It’s the night many of you have been waiting for! As part of the week-long festivities of I Love Transit Week, we’re hosting our fourth annual I Love Transit Night on Wednesday, July 18 from 6-8:30pm at the Bonsor Recreation Complex in Burnaby. Last year’s event location was filled to capacity, so we thought we’d find a larger venue. Having never had the event in Burnaby before, Bonsor seemed like the perfect fit!

What to expect

If you haven’t been to an I Love Transit Night before, you’re in for some fun! The event is for everyone, so we’re planning activities for people of all ages. This will include colouring for the little kids as well as group trivia and skills games for adolescents and adults. The fun might include this original Vancouver Buses board game, which was just donated to us (we wrote about the 1973 board game on the blog and the February print Buzzer). There will also be some food and drinks provided and prizes! We’ve got some pretty cool stuff to give away this year, including limited edition t-shirts, stickers and temporary tattoos!

Take this vintage bus to the night!

Unfortunately TRAMS wasn’t able to secure insurance for transporting passengers on the bus, so the ride is now cancelled! But the bus will still be parked at the event for you to board and examine :)

Like previous years, we’re chartering a bus specifically for the night. This year, we’ve got a very special bus from our fleet of yesteryear. We have a 1964 BC Hydro, GMC bus! Here’s a little info on the bus from the good people at TRAMS (The Transit Museum Society) who’ll be providing the vintage ride:

GMC Diesel #4612 model TDH 4519 (VH transmission), built 1964, operated in North Vancouver. It was then renumbered to #5522 and transferred to Kensington (later Burnaby) & Surrey and back several times. Retired in 1996, it was then donated to TRAMS. A new 6V71 engine and VS2 transmission was installed 1997, and the bus was repainted to original BC Hydro livery in 1998.

The good old GMC can take up to 42 people, and it will take interested passengers free of charge to the event.

Here’s the details to catch the bus:

Where: Patterson Station, in the bay for the 125
When: Wednesday July 18, 2012 — it will be parked there from 5 to 5:30pm for sure, then leaving for the event sometime between 5:30-5:45pm.

Unfortunately, due to this being an older bus, it isn’t wheel chair accessible. However, the Bonsor Recreation Complex is not far from the Metrotown SkyTrain station.

RSVP for the night and special charter bus trip

Help us plan for the event. We’d like to know if you’re coming, if you’re bringing anyone with you and if you’ll be joining us on the bus. Send us an email to thebuzzer@translink.ca with “RSVP” is in the subject line, and please make sure you have the following info in the body of the message:

• Your name
• Your age (approximate is OK)
• The number of guests you’ll be bringing
• If you or your guests will be taking the charter bus to the event

Jhen, some TransLink staff (including a couple of folks from the Twitter team) and I will be at the event to help run things. I have a very good feeling that this will be the best I Love Transit Night yet! Make sure you RSVP so you don’t miss out. See you in a couple of weeks!