I am a transit enthusiast and photographer. My interests are mainly in buses and trains. I also like to use my programming experience to analyze data feeds such as TransLink’s scheduled and real time data.
Besides my gallery of transit photos, I currently maintain the “T-Comm” live map of buses and moderate the Transit-Vancouver Discord chat server.
What transit enthusiasts/fans do
Transit enthusiasts are known by many other names, some more specialized than others, including: transit fans, bus fans, rail fans, rail spotters, airplane spotters, etc.
Each person is unique and may be interested in different aspects of public transportation. Here are some things transit enthusiasts might participate in:
- Spotting, riding and/or photographing vehicles, especially ones that are new, about to be retired, or refurbished vehicles
- Finding anomalies in the transit system, for example, buses with advertisement wraps, types of buses that you usually don’t find assigned to a route
- Collecting memorabilia such as schedules, maps, pamphlets, or legally acquired items off decommissioned vehicles and equipment
- Recording or searching up historical information about transit systems
Resources for Vancouver Transit Fans
Here are some resources that some transit fans in the Metro Vancouver area might find useful.
- T-Comm
This online site I created makes finding buses on the road in real time a lot easier. Project Info. - Transit Vancouver Discord Chat
Join the Metro Vancouver transit community on Discord online chat to share sightings and photos, and talk about anything else transit related. - Canadian Public Transit Discussion Board
Many transit fans across Canada keep updated through this online discussion board. - Transportation & Infrastructure Discussion Board at SkyScraper Page – Vancouver
There is a broader range of transportation-related (and Vancouver-related) discussions at SSP. - TRAMS (Transit Museum Society) and their Facebook Page
The TRAMS group maintains a fleet of historic buses in Vancouver. They hold charters every now and then. Their Facebook page is active with both historical and current discussions. - Sorry Bus Full
Another site analyzing different operational data available from TransLink.
SkyTrain Resources
- SkyTrain Track Diagrams and Terminology
Canada Line, Expo and Millennium Lines
These are maps of the track features: where the switches are, their numbers, re-entry points, etc.
Photos
Here are photo galleries of fellow transit fans:
- Trans-Continental (David Lam and George Prior)
- BusShots (Chris Cassidy)