We know that fast, frequent service is key to getting more people onto transit — that’s why we’ve introduced a new service called RapidBus! It comes with faster travel times, more reliable service and new customer amenities.

On these routes, customers will enjoy service that’s up to 20 per cent faster than local bus service. Coming every 10 minutes or better during peak hours and every 15 minutes or better in non-peak hours, customers can now catch a RapidBus on these four routes:

R1 King George Blvd (Guildford Exchange/Newton Exchange)

Every eight minutes during peak hours

R3 Lougheed Hwy (Coquitlam Central Station/Haney Place)

Every ten minutes during peak hours

R4 41st Ave (UBC/Joyce-Collingwood Station)

Every three to six minutes during peak hours

R5 Hastings St (SFU/Burrard Station)

Every four to five minutes during peak hours

Time-savings have been achieved by introducing bus priority on roadways, such as bus lanes and signal priority, and less stopping.

What’s awesome about RapidBus is not only the service itself, but the new customer amenities at bus stops and onboard buses!

We’ve introduced new bus stops, called RapidBus posts, that have real-time information, telling you upcoming departure times for all the buses that use that stop. There’s an audio button customers can push to hear these next-bus announcements too. The RapidBus routes will also use 60-foot articulated buses that have softer seats.

Isn’t the new RapidBus service great?! We want everyone to know about this new service and could use some help in spreading the word. We want to give you the chance to win a RapidBus prize back that includes a RapidBus toque, gloves and the new model that just dropped on the TransLink Store.

Keep reading to find out how you can enter to win.

Enter to win!

There are three prize packs up for grabs with each of the following:

A RapidBus t-shirt

A RapidBus model

A RapidBus toque

Pair of RapidBus gloves

A handful of RapidBus buttons

A handful of RapidBus stickers

A handful of I Love Transit buttons

To enter, simply complete one — or all — of the following actions:

Comment below telling us which RapidBus route you’ll be taking and where you’ll be going (1 entry)

Follow @TransLink on Instagram, like this post and tag three friends you’d like to tell about RapidBus. (1 entry)

Follow @TransLink on Twitter, and tweet or retweet the following message. (1 entry)

#RapidBus is here, bringing you faster, more frequent and more reliable bus service. With fewer stops, RapidBus offers up to 20% faster trips! Find your route at https://t.co/fYGhitEn2W.

RT to enter to win a RapidBus prize pack! Contest details: https://t.co/FS27EfiOId pic.twitter.com/2hFy98ve8O

— TransLink BC (@TransLink) February 24, 2020

If you do all three actions, you’ll be entered to win three times! Don’t forget to make sure your social media accounts are public so we can see your entry.

The rules:

Check out the official RapidBus Prize Pack Contest Terms and Conditions, but here’s the lowdown:

The contest for a RapidBus prize pack will open on Monday, February 24, 2020 and all entries must be received by 11:59 p.m. PST on Sunday, March 8, 2020. Late entries will not be considered.

We’ll do one draw each for The Buzzer blog, Instagram and Twitter.

One entry per method, per person, per day.

Have you ever wondered where the iconic SkyTrain chime came from? Well, today is your lucky day because we’ve got an answer for you!

Once upon a chime…

Our story dates back to 1984, a few years before SkyTrain was operational. As a driverless automated system with no train operator on-board to remind passengers that doors were about to close and the train was ready to depart, we realized the need for some kind of automated on-board message.

FYI: SkyTrain opened in January 1986, on schedule and on budget ($854 million) with an initial 21.4 kms (13.3 miles) of guideway, 15 stations and 114 SkyTrain cars!

Once the decision was made to create an automated message, the next step was to determine what the message would sound like. We tested out many different ideas and even experimented with real bells, but nothing seemed to sound just right.  Since SkyTrain is an automated, high-tech system, the feeling was that a reasonably conventional sounding chime was needed.

Fun fact! The SkyTrain chime isn’t just for SkyTrain! The same chime can also be heard on-board our buses!

We decided to test out some different versions of the chime using a digital synthesizer at Little Mountain Sound Studio. It took some time to come up with a tone that would be usable and would catch people’s attention. After many trials and errors, we decided that the chime would have three tones going up and would serve it’s purpose to draw passengers attention to the train departing and the doors closing.

Did you know that the SkyTrain chime was recorded in the same studio that AC/DC, Bryan Adams, Aerosmith and many other talented musicians recorded in?!

Listen to the SkyTrain chime

http://buzzer.translink.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/skytrain-chime_only.mp3

This post originally appeared as a podcast on The Buzzer Blog on December 1, 2008.

