Last year, I did a short list of gift ideas for transit fans and thought I’d update it for 2010!

As you can imagine, in my line of work, I tend to come across things that fans of transit might enjoy. So I thought I’d put together a list of transit gift ideas for 2010, for all those lucky people with transit fans in their lives :)

Notes: no one on this list has asked me to promote their items, and I’ve tried as much as possible to ensure you can get these items in Canada. Also, a big thanks to Jason Vanderhill for sending in many of these suggestions! Please feel free to add further gift ideas in the comments – I’m sure there’s lots of stuff I’ve missed!

Toys

Possibly the transit toy with the most buzz out there is the new Lego Public Transport Kit, launched in 2010! Jarrett over at Human Transit posted about this kit and saw his soar through the roof, which I thought certainly indicated a great deal of interest :) Anyway the kit has a tram, a bus, a station, and a shop adjacent to a bus terminal — isn’t it nice that they threw in transit-oriented development features?

And for those who like the Brio wooden train sets, there are a couple of toy manufacturers who have some Canadian train sets available.

At left is a wooden Canadian Pacific diesel engine made by Knotty Toys, compatible with all standard wooden railway systems. They also make a CP boxcar, CP tank car, wheat hopper and CP caboose, if you want the full set!

Plus, here’s a CN locomotive by a toymaker in Aurora, Colorado.

Perhaps we can convince someone to make a SkyTrain version in the future :)

Books and stationery

Mark Ovenden’s Paris Underground: The Maps, Stations, and Design of the Metro explores the designed world of the Paris Metro—the New Yorker raved about it, calling its chapters “sublime,” if that’s any help! Grab Paris Underground at Chapters or Amazon. (Also, if the name Mark Ovenden rings a bell, that’s because he’s the author of Transit Maps of the World too, which appeared on last year’s holiday gift list.)

I also came across the Subway Sketchbook, which is a sketchbook with outlines of subway cars pre-printed on each of its pages. Decorate the cars to your heart’s content, or just write your grocery list on them! The cars available include stock from London, Berlin, Paris, Moscow, Toronto, Rome, and Stockholm. Grab the sketchbook at Chapters or Amazon.ca.

For the urban planner in your life, Witold Rybczynski’s new book Makeshift Metropolis might be a good gift—Rybczynski is Slate Magazine’s architecture critic and an amaaaaaazing long form writer, so this certainly might be a lyrical and informative treat!

And for the little transit fan, Barbara Reid’s The Subway Mouse is a picture book about a darling mouse who lives with his family in the subway tunnels. It was nominated for a Governor General’s Award in 2005, too! Grab it at Chapters or Amazon.ca.

Also, this book won’t be available until January 2011, but I thought you might be interested anyway: Helvetica and the New York City Subway System: The True (Maybe) Story by Paul Shaw tells the story of the evolution of signage on the New York City subway system. It’s published by MIT Press too so you know it’s going to be thorough! Pre-order now at Chapters or Amazon.ca.

Art

Brian Croft is an artist who paints the history of Vancouver and British Columbia, and he has a wonderful series of streetcar paintings that you might love to take home. For those with a bit more money to spend, Brian’s giclee prints on canvas are about $700 each. Brian’s work is also available as packages of 10 greeting cards for $20: more info here. Thanks to Jason Vanderhill for pointing out Brian’s work!

Accessories and more

Your beverages can get a bit more transit-y: how about sipping tea from these Tt mugs, prominently featuring Johnston’s London Underground typeface, from p22.com.

Your wrists can add a bit of transit spice too: check out this huge selection of transit token cuff links on Etsy!

As well, why not dress up your walls with customized trolley scrolls, also found in an Etsy shop?

Craft and hobby projects

And for the holidays, let’s not forget the old fashioned fun of making your own stuff. Here’s an oldie but a goodie: Jason Vanderhill shared a craft project last year so you can make papercraft skytrains that actually run! Grab the train set from Daiso in Richmond (in Aberdeen Mall, next to Aberdeen Station on the Canada Line!), print out Jason’s provided cutouts, and go to town.

And here’s an electronics kit for building your own solar powered train! Or your own aerial tram, for those interesting in building gondolas. (Thanks to roboman51 for sending in the kits!)

As well, for those who sew, I also came across a really pretty pattern for a quilt inspired by the Tokyo subway map, made by Elizabeth Hartman. Check out the Flickr group of all the quilts being sewn in this fashion!

As well…

Don’t forget 2009’s gift guide: there’s still a ton of holiday transit treats on there, if you’re stumped for ideas!

And yes, once more I will throw the offer out there—we do have a set of TransLink transit buttons, and if you e-mail me your address, I can mail you some. Tis the season! (No promises on the dates of the deliveries though — I’m the only one picking and packing these things!)

That’s it for me! Happy holidays, and feel free to share more suggestions in the comments!