A few days ago I was speaking to a good friend and a colleague of mine, who really wasn’t a fan of TransLink. I noticed that much of that judgments seemed to come from his experiences as a transit rider, and from a generally negative shadow that has been/is being cast over TransLink by many institutions and groups – the media, politicians, and – of course – public transit users from all over Metro Vancouver. It’s a perception that can affect the most important choices that will make or break the hopes of many people who are pining for better transit, especially if the B.C. Liberals happen to win the upcoming provincial election and subject future TransLink funding to a referendum in which there is a status-quo option (my response to that at [CLICK HERE]).

There are a few things I know about TransLink, however, that many others don’t – things I have found out through spontaneous or targeted research sessions. So, I decided to tell him one thing I knew about how TransLink’s fares and affordability compare with the rates in other cities in Canada. It took me several messages on Facebook just to get the message to him about what the facts were in terms of fares, but by the end he was quite satisfied with what he was hearing.

I’ve never really tried to get this knowledge out to the public in a big way before, and I don’t think too many people are like him and would be willing to read long messages for me for 20 minutes straight. So, I’ve decided to try something new and different. Inspired by a recent series of Infographics that have concerned similar topics on the Metro604 website (former Civic Surrey)…. here is something that everyone can read at their own pace.