Author: Christina Jakopin

Laureen Regan is the voice behind announcements on the SkyTrain system!

Hop on a SkyTrain and you’ll hear a woman’s voice on the public address system, telling you what line you’ve boarded and what station is coming up next.

Well, that voice belongs to Laureen Regan, president of Regan Productions, a video production company in Calgary, Alberta.

She’s been the voice of the SkyTrain since 2001, when the Millennium Line opened and new station announcements were required. We brought her back again when the Canada Line and Evergreen Extension opened to record additional announcements.

Laureen Regan

Regan heard her voice on the train system for the first time shortly after the Millennium Line began service.

“I took the train and I laughed,” she says. “It was so amazing to hear it—to sit there and go, ‘Oh my God, that’s my voice.’ You remembered when you recorded it. … And everybody has no idea, which makes you laugh.”

Regan came to be the voice of the SkyTrain through her connection to Interalia, another Calgary-based company.

Interalia makes automated voice systems, and knew Regan had done voice work for her own productions in the past. They asked her to do a demo voice for their system, which they were about to show to TransLink for the Millennium Line.

Then, when TransLink bought the Interalia system, Regan was asked to record the real announcements for the trains.

Recording wasn’t too tough.

“Millennium Line is hard to say, I’ve got to say,” she says. “But I don’t remember any of the names being particularly difficult. The challenge sometimes with recording for places you don’t know is that you may not know the proper pronunciation [of local names].”

It’s a challenge she’s faced again over the years.

Regan has also done voice work for the Salt Lake City train system and the BART trains in San Francisco, both through Interalia

The chance to do voice work like this has been a gift, she says.

“It’s not been something that I’ve planned—it just happened. I enjoy it every time I do voicing. I love it.”

Listen to the Podcast

Regan’s interview was conducted as part of the Buzzer blog podcast. Have a listen!

http://buzzer.translink.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/skytrain-voice_mono.mp3

This post originally appeared in the October 10, 2008 issue of The Buzzer.

It’s I Love Transit Week and what makes this week so special are the riders sharing their transit with love us. We received many submissions, but here are some of our favourites! Check it out!

Burnaby Sunrise – a painting by Larry Mason

This painting was sent in by Larry’s niece Terri. Larry shares his inspiration behind the painting:

While living in New York City, Denise and I annually flew west to spend the Christmas Holidays with her family in Burnaby. One balmy December day I walked to Central Park. The sky was clear and brisk; the temperature not quite nippy. There I saw the SkyTrain structure; I thought it a handsome design and made a pen and ink sketch. After returning home I painted from the sketch. Taking artistic license, I changed the season to somewhere between spring, summer and fall.

A Mark I SkyTrain cake!

Yummm! Looks delicious! 

Photo of my son’s SkyTrain birthday cake. Looking forward to Transit Camp when old enough! @TransLink #ILoveTransit pic.twitter.com/0YU3jsLfbW

— Lloyd Burr (@Kodeki) August 29, 2014

Transit crossword puzzle fun

Looking for some crossword puzzle fun? Give Matthew’s a try!

Poetry in Transit by William F.

Riding the bus is really cool

Whether your are off to work or school

Or just for the fun of it

The ride is enjoyable every minute

Riding the bus is so slick

Why drive your car in heavy traffic

The transit bus will drive you wherever you need to go

Riding the bus is also educational

You hear languages so international

You are bound to learn the lingo

And eventually converse with an amigo

So ride the bus everyone!

It’s worthwhile and fun!

Transit love from Australia

Annette visited Metro Vancouver from Australia and she sent this in.

I am writing to compliment you on your transit service. In April-May 2014 I visited Vancouver, along with my husband and a friend. We used the transit system extensively during that time (bus, SkyTrain and SeaBus). We found your transit system easy to use from a visitor’s point of view, as well as being efficient. We were able to get to our destinations relatively quickly and easily. Your fares are also well priced (compared to those here in Australia). We mainly used your DayPasses, which we felt were very cost effective. So a big thank you from me. Please keep up the good work. Many thanks.

A letter from Ontario

Dear Mr. Jarvis, from Maia

I Am A Pilgrim by Rod Drown

Rod was reading The Buzzer while travelling on the 106 from New Westminster to the Tommy Douglas Library near Edmonds and Kingsway. He submitted us this song he wrote several years ago about a love he met on the 135 bus. It was arranged, composed, produced by Pim Bouwens of Sam’s Falling. 

http://buzzer.translink.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/I-Am-A-Pilgrim-2014.mp3

West Coast Express Train Set

Richard sent this one in of his West Coast Express train set!

_

If you have other things you’d like to share with us, feel free to send it to [email protected]. We’d love to see it!

