Calgary Transit

After months and months of awful CT experiences, I have to share a little bit.
I’m a born and bred Calgary and have been taking transit since I started elementary. Over the years, I’ve watched the transit system go from pretty decent to abhorrently bad, especially in the past 3 – 4 years. I know that wherever you go, no city will ever have a perfect transit system. But Calgary’s has seen such a huge decline that it’s deserving of a conversation.
Last night’s experience with a driver is really what brought me here. The straw that broke the camel’s back, so to speak. He was busy having a conversation with a friend at Anderson station and left a good 6 – 7 minutes later than he was supposed to. I’d had a terrible Monday and had somewhere to be, so needless to say, I was pretty irritated over this needless delay in time. When I got off, I didn’t thank him because I was pretty unimpressed at that point, and he fired back with a very sarcastic, «YOU’RE WELCOME», at which point I turned around and told him that it’d be mighty great if he considered other people’s schedules and it’d be awesome if he could try to be on time. And what happened? You guessed it. Defiance and attitude. I don’t even think I was rude in what I said or how I said it; alas, this seems to be the attitude of far too many transit drivers these days. You’d better kiss their butts, even if they’re not doing even remotely what’s expected of them.
At over $ 3 a ticket if you’re buying on a one-​off case, the service you get for transit isn’t worth it. Not even in the slightest. For the service you do get, they shouldn’t have the gall to charge more than $ 1.50. I honestly don’t know where all the money they make goes. They sure don’t spend it on drivers who have decent attitudes, let alone a driver’s license. They definitely don’t spend it on trains that don’t break down regularly for no good reason, when it rains, when it snows, when there’s a breeze, when a bird flies by…
I take two buses and a train in the morning, and the same on the way home. It’s rare to have a good experience these days. Thank you to all the drivers who actually care; you can turn someone’s day around. To the rest, I have to ask, what were your employers thinking? I know it’s not the driver’s fault when machinery breaks down, if that’s the case, but they couldn’t pack more of a «not my problem» attitude if they tried. As for the rest, there’s zero responsibility taken for schedules or poor attitudes.
I just don’t get CT anymore. When did they stop caring?

It is 32C outside, and I was dreading having to utilize a packed, hot, and smelly bus to get home from work.
Much to my shock and amazement, the bus is air conditioned!
Calgary Transit, I forgive all of your past transgressions (of which there have been many. .. Including leaving me standing outside in the cold at –30C).
I may just be in love with you. Please don’t break my heart (or leave me standing in the cold again).

I honestly wish I had a drivers licence public transit is a putrid wretched disgusting over crowded piece of garbage and I would encourage people to get their licences. first of all the people who designed the seats on many of the buses used fabric allowing for many of the repulsive people who take transit to stick their gum on it and some people puke and piss while taking transit they can’t clean that out of fabric very well. They have heated seats and they never turn them on at the chinook station they don’t care if its 30 below. the train system is unreliable and people can’t predict what its gonna be like. and the worst thing of all is they hire a lot of useless individuals that show up 10 minutes early and cause people to miss the bus. Also they have just recently put up the price for youth to take the bus to 2.10 of course I’m sticking to paying a dollar seventy five since I’m not giving even more money to a system that just keeps getting more awful and i would encourage every one to do the same.

Calgary transit is useless on the weekends and if you live in the suburbs. I live in Discovery Ridge and wanted to take my 2 year old daughters to the Westhills Shopping Centre on a Saturday. For point of reference, google maps says the driving time (by caris rom my place is 12 minutes and 4 km long. According to Calgary transit, I would have to take the 439 bus to another suburb and then transfer to another bus. I can’t imagine doing thar, especially in very cold weather with 2 toddlers. No wonder nobody wants to use Calgary transit unless they’re in dire straits.

One of the cleanest, safest transit systems I have come across in any city.
Back home, I’d be hidden beneath a hood and large headphones just to avoid the inevitable crazies who have made it their life’s mission to torment everyone who rides the rails. Here, I didn’t even see anyone who looked remotely crazy. I rode twice — at rush hour and about 9 pm, and everyone on there was either a smiling face or looked like a working professional minding their own beeswax. I was even so bold as to ask a random stranger for directions while at a stop. Something I’d be very particular about doing on the nightmare back home.
My experience was a one time thing, so I can sympathize with those frequent riders who are requesting more routes, extensions and so forth. But when I can hop on downtown and end up clear on the other side of the city with no delays and for dirt cheap, I’m not going to focus too much on the downfalls or needed improvements. Calgary doesn’t have the best transit system, but their setting an example for countless other cities in far worse shape, including my hometown of Sacramento.

As we all know Calgary is an expanding City! so is Calgary Transit. I’ve had my share of good and bad! its a all and all balance of reviews. Some days are Great others are Horrible. A few I could rant on but all in all not bad. I think some of the drivers could be more accurate and more pleasant. The being on time thing is a big big one! so if anyone reads this please know Im supportive but just a few critiques here and there! I’m loving the new plans for the near future its going to be a greener and better system! keep up the well done work!

