It’s I Love Transit week, October 7–11, and we’re bringing you stories about our customers, staff, transit enthusiasts and all things we love about transit. 

TransLink’s a team of nearly 8,000 employees. We’re all united in support of our customers — all 500,000 of you — who depend on us to get to and from work, visit an old friend and everything else in between. We asked another employee, Mariee Devereux, to share why she loves transit. 

By Mariee Devereux, Transportation Demand Management Officer at TransLink

When I first heard about, I Love Transit week, I thought it was a joke. I didn’t think anyone could LOVE taking transit. I was mistaken! In the past eight years, I’ve fallen in love with transit too (and it’s not just because I work for TransLink). Here are the top three reasons that I love transit:

Secret Exercise

Every transit trip starts with a walk or a bike ride. In a world where sitting has become the new smoking, taking transit helps me get 10,000 steps in a day and I always feel better for it.

More ‘Me’ Time

Taking transit means that I’ve got more time to read, to text my friends, or to just relax and get things sorted without having to worry about the ‘car-stipation’ situation’ on congested roadways.

Climate Champion

You don’t need to own an electric car to enjoy a zero-emissions trip. My commute is already zero-emission in that it combines a trolley bus trip with SkyTrain. It feels good to get where I need to go in a climate friendly way. Did you know that over half of TransLink’s fleet are already powered by clean and renewable energy sources? By 2050, the entire fleet is set to be zero-carbon.

Those are three reasons that I love transit, what are some of yours? Share your stories with us via email at thebuzzer@translink.ca with the subject “I Love Transit Stories” or share using the hashtag #ILoveTransit for a chance to have your story featured in the Buzzer blog!