Author: Allen Tung

Frank sitting one more time on his bus!

Many people spend less than four years at a job. Not Frank Jensen. Yesterday, Frank took his last trip after 41 years of exemplary service as a bus operator!

It’s not everyday that someone retires after more than four decades at the same job. And last night, Frank’s accomplishments were featured on the CBC Evening News. As you’ll see from video, Frank will be missed by more than just his fellow employees.

I had the privilege of sitting down with Frank and his son and daughter after Frank’s last run on the #405. Take a listen to what Frank and his family had to say.

http://buzzer.translink.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Frank-Jensen-Retires-After-41-Years-as-a-bus-opperator.mp3

After I spoke to Frank, his fellow operators and other staff at the Richmond Transit Centre lined up to congratulate him on his accomplishment. Thanks for all the great years, Frank! You’ll be missed!

Enjoy your retirement, Frank!

Michelle Babiuk, intrepid interviewer, speaking to an attendee at I Love Transit Night.

http://buzzer.translink.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/I-Love-Transit-Week-2010_-interviews-from-our-meetup.mp3

OK — one more thing from I Love Transit Week!

During I Love Transit Night, I asked my colleague Michelle to roam around with a voice recorder and chat with people about transit for the blog. I narrowed the audio down to about 15 minutes of stories and perspectives, so press play on the player above and have a listen to some of the fine folks we met last Thursday! Thanks Michelle for doing an excellent job, and thanks to everyone interviewed for sharing your stories!

I’d also like to point out a couple of links to wrap up the I Love Transit Week coverage:

Eric made a wrapup post for I Love Transit Week. Let’s take I Love Transit international!

Did you know St. Albert, AB did I Love Transit Week in May 2010? It’s true!

If I haven’t said it already, I really want to send a sincere, heartfelt thanks to everyone who participated in I Love Transit Week — whether you submitted essays, came to the meetup, or simply read along and enjoyed the ride. This whole week was phenomenal thanks to you. Next year, we’ll make I Love Transit even better!

(By the way: there’ll be just one more post next week about I Love Transit, and then I’ll hold my peace until next year. More photos are arriving from our photographer next week!)

It’s I Love Transit Week from July 12-16 — because even though there’s things we don’t like about transit, there’s much we do like! All week I’ll be sharing essays, stories, and more to celebrate transit. Come to I Love Transit Night on Thursday July 15 too – full details here!

I’m pleased to present a song about transit by Rachel Albang! Here’s a bit more about the song and its lyrics, plus you can hear more of her music at her Myspace account.

http://buzzer.translink.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Translink.mp3

To listen to the song press play on the player above, or download the mp3 here.

Rachel!

I was reading about your upcoming celebration and was inspired (while riding the bus!) to write you a little song. It’s kinda cheeky but the overall tone is to celebrate/appreciate the offerings of TransLink.

My transit use has really varied over the years – e.g. I’ve done my share of the three hour daily commute North Van to downtown, but currently I am working at home writing a book so my transit use is e.g. for shopping and research in Vancouver, Richmond, Burnaby, photo shoots in New West, visiting family in Delta, or friends in North Van. So I utilize the SeaBus, SkyTrain, buses and I love the new Canada line – so spacious and light! (My husband actually worked on the lighting for the Richmond portion of the new line!). My book (almost done!) is actually about stretching the dollar so I have a section where I recommend using transit even if just one day a week to cut costs of parking and to help the environment…

As a singer/songwriter I am recording a CD with more general music but I love writing little songs like the one for TransLink with a touch of cheeky humour and sentiment.

Thank you so much! And I really enjoy reading the Buzzer so keep up your good work!

Way to Go by Rachel Alexandra Albang

Way to go, way to go, way to go, way to go, way to go, way to go

Verse 1 and 2:

Don’t like waiting for a bus in the rain, don’t like sitting next to Joe insane

Can’t see through foggy window panes, but I’d be lost without my transit

Don’t like when folk step on my feet, or loudly talk beside my seat

Or sweaty guys who try to meet, but I’d be lost without my transit

Chorus:

I like it when the drivers smile and I sit back and relax for a while

I talk to people I don’t know, go anywhere I wanna go o o

Do you want to take a ride with me, east to west, mountains to sea

Downtown in minutes from New West, Translink is the best

Verse 3:

But I don’t like it when the fares go up, or when the skytrain gets all stuck

Spatial challenges sure can suck, but I’d be lost without my transit

Chorus:

I like it when the drivers smile and I sit back and relax for a while

I talk to people I don’t know, go anywhere I wanna go o o

Do you wanna take a ride with me, let’s try the 99B

Or to the airport in ten or less, Translink is the best…

Way to go, way to go, way to go

Way to go, way to go, way to go

Way to go, way to go, way to go

Best way to go, way to go, way to go

Thanks so much for the song, Rachel!

