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Transit enthusiast turns passion into profession

Transit enthusiast turns passion into profession

: SkyTrain Attendant Kyle Monda stands at the entrance of the VCC-Clark Station

Many of us overlook the coolest things in our daily lives because they’re simply always there. One of these things can be transit. A transportation network can shape the lives of the people it serves, and it perhaps subconsciously shaped yours.

Like it did for transit enthusiast Kyle Monda. From a young age, he marveled at buses and trains. Little did he know that later in life, he would be riding the same trains as part of his profession.

If there is an epitome of this year’s I Love Transit theme “Move Beyond,” it’s Kyle’s story. He went from being a transit enthusiast to becoming a SkyTrain Attendant in the summer of 2021.

As a kid, Kyle enjoyed travelling and taking transit. “When I was young, if my mom wanted to do a really fun trip with me, we would take the West Coast Express into town from Maple Ridge.”

As a design and visual arts graduate, he realizes that “we’re influenced by the way our cities are designed and the built environment.” Because of this, his fascination for transit has grown into a desire to learn how transit can reduce a city’s greenhouse gas emissions – a mission TransLink is working towards in our Climate Action Strategy.

 

ALT: ELMTOT members with Bowinn Ma, ____ and ____ poses behind the Transport 2050 shuttle.

Being an ELMTOT

Kyle is a long-time member of the Expo Line Meme TransLink Oriented Teens (ELMTOT), a Vancouver transit online community that started off as a Facebook group in 2018 and has grown to almost 7,000 members. He has been a member since inception.

“I think the group has definitely connected a lot of people who have gone on to influence policy in their own way, who have joined TransLink, who have joined educational institutions, and who have gotten into lobbying.”

This certainly holds true for him now that he is a member of the SkyTrain team.

When he is not assisting customers, Kyle is admiring his favourite view along the Expo Line, particularly the stretch between Commercial–Broadway Station and Main Street–Science World Station. Can you visualize that view?

If you too love transit, why not see if you can turn that into a career with us!

Or simply comment below why you love transit.

Kyle takes a selfie showing off the reindeer bus

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