Our award-winning podcast just wrapped up its third season!

What’s the T: the TransLink Podcast with Jawn Jang brings you, our customers, behind the scenes to reveal the voices and stories that drive your transit system forward. Each episode is about 15 minutes long and answers a question about our transit system.

Topics we’ve tackled include why doesn’t the SkyTrain run 24 hours a day, who voices the SkyTrain announcements, the story of the SkyTrain chime, how bus routes are numbered, the psychology behind saying thanks to bus operators, how we named the Surrey Langley SkyTrain stations, and so much more!

Subscribe and listen everywhere you get your podcasts, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Pocket Casts. We can’t wait to have you on board again this fall for the fourth season of the TransLink podcast. In the meantime, catch up on all 31 episodes and any you may have missed.

Season 3

S3E1 | Meet the voice of SkyTrain

You hear the voice every day as it narrates your SkyTrain commute, telling you what the next station is. But have you wondered who the voice belongs to? Listen to find out.

🎧 LISTEN: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

S3E2 | What’s the role of Transit Security?

Step aboard with us for ride-along with Transit Security! We walk the walk and learn more about their role is in supporting and fostering a safe and reliable transit system for you.

🎧 LISTEN: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

S3E3 | We reveal a voice behind TransLink’s Twitter account

Our popular @TransLink X (Twitter) account is one of the most followed in Metro Vancouver and is known for delivering top-notch customer service to our riders. Meet one of the voices behind the keyboard answering your questions. Discover the role the Customer Information team plays in delivering up-to-date transit information to your fingertips.

🎧 LISTEN: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

S3E4 | How do we plan SkyTrain service for events and track maintenance?

“My name is Taylor!” It’s been a long time coming as Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour comes to Vancouver in December. How does SkyTrain plan extra service on the Expo and Millennium Lines for large events like this? What about when there’s single tracking or shuttle trains for track maintenance? Explaining it all is Ian Fisher, manager of operations planning for SkyTrain.

🎧 LISTEN: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

S3E5 | How we’re helping newcomers learn to use the transit system

“Transportation might only be a small part of everyday, but it is that part that makes everything else possible.” Those are the astute words of Chris Chan, manager of travel training at TransLink. Chris shares his challenges learning how to use transit as a newcomer and how that informs his mission to ensure new riders are setup for success as part of fostering a transit system that is welcoming to all ages and abilities.

🎧 LISTEN: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

S3E6 | Where does the SkyTrain sleep at night?

You ride the SkyTrain during the day, but where do they go at night for downtime and TLC at the end of a long day of work? Listen to find out and what an expanding SkyTrain system means for that — all made possible with funding from many years ago. But with an ever-growing system, we’ll need more investments to continue to build it out and accommodate population growth for years to come.

🎧 LISTEN: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

S3E7 | Doo doo doo you know the story of the SkyTrain chime?

It’s arguably the most iconic sound in Metro Vancouver: the “doo doo doo” as the doors on the SkyTrain. But how did it come to be? We chat with both the retired and current manager of operations planning at SkyTrain to uncover the history of this iconic sound and how it has stood the test of time.

🎧 LISTEN: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

S3E8 | How are bus routes numbered?

Think about your bus route. Have you wondered why it carries that number? Well, there’s probably a story behind how it got that number. Michael Vena, who is the manager of service planning at Coast Mountain Bus Company, explains the principles they try to apply when numbering a route.

🎧 LISTEN: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

S3E9 | Quick Sips: Why there’s a third platform at Stadium-Chinatown Station

Our first instalment of Quick Sips, where we deliver quick and tidy answers to your questions. We tackle why there’s a third platform at Stadium–Chinatown Station, the Expo 86 monorail, why the trolleybus routes operate where they do, what are the different buses and SkyTrain models, the NightBus, and more!

🎧 LISTEN: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

S3E10 | Why transit is so important for newcomers

About 120,000 people new residents moved to Metro Vancouver last year — many of whom were newcomers to Canada. We chat with the Immigrant Services Society of British Columbia for a better understanding of just why and how transit is so important for newcomers as they settle into Metro Vancouver.

🎧 LISTEN: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

Season 2

S2E1 | Are there ghosts on transit?

It’s spooky season. Have you ever felt a chill as if someone was watching you? We explore spooky stories and urban legends with Greg Mansfield, author of “Ghosts of Vancouver.” We’ll take you on a ride you won’t forget. Tune in if you dare!

🎧 LISTEN: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

S2E2 | What’s the role of SkyTrain Attendants?

You’re invited to ride the rails with a SkyTrain Attendant to discover what it really entails. It will surprise you as there’s truly more than what meets the eye. Don’t believe us? Listen to find out.

🎧 LISTEN: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

S2E3 | What’s it like to walk the beat with Transit Police?

Follow the unique career trajectories of its Chief Officer Suzanne Muir and Constable Travis Blair. Muir started on the soccer pitch and is a Canada Soccer Hall of Famer. Tune in for a glimpse of what it’s like to walk the beat as a member of the Metro Vancouver Transit Police.

🎧 LISTEN: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

S2E4 | The one where we ride the SeaBus

Hop on board with us! We’re going where very few people have gone before: the captain’s chair, perched high atop the SeaBus vessel.

🎧 LISTEN: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

S2E5 | Step inside the SkyTrain Control Centre

There’s so much more than meets the eye when it comes to making SkyTrain go. We visit the brains of the SkyTrain operations, the air traffic control of SkyTrain.

🎧 LISTEN: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

S2E6 | Walk this way: the art and science of wayfinding

Explore the intricate dance of maps, signs and more as they come together to help you seamlessly navigate throughout the transit system.

🎧 LISTEN: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

S2E7 | How are we prepping for winter weather?

We’ve got the “T” on how buses are prepped for winter weather. Plus, why do we position attendants at the front of the SkyTrain during snow? We reveal the answers.

🎧 LISTEN: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

S2E8 | The wacky finds of the lost and found

Discover the extensive work that goes on behind the scenes at TransLink’s Lost Property Office. What is the most commonly recovered item? What about the most bizarre?

🎧 LISTEN: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

S2E9 | Revealing the Surrey Langley SkyTrain station names

Join us as we travel down the Surrey Langley SkyTrain extension, explaining how we chose the names for each of the eight new stations along the way.

🎧 LISTEN: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

S2E10 | A peek behind the West Coast Express curtain

We wrap up the second season by giving you the “T” on what it’s like to operate the West Coast Express. What are some of the most common reasons for delays? And what makes the WCE experience so special?

🎧 LISTEN: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

Season 1

S1E1 | Why doesn’t the SkyTrain run 24 hours?

Matt Doyle, SkyTrain’s vice-president of maintenance and engineering, has the answer why the SkyTrain doesn’t run all night. He also explains what’s going on behind the scenes on the SkyTrain tracks overnight when most of us are asleep.

🎧 LISTEN: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

S1E2 | What’s it like operating a bus

Host Jawn Jang goes behind the scenes at our training centre. Derrick Bayer, chief instructor at Coast Mountain Bus Company, puts him through the paces as Jawn takes a spin at the wheel of our bus simulator for a taste of what it’s like to operate a bus.

🎧 LISTEN: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

S1E3 | Transit icks

Playing loud music, blocking the doors and not taking backpacks off — some of the things fellow riders do that might give you the ick. Robert Willis with TransLink takes us behind the scenes on a pair of transit etiquette campaigns and shares his observations as our in-house expert.

🎧 LISTEN: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

S1E4 | Saying thanks and “secret friends” on transit

Dr. Amy Hanser, an associate professor of sociology at the University of British Columbia, joins us to discuss the fascinating social interactions we share on transit. We also hear from bus operators to find out what they think when you say thanks!

🎧 LISTEN: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

S1E5 | What we’re planning to build for you

We also reveal what it takes to transform an idea into a SkyTrain line or bus route that you can ride. Plus, what are we talking about when we playfully say the 99 Tree-Line?

🎧 LISTEN: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

S1E6 | Transit meets real estate

Metro Vancouver is growing by 50,000 new residents each year — we need to help provide people with sustainable ways to move and live. Discover how we’re breaking new ground to support transit expansion and helping to deliver new housing.

🎧 LISTEN: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

S1E7 | Making buses more reliable

What are some of the reasons why buses can be late and what are we doing to make them more reliable, for you? Listen and find out.

🎧 LISTEN: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

S1E8 | Bike + Bus = Bike Bus

Just one of the many ways we’re putting you at the heart of everything we do. Plus, tips on where to go with your bike and Bike Bus.

🎧 LISTEN: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

S1E9 | Elevators and escalators

Take this ride with us on why an elevator and escalator may not be available. We have the “T” on the types of regular inspections that have to be done, why we take pride in our work, and more.

🎧 LISTEN: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

S1E10 | Taking care of business on SkyTrain

We close out our first season where we began: a deep dive on SkyTrain. This is all the things we do behind the scenes to maintain safe and reliable service for you.

🎧 LISTEN: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

SPECIAL | Celebrating 75 years of the trolley bus

In this bonus episode, Jawn celebrates this milestone anniversary by speaking with the people who illustrate the past, present, and future of Vancouver’s iconic trolley bus.

🎧 LISTEN: Apple Podcasts | Spotify