We had the chance to meet of our biggest fans, Matthias Leduc—an eight-year-old with a love of the transit system!

“My son literally walks, talks, thinks and breathes transit,” says Rosemarie, Matthias’s mom. “If we dropped him off in downtown Vancouver, he could find his way home all by himself. He even puts up bus stops around the house and makes up his own stations.”

Matthias rides transit every day with his mother and enjoys travelling on the 96 B-Line—his favourite route. You’ll often find him sitting at the front of the bus or sitting in the pivoting joint of an articulated bus (his favourite spot!).

Recently, Matthias received an award at his daycare for being a TransLink expert and unlike your typical kid, he’ll read updates on the translink.ca website to make sure he’s in the loop. He’s also collected over 100 transfers and has big plans to border his bedroom walls with them. He’s excited for Compass and is eager to replace those transfers with his very own card so he can tap in and out of the system.

Rosemarie reached out to us looking for some help with a Halloween costume idea Matthias had – a Coast Mountain Bus Company operator! We sent her a picture of the CMBC uniform to help him started on his costume.

He tells us being a bus operator is not just a costume idea, but something he wants to be when he grows up!

Be on the lookout for our little bus driver this Halloween night trick-or-treating and don’t be alarmed if you see a second bus driver riding in the articulated joint of the 96 B-Line!

Matthias says he’s also excited at the idea of possibly attending I Love Transit Camp next year during I Love Transit Week and receiving a tour of the SkyTrain Operations and Maintenance Centre and the SeaBus docks in North Vancouver.

Author: Allen Tung