Okay, this is from a tourist perspective: For a city your size, your transit system is decent. Not great, but decent.
Your LRT (C-​Train) system is actually the busiest in North America. Let that sink in for a bit, it’s an absolute marvel that is very efficient in quickly getting you from one place to another along the corridor. Plus, your station designs are much more modern than other transit systems (Toronto I’m looking at you…), and honestly I like modern architecture as much as the service it provides.
Calgary does need to improve its bus services though. For a city your size I expected more weekend service on your various bus routes, and definitely routes that operate every 15 minutes or less at all times. For a tourist I guess it’s not a huge issue, but I can see residents complaining about more frequent service. I guess I am a bit spoiled that Toronto has service of 10 mins or less on almost all its major corridors, but 15 min service for a city of 1M+ for all the major arteries at all times is easily manageable.
Your city is beautiful though!

Alright!
This transit system somehow found a way to get better, now that there’s a new guy running the show!
It’s been about five years since I lived in the city.
Why oh why do things get better after I leave?!
Oh that’s right. Because I left.
Alright, Calgary Transit.
You’ve shaped up somewhat.
But as long as my relatives live within Stampede City, I’ll be back.

My job requires me to be at the stampede grounds almost daily. And since I don’t own or have any desire to own a car, I have become quite the transit pro.
If transit is in your daily routine then it’s way better to splurge on the bus pass. As you take transit with a bus pass you have no worries, no stopping to pay for tickets and none of the off chance your transfer has expired.
You can always download the Calgary Transit app to find out bus times, but I have an even easier way. Find out your bus stop’s departure time by going on google maps and locating your bus stop, click it and it shows the times. Always leave so you can be 10 – 5 mins earlier at the bus stop then the time the bus is to leave.
The trains are a different transit experience. One thing I know about trains, I omit the idea that I’m going to sit down. In fact I’m better off not sitting anyways as the extra exercise of standing helps me get into my work routine. Sitting is not the best way to enjoy the train anyways. The direct middle of the train always gives you the most amount of space and no annoying seat mates.
I never leave without a pen to do the crosswords in the free metro and 24 hours, it does this thing where it makes your train route seem like 5 mins. Another key item to have is an ipod. When people on trains travel in groups they like to talk very loud to one another. The train can be quite loud with chatter depending on the day, so having that ipod insures peace from that.
As you pull in from a Saddletown train, a Somerset train is always departing from City Hall, just something I’ve observed through the years. When waiting for a train, know exactly when the train is coming by paying attention to all the traffic lights in front of the train you’re waiting for. If traffic and people are crossing 7^th ave then the train will not be going forward. Knowing exactly where the doors usually open is another helpful thing to remember. The middle car is always my favorite car to enter the train, as people usually head for the front and back cars.

First, I’m going to preface this review by stating that regular CT users already KNOW what sucks about Calgary transit (cold weather train breakdowns, the grating «please stand clear of the door,» message, bus drivers smirking as they make eye contact and drive by your stop, etc), so I’m not going to beat a dead horse.
Instead, I’m going to keep this within the context of WHY I’m currently a CT user; why that has changed in the past, and why it (likely) will change in the future.
First, as a point of note, I ONLY use Calgary Transit to commute to my workplace downtown. And I only ride the train.
If I needed to use a feeder bus system, with the multi-​legs and transfers, that would be a deal breaker for me. It’s too much of an inconvenience, when the alternative is simply driving downtown uninterrupted, in a warm car with tunes, and parking right beside my office.
Trust me, I’m not alone in thinking this way. There is a very real tipping point where riding CT just isn’t worth it.
That being said, if you give me the opportunity to drive to a point where I can easily park and board a C-​train, with minimal hassle or resistance, I will make the most of that opportunity. I will take the train.
Unfortunately, this is where things have gone sideways for CT through the years.
Here’s a little history:
LRT parking used to be free across the board. And the overflow cars, such as around Shawnessy/​Bridlewood, parked all over the commercial side streets.
Really, no one cared if there were cars lining the access road around Canadian Tire. It’s not residential (BTW, all those overflow cars, which often included myself, equated to mostly PAID transit riders).
Then along came $ 3 a day parking. Simultaneously, the city re-​zoned all the side streets with 3 hour limits… forcing the combined overflow + lot traffic to compete only for the small LRT lot.
Clearly this was a move to force everyone to pay their 3 bucks. But duh! There wasn’t room in the lot for everyone!
This was a commuter nightmare for a few reasons. Mostly, you never knew if you’d get a spot in the «official» lot or not. There was never enough stalls.
And two… even driving into the station from a main thoroughfare like Macleod to LOOK for a spot wasted a good 15 minutes, factoring in the lineups at the traffic lights if you were unsuccessful.
Three: lining up to pay for parking at the machines daily? If you were so lucky to grab a spot (early risers only), then this sucked hard in the winter.
All this meant, in the $ 3-​a-​day-​jammed-​lot-​world, I – and countless others – were resigned to drive downtown. Which meant paying for gas, vehicle wear and tear, traffic jams, $ 20 a day DT parking, and polluting the hell out of the environment.
But now?
Reserved parking, baby.
*** THIS HAS CