User:SMS

Shanake Mario Seneviratne is a transit operator and transportation historian from Montreal, Quebec.

About

Shanake has a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts from McGill University. He has been a moderator with the Canadian Public Transit Discussion Board since February 2008 and an active member since March 2005. He is also an infrequent wiki editor.

He is employed as a bus driver with Réseau de transport de Longueuil, finishing second overall in his training group. Shanake's first day behind the wheel in this capacity was 27 June 2011.

The username SMS is quite simply derived from his initials.

Shanake's interests include (but are not limited to) collecting maps, signs, documents, books, and anything else of value for his personal archives. His favourite Canadian transit authorities are in Montreal and Toronto. He expects that he will travel around the world in pursuit of his interests.

For photography, SMS currently uses a Canon 5D Mark II. He previously used a Canon Digital Rebel XT.

Initiative

Shanake contributed to the 2007 Montreal Transportation Plan and infrequently attended the monthly meetings of the Société de transport de Montréal's board of directors. Whenever possible, he attended public consultations by the Agence métropolitaine de transport as well as by those by the Association québécoise du transport et des routes and the Canadian Urban Transit Association. Currently employed full-time in the transit industry, there is unfortunately very little time to participate in such activities anymore.

He is also the President and Co-Founder of YUL Bus Charters.

With regard to his membership in transit enthusiast organizations, Shanake formally joined the Toronto Transportation Society in 2007 after attending charters annually since 2005. He continues to attend charters organized by the TTS on an yearly basis. In 2009, SMS became a member of the Canadian Transit Heritage Foundation after having three of his photographs published in the 2009 Street Side Guide. He decided to renew his membership with the CTHF after submitting several photographs for publication in the 2011 Street Side Guide as well. He was once a happy member of the Fondation de l'héritage du transport en commun du Québec.

Shanake has also attended conventions hosted by the Bus History Association, the Motor Bus Society, the Canadian Transit Heritage Foundation, and the Metropolitan New York Bus Association.

Travel

SMS has traveled with the following urban transit authorities:

• Agence Metropolitaine de Transport (AMT)
• Belleville Transit
• Brampton Transit
• Calgary Transit
• Chicago Transit Authority
• Chittenden County Transportation Authority
• Commission de transport de Drummondville
• Conseil intermunicipal de transport Chambly-Richelieu-Carignan
• Conseil intermunicipale de transport du Haut-Saint-Laurent
• Conseil intermunicipale de transport des Laurentides (SURF)
• Conseil intermunicipal de transport La Presqu'Île
• Conseil intermunicipale de transport Le Richelain
• Conseil intermunicipale de transport Roussillon
• Conseil intermunicipal de transport de Sorel-Varennes
• Conseil intermunicipal de transport du Sud-Ouest
• Conseil intermunicipale de transport de la Vallée du Richelieu
• Cornwall Transit
• CyRide
• Detroit Transportation Corporation
• Durham Region Transit
• Edmonton Transit System
• GO Transit
• Hamilton Street Railway
• London Transit Commission
• Metropolitan Transportation Authority New York
• Metro Transit
• Minneapolis-St. Paul Metro Transit
• Mississauga Transit
• Municipalité régionale de comté Les Moulins
• Niagara Transit
• New Jersey Transit
• Oakville Transit
• OC Transpo
• Peterborough Transit
• Plymouth Metrolink
• Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens
• Regina Transit
• Réseau de transport de la Capitale
• Réseau de transport de Longueuil
• RTCR de la MRC de L'Assomption
• Saskatoon Transit
• Société de transport de l'Outaouais
• Société de transport de Laval
• Société de transport de Lévis
• Société de transport de Montréal
• Société de transport de Trois-Rivières
• Toronto Transit Commission
• TransLink
• Transport for London
• Verkehrsgesellschaft Frankfurt
• Ville de Mont-Tremblant
• Ville de Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu
• Ville de Sainte-Julie
• Woodstock Transit
• York Region Transit

Employment

Timeline

• 3 November 2009: created username and password on RTL website
• 22 March 2010: e-mail invitation to evaluation session
• 7 April 2010: evaluation session at Sandman Hotel
• 13 April 2010: e-mail confirmation, passed the exams at the evaluation session
• 29 June 2010: e-mail invitation to begin CFTR training
• 7 August 2010: first day of CFTR training at GASH
• 10 December 2010: e-mail invitation to RTL training at GASH
• 14 February 2011: first day of RTL training at GASH
• 27 June 2011: first day officially driving for the RTL

Influences

• Pyerre Boisvert
• Benoît Clairoux
• Marc Dufour
• Richard Hooles
• Greg Northcott
• Kevin Nicol
• Tristan-Philippe Roy
• Patrick Wright

Contact

Private messages via the CPTDB are welcome.