A group of 33 conductorettes posing in front of the 16th Avenue streetcar at Prior Street barns in 1944. They were at first issued skirts as part of their uniform, but this image shows the transition to pants. Skirts were difficult to manage when climbing the trolley to reset the poles! Photo courtesy of the Coast Mountain Bus Company Archives. Click for a larger version.

Today, I’m pleased to present the story of the conductorettes, a group of 180 women who were the only women operating transit vehicles between 1943 and 1975.

And I’m especially pleased to tell you that this article includes an audio podcast containing interview excerpts from three former conductorettes.

Again, Lisa Codd, the curator at the Burnaby Village Museum, helped me put this article together, based on the research of Lynda Maeve Orr, the Museum’s Assistant Programmer. It’s a continued collaboration to explore transit history and Burnaby’s archival holdings!

Podcast with three former conductorettes: Pearl Wattum, Vilma Westerholm, Edra McLeod

http://buzzer.translink.ca/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/conductorettes-podcast.mp3

The article continues below, but here you can hear the podcast containing interview excerpts from three former conductorettes: Pearl Wattum, Vilma Westerholm, and Edra McLeod.

To listen to the podcast, press play on the player above, or download the mp3 here. You can also subscribe to our podcast via RSS.

The taped interviews with the conductorettes were conducted by the Vancouver Historical Society in 1981 as part of an oral history project, and can be found at the Special Collections at the University of British Columbia. The recordings are used with the kind permission of the Vancouver Historical Society.

The story of the conductorettes: the Second World War pulls women into transit work

An ad for the B.C. Electric Guide positions. Image courtesy of the B.C. Hydro Corporate Library. Click for a larger version.

In 1943, the B.C. Electric Railway hired women to work on transit, to help address the labour shortage during the Second World War.

Besides labour shortages, the B.C. Electric Railway was dealing with an increase in demand for its services. With gas rationing taking place during the war, public transportation was more popular than ever, and the company was pressed to stretch existing resources to the limit.

(For example, the B.C. Electric Employees Magazine reported that the average number of passengers per day increased from 150,000 in January 1938 to over 270,000 by March 1943!)

The women hired during this time were called “conductorettes.” They worked on the streetcars, and only on the Vancouver routes—you wouldn’t find them on the interurbans.

The company also hired women to work as “Electric Guides,” selling pre-sold tickets at busy streetcar stops in Vancouver.

As you may remember from social studies class, this was not a particularly unusual situation: women were hired into non-traditional work during the war years because of the labour shortage, which opened the door for women to work.

Other Canadian and American cities also hired women to work on their streetcar systems as conductors.

Who the company was looking for

The company’s Vancouver Sun advertisement in June 1944 called for the following:

Women aged 25 to 35 to work as streetcar “Conductorettes.” Applicants will be considered on the basis of good appearance and general intelligence.

The B.C. Electric Railway, however, preferred to hire married women between the ages of 25 and 35 – so said the company’s transportation manager, when interviewed by the Vancouver Daily Province in August 1943.

Furthermore, the BC Electric Employees Magazine emphasized that the women couldn’t be married to just anyone — it was preferable to hire wives of men who serving overseas.

The magazine stressed the women would be held to the same requirements as men: their health, vision, sight, and IQ must be up to standard.

Winnifred [...]

Angus McIntyre celebrated 40 years as a bus driver on Tuesday, August 25, 2009.

Transit operator Angus McIntyre celebrated 40 years of driving Vancouver buses on Tuesday, August 25!

Keith Daubenspeck (Seattle Transit driver), Angus McIntyre and Brian Kelly about to head out for a fan trip with Brill trolleybus 2031 at Oakridge Transit Centre. (Photo by Wally Young circa 1970.)

On that very day, Angus started with B.C. Hydro in 1969. To mark the occasion, he pulled out his 1969 B.C. Hydro driver’s uniform (it still fits!) and the classic coin changer that all drivers used back then.

Several media outlets came out to capture Angus’s moment (here’s a story from the Province), and a few friends and longtime riders also came out to cheer Angus on. He’s a great guy and a longtime member of the Transit Museum Society (TRAMS) so lots of people were happy to see him reach this milestone!

I did a short podcast with Angus to talk about his 40th anniversary as a driver.

http://buzzer.translink.ca/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/angus-mcintyre.mp3

To listen to the podcast, press play on the player above, or download the mp3 here. You can also subscribe to our podcast via RSS, so this and all future podcasts will download straight into iTunes or your RSS reader.

