As another year draws to the close, we bring you this year’s only issue of The Buzzer, available online.

We recap a few of the most important initiatives launched in 2021 for our customers. This includes kids under 12 riding transit for free, the completion of the Transport 2050 draft strategy, and our project to bring braille signage to every bus stop in Metro Vancouver.

In Back Issues, we mine The Buzzer‘s archives for interesting historical finds and tidbits. We didn’t go too far for this one, only back to five years ago in 2016. Any guesses what happened that year?

Finally, complete our word search and find the secret hidden word!

• Download the December 30 issue of The Buzzer

The Buzzer’s history

Perhaps a little-known fact is your community managers on TransLink’s social media channels also write for the print edition of The Buzzer. We proudly carry on this legacy as it publishes its 105th year.

The first issue was published on June 2, 1916 and distributed on the streetcars that made up public transportation in Metro Vancouver at the time. It was titled, “Wanted – A Name” and offered to pay $15 for the best suggestion, $10 for the second best and $5 for the third best.

Of course, the next issue announced the winning name: The Buzzer! In total, 11 people submitted the winning name. The second place name was “Current Comments” and in third was “Between The Lines.”

The Buzzer was the brainchild of George Kidd, general manager of British Columbia Electric Railway, which operated Metro Vancouver’s streetcar network.

It was designed as a strategic weapon in a long-forgotten battle between streetcars and “jitney” operators — private citizens who patrolled streetcar routes and offered rides for five cents. The newsletter would promote the use of streetcars by keeping people informed about service and fostering rider loyalty. Jitney service was abolished about two years later in July 1918, but The Buzzer continued. In 2008, this blog launched.