caitlin Cooper, Project Manager, Regional Transportation Strategy, TransLink; Sean Simpson, Director of Technology, City of Surrey; Dale Bracewell, Manager, Transportation Planning, City of Vancouver; and Peter Russell, Sr Manager, Sustainability & District Energy, City of Richmond
Discussions on government perspectives on New Mobility, ride-hailing, Mobility as a Service, and governing the smart city attempted to take a deeper look at how we continue to deliver on our services to keep millions of customers moving.
We regularly receive feedback from customers about more options to get around the region. With this partnership, we can explore more options to help you get where you want!
Metro Vancouver boasts of a great network of shared mobility options and this is yet another milestone in that connectivity puzzle. The aim of this partnership is to increase access to multiple modes of active and sustainable transportation.
Keynote speaker David Zipper
One of the key aspects of improving livability in the region is to reduce the number of private vehicles on our roads. With more shared mobility options, you can conveniently travel in the region. In June 2017, we partnered with Modo Co-operative. Currently, seven Metro Vancouver transit stations in five cities now have a combined ten carshare parking spots with more expected! In February 2018, we partnered with Evo Car Share to bring carsharing services to our customers.
The Open Innovation Call is a part of the larger New Mobility initiative which examines broader transportation trends to better understand evolving consumer demands and travel patterns. Seamless mobility was identified as a priority in the Mayors’ 10-Year Vision and funding towards advancing this objective has been earmarked under the Phase 1 Investment Plan.
Stay tuned for announcements about what this exciting partnership will mean to you!
Vancouver-based artist Diyan Achjadi is a known name in the local art scene. Born in Jakarta, Indonesia to a West-Javanese father and an English-Canadian mother, Diyan grew up moving between Jakarta, Hong Kong, London, and Washington DC.
Diyan’s work will now be adding a vivid visual experience to your commute!
Remember I Love Transit 2018? We still do. The end of 2018 was a busy one, so we never got to tell you about I Love Transit Camp 2018! Last year was special because we had two winning classes – that’s right!
“You miss 100 per cent of the shots you don’t take.” —Wayne Gretzky
Take your shot — enter for a chance to win a pair of tickets to either the bronze or gold medal game at the 2019 World Juniors in Vancouver on January 5! Games will be randomly awarded. Read more »
As 2018 ends, The Buzzer blog takes a look at some of TransLink’s milestones from the year that was!
Improving the customer experience was a big focus for us this year.
We made paying for transit even more easier with the roll-out of Tap to Pay. For customers without Compass Cards such as tourists, this feature means no more ticket line-ups, digging for exact change, or worrying about pre-calculating zones — just tap your Visa or Mastercard contactless credit card or mobile wallet, and be on your way. In less than two months of its launch, Tap to Pay hit a milestone with more than one million taps. Read more »
It was a beautiful downtown Vancouver morning, when Sparky the Elf, alongside Mr. & Mrs. Claus, delivered a promissory note of 3,000 new, unwrapped toys on behalf of TransLink and its operating companies to the Lower Mainland Christmas Bureau (LMCB).
Canada’s set to defend their gold medal at this year’s IIHF World Junior Championship taking place in Vancouver (and Victoria) from December 26, 2018 – January 5, 2019. We’re thrilled to team up with the IIHF World Juniors Hockey Championship to help move volunteers, fans, and visitors during its week-and-a-half run.
Win tickets
Missed getting your tickets to this sold-out tournament or didn’t win any tickets the first time around? You’ve still got a chance to go! Thanks to our partnership with the World Juniors Hockey Championship, we have multiple pairs of tickets to take you to a relegation, quarterfinal or semifinal game! You read that right! Keep reading to find out how you can win! (Psst… you’ll want to stay tuned for chances to win tickets to the medal games for an EPIC night out.)
How to enter for a chance to win:
Comment below telling us who you’d take with you to the World Juniors and how you’d get there using transit (1 entry)
Follow @TransLinkBC on Instagram, like our post, and tag three friends who would love to win. Comment below letting us know you did. (1 entry)
Like TransLink on Facebook, and leave a comment below letting us know you did. (1 entry)
Follow @TransLink on Twitter, and tweet the following: (1 entry) Enter for a chance to win a pair of tickets to watch the #WorldJuniors in #Vancouver, courtesy of @TransLink and @HockeyCanada https://buzzer.translink.ca/?p=55074
This means if you do all four actions, you’ll leave four comments below. Don’t forget to make sure your social media accounts are public so we can see your entry.
The contest for preliminary games will open on Saturday, December 22, 2018 and all entries must be received by 11:59 a.m. on Friday, December 28, 2018. Late entries will not be considered.
One entry per method, per person — that means you can enter up to four times in total for this giveaway.
We’ll announce the winners from a random draw on the blog and contact you via the email provided in the comments.
Take transit to the World Juniors
The Vancouver games are being played at Rogers Arena, conveniently located steps away from the Stadium–Chinatown Station, a stop on the SkyTrain’s Expo Line. Use our Trip Planner to find your transit route!
Watching games in Victoria? Take the SkyTrain’s Canada Line to Bridgeport Station and the 620 Tsawwassen Ferry bus will connect you to the terminal where you’ll catch the Tsawwassen-Swartz Bay ferry to Victoria. At Swartz Bay, you’ll want to take the 72 Downtown bus to Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre. Note: separate fares apply for the ferry and the 72 bus.
Each year, students from the Summit program at the Vancouver Technical School brave the early morning cold to show appreciation to their bus drivers by hand-delivering sweet cups of hot chocolate and a little gift to each passing bus.
Happy Holidays! 2018’s final edition of The Buzzer is now on the system.
In this issue, we’re welcoming the world – the World Juniors that is! That’s right, from December 26 – January 5 the World Junior Hockey Tournament will be taking place at Rogers Arena. Don’t have your tickets yet? Enter to win until January 2 at translink.ca/worldjuniors.