Angus also sent along an article he wrote for the CAW local 111 newsletter Frontline, which I’ve reprinted with his permission below. It talks about his experience as an operator in 1969, and how coin changers worked!

Three Lots of Tokens Please

Recollections of Angus McIntyre –  #7302

I decided to write this piece when I realised that there is but a handful of drivers still driving who actually handled money and tokens on our buses.

In July of 1969 I applied to be a bus driver with B.C. Hydro, just after the first man walked on the Moon. The interviews followed quickly, and after the trainability and medical I was accepted. My final interviewer told me he was pleased with everything, except that he felt I was shy by nature and might have trouble throwing drunks off the bus! Radios were over 20 years in the future, and it was often hard to find a working pay phone. Not only were we expected to maintain order, but each trainee had to climb up the folding steps onto the roof of a Brill trolley, and walk down a pole that was straight up in the air and hook it under the pole hooks. We were also told to take hold of the trolley pole and contact the trolley wire with it to show the pole was insulated! Using caution, we were expected to keep trolley service running. Training was four weeks, with no air brake course. Instead we had a Chauffeur’s “A” licence, with a new badge issued each year. This badge had to be visible to the passengers.

At that time Hydro hired one in ten applicants, a ratio that still holds today. Standards were not as stringent, and one man in my class of six confided to me later that he had not finished elementary school, and was functionally illiterate. I was the youngest at 21, and he was the oldest in his early forties. We were paired for training. He had operated streetcars, trolley buses and subways in Toronto for 12 years, and knew more about the job than any of us. He said he did not answer a single question on the IQ test, but did well on the trainability test.

A screenshot from a 1965 CBC documentary on a day in the life of a bus driver. See the full video at the CAW 111 website.

Oakridge Transit Centre was virtually unaltered from when built in 1948. Smoking was permitted everywhere, and a large exhaust fan in the bullpen attempted to clear the air. The scenes in “A Day in the Life of a Bus Driver” showed it all. The north wall had movable boards with all the running times posted on blueprints – we had to copy down our own running times from these. All 6 trainees were taken in on old Brill diesel bus down to the booking office at the Police Station where we were fingerprinted by a burly police constable. We were bonded to [...]

As mentioned yesterday, the first of the 48 new SkyTrain cars started running on the system this morning, and I got to jump on for its first trip!

Above is a video of the two-car train #306 arriving at Edmonds Station — its first stop ever on the system. (You can see the cameramen from CTV and Global there, so you might certainly see more footage on TV tonight.)

The train will definitely be in service for the next week or so, and remember, you’re all welcome on board! It’s currently in an “endurance running” phase, which means it must complete 2000 kilometres of regular service while meeting certain criteria (that’s the equivalent of about one week of service). A critical part of this phase involves passengers boarding and disembarking the trains, so go ahead and get on it!

http://buzzer.translink.ca/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/new-skytrain-car.mp3

Okay, now above you’ll find a short podcast with some rider reactions to the new car. Just thought I’d capture a few first day thoughts!

And after the jump, there’s some more photos and video. I’ll keep it short, since I’m sure you guys will come up with way more great shots and video too — and please do send them my way!

The first junior SkyTrain pilots aboard train #306! In the early part of the ride, the train had more SkyTrain and TransLink people onboard than actual passengers -- the kids above were a few of the lucky riders!

These seats on the train fold up to allow room for wheelchairs and strollers.

A few SkyTrain attendants took a moment to examine the new maps.

A cyclist brought his bike on board! The new configuration allows much more room for bikes.

Very important: the new SkyTrain has Buzzer boxes :D

Now here’s a video of the light-up map flashing for the Metrotown stop.

Here’s the door lights in operation. Flashing when the doors close!

Since a lot of us were TransLink/SkyTrain/media staff, we were allowed to stay on the SkyTrain as it changed direction at Waterfront Station. Here’s the view coming in from the train yard, approaching the eastbound platform. Look at all the people taking pictures!

I had to hop off the train at Metrotown and go back to work, but that gave me one last opportunity to capture the new train leaving the station. There’s the LED display on the front, saying King George!

If you haven’t seen them already, here are the past Buzzer blog posts on the new trains:

Improved interiors for the new SkyTrain cars

The first of the new SkyTrain cars has arrived!

As you may have heard in the podcast, I also ran into Bryan from The Transit Site on the train, so watch his site for more photos & video too.

And if you catch a ride on the new cars, please feel free to share your experience in the comments! Again, your photos and videos of the new car are more than welcome too :)