August 16, 2018 marked a big day for transit enthusiasts! The streets of downtown Vancouver welcomed a Canadian Car-Brill T-48A back on its roads to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the trolleybus network.
Fans lined up at the corner of Seymour and West Cordova to get a chance to go back in time by riding a 1954 trolleybus for FREE!
Retired bus operator Angus McIntyre drove the bus that was packed with bus aficionados. Driving along the original route (eastbound at nearside Seymour, Main, Kingsway, Fraser to Fraser and Marine then returning the same route) for a ride that lasted 40 minutes, the historic trolleybus was cheered on by excited onlookers.
Passengers included Mike McDaniel, President, Coast Mountain Bus Company, and Bowinn Ma, Parliamentary Secretary for TransLink, Dale Laird, President of the Transit Museum Society, and other enthusiasts.
Young and old passengers took photos and chatted with each other, with some reminiscing about their first time on the trolleybuses.
Bowinn Ma spoke about her childhood with her grandmother taking her cousins on the trolleybus to Chinatown and paying 30 cents as fare.
The fare box near the driver’s seat was a far cry from today’s fare box, and so were the pull-down windows. A small gate near the rear door of the bus had to be pushed open and held when exiting the bus.
If you missed your chance to ride the historic trolleybus for FREE, don’t fret. The trolleybus, painted in the B.C. Hydro and Power Authority livery (design on the outside), will return to Vancouver’s streets for two more days:
Saturday, August 18, noon – 4 p.m. (departs from Cambie St at Hastings St, stop #50410, approximately every 30 mins.)Friday, August 24, noon – 4 p.m. (departs from Cambie St at Hastings St, stop #50410, approximately every 30 mins.)
We expect the historic trolleybus rides to be very popular, so get there early! It’s first come, first served. Rides end at 4 p.m. on all days, so the last departure will be about half-an-hour prior on Aug. 18 & 24.
While waiting to board the bus outside Waterfront Station, you can also buy trolley-themed tee-shirts that are available at the pop-up shop inside the station.
The shop, which opened on August 16th, will be there for two more days until August 18th. It’s your chance to pick-up merchandise to show off your love for our Metro Vancouver transit system.
Local travellers and tourists thronged the pop-up shop to buy transit-themed apparel, pencils, station map mugs and mug sets, transit vehicle travel mugs and other drinkware, décor items, bus system map umbrella, laptop sleeve and other personal/tech items, as well as scale models of a SkyTrain or SeaBus.
The most popular item at the pop-up shop is the trolley-themed tee-shirt followed by transit-themed socks, and a baseball hat with the transit ‘T’ symbol.
The pop-up shop at Waterfront Station will run from:
August 16th& 17th, 8 a.m. to 6 pm
August 18th, 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Other new merchandise includes a transit map puzzle and the popular retro SeaBus t-shirts in two new colors.
Social media was abuzz with photos of people’s prized possessions with some even asking if items can be shipped abroad!
So, what are you waiting for? Book your calendar until August 18th and come see us at Waterfront Station! Be ready to take transit home!
Can’t make it? This new merchandise is also available on the TransLink Store where all orders now ship from Metro Vancouver!
Author: Tanushree Pillai
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