We’re doing something different on the Buzzer blog in 2013!

Each month this year, we’ll take a topic and explore it through a series of special blog posts. (Though don’t worry, we’ll still post about other content too!)

For our first month, we’ve decided to go back to basics with a series we’d like to call TransLink 101!

What’s TransLink 101 about?

This month, we’ll explore some basic questions about TransLink and its work that many of you might be wondering about. Our planned topics include:

• What does TransLink do, anyway?
• Managing roads and bridges in Metro Vancouver
• What’s the deal with fare zones?
• Where does TransLink get its funding… and how do we spend it?
• Where do buses and trains sleep at night?
• Why can’t SkyTrain run twenty four hours?
• How do we keep our system in a state of good repair?

As well, we’d also like to feature an article that YOU pick!

What do you want us to write about?

Is there a burning TransLink question you’ve always wanted the answer to? Suggest your topic in the comments!

From your suggestions, we’ll select five that sound doable, and then everyone can vote for the winner in a poll at the end of this week end of next week, so we can gather more submissions! (And you never know — you might see the runners-up in future posts too :) Edit: We didn’t end up running a poll because we didn’t receive very many suggestions! So never mind.

If you need some inspiration, here are some articles we’ve done in the past:

• Sorry, that’s not us: other TransLinks around the world
• How big is TransLink’s service area?
• Why is there a third platform at Stadium-Chinatown Station?
• The story of the SkyTrain chime
• All about our talking buses (the announcement system on the buses)
• Who is the voice of the SkyTrain?
• Who is the voice of the SeaBus?
• A visit to the Lost Property Office – a regular visit, an Olympic visit
• A guide to recognizing your transit staff
• All about our wayfinding signage (the signs and maps that help you get around transit)
• An in-depth documentary about the building of SkyTrain in 1985
• A bit about the history of the Buzzer newsletter
• A visit to T-Comm, the control centre where we manage our bus system
• A six-part series on Fleet Overhaul, the place where we repair and rebuild buses
• All about washrooms on the system
• Fare evasion series: the costs of fare evasion, estimating it, and a ride-along with the Transit Security

Ok – suggest away! We hope you enjoy the series!