I Love Transit Kids Camp

“We’ll have to hurry, the train is here.” My friend Tony frantically loaded up a brand new Tap card for me at a Sunset Metro station last week. “It’s ok, we’ll just take the next one,” my traveling companion Keira replied. Tony finished the steps and my card, loaded with a one-way fare, dropped from the ticket dispenser. In the distance, beyond the fare gates, we heard the train pull away. “Well, now we have to wait 27 minutes for the next one,” Tony shrugged. Keira and I looked at each other in disbelief. It was 7:00pm on a Tuesday night Los Angeles and the trains ran that infrequently? The experience sure made us appreciate our SkyTrain!

I Love Transit Week

If you love our local Metro Vancouver transit, you’re in luck. There’s an entire week dedicated to it, coming up August 29th to September 2nd!

I Love Transit Week is a week dedicated to all of the things that we love about transit – like that time Jarred and Nina tied the knot on the bus or when Annie and Mike got married on the 351 Crescent Beach.

Locals have also celebrated transit through poetry, LEGO, and more.

I Love Transit Kids Camp

I Love Transit Kids Camp is back for its third straight year during I Love Transit Week. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for kids between the ages of 8 and 12 to get a behind the scenes look at TransLink operating companies’ facilities.

Kids will learn about how transit works and have some fun at the same time! Check out all the fun that was had in 2014 & 2015. This year’s camp is taking place on Thursday September 1st.

The plan

Meet at Gilmore Station for 9:00am then hop on a bus and ride to Burnaby Transit Centre (“BTC”). BTC is home to little known transit operations such as fleet overhaul, where they fix and update almost everything on a bus, including the painting of buses and reupholstering of seats. Participants will get a tour of the bus yard with articulated and 40-foot buses.

After that, there will be lunch before leaving the BTC, then you’ll hop on SkyTrain and head to Edmonds Station and walk down to where SkyTrain Operations and Maintenance Centre (“OMC”) lives.

At OMC, campers will get a behind the scenes look at the facility where SkyTrains are maintained and cleaned as well as visit SkyTrain Control. They will also get a chance to use the SkyTrain simulator, ask questions of SkyTrain staff. The day ends with a visit with Transit Police and Transit Security. The day will wrap up around 4:00pm.

How to Participate

Due to safety concerns for both OMC and BTC, TransLink only able to take a maximum of 20 people in the camp. That means 10 kids (ages 8-12) and their guardians will be able to participate in the camp.

Interested in a fun day on transit? If you’d like to participate, tell TransLink (in 50 words or less) what you love about transit by emailing [email protected] with “I Love Transit Camp Kids” in the subject line.

You can also mail in your entry The Buzzer, 400 – 287 Nelson’s Court, New Westminster, BC, V3L 0E7.

Be sure to include the following:

• Name
• Age
• Where you heard about the camp
• The phone number and name of the guardian you wish to bring with you

If you like, you can also submit a photo and/or a video as part of your entry. Before you or your little one starts typing or writing, you’ll want to read the participation guidelines.

The deadline for submissions is August 22. If you are selected, participation forms are due before August 26, 2016.