Tidbits and links rounded up about transportation in the past week or so!

• As you may have heard, last week TransLink’s Board of Directors elected a new chair, Nancy Olewiler. As well, our Mayors’ Council has elected a new chair, Mayor Richard Walton and vice-chair, Mayor Pamela Goldsmith-Jones. (See here for an explanation of TransLink’s governance structure.)
• The cover story of Mass Transit magazine’s November 2010 issue was an interview with TransLink CEO Ian Jarvis!
• Chris Cassidy snapped some shots of an Orion shuttle that stuck around after the TransExpo to do a couple of demos for CMBC.
• Books and their readers spotted on the New York subway!
• From kottke.org: photos of Tokyo commuters squished against subway windows, and a 1912 bike shop.
• Another from JMV: the Transit Romance Tumblr showcases “sexy transit vehicles, stations, and graphic design.”
• The American Public Transportation Association has released a fancy website with all award winners and applicants for its 2010 AdWheel marketing awards! Check out all the top entries in transit marketing from across North America. (The Buzzer blog won the best blog award this year!)
• A TTC driver won a seat as an Oshawa city councillor, but was forced to give it up to keep his TTC job.
• Former Toronto city councillor Richard Gilbert suggests their Transit City light rail program be converted to a trolley system instead.
• A letter from a Hamilton, Ontario resident demanding better transit now.
• Canadian transit ridership is up.
• The Globe and Mail puts together a commuter’s guide to happiness.
• An editorial from Mike Harcourt and former TransLink chair Dale Parker on building a foundation for transit in Vancouver.
• Gondola news: the Roosevelt Island Tram in New York has reopened! Thanks to Sean Turvey for the link.
• Some great links from The Source, the blog from L.A. Metro: a tour of L.A.’s underground art, and a two-part interview with Jarrett Walker (part 1, part 2). Plus: new L.A. rail cars!
• Mapnificent is a great tool that shows you the area you can reach by public transport from any point in a given time. Here’s what’s within a 15-minute transit trip from Metrotown!
• Daniel Bowen compares Victoria, Australia’s transit system consultation branding vs. TransLink’s.
• On the last tidbits post, Sewing posted some neat links in the comments: here’s London to Brighton in 4 minutes, a Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) trip in two minutes, and a real-time LIRR map.
• Janette Sadik Khan profiled in Esquire.
• And three great Human Transit posts: on Seattle’s snow days, pulse planning, and jobs at TransLink :)

If you have any items to suggest, or a photo to showcase on these posts, e-mail me at thebuzzer@translink.ca! (Seriously: photos. Send them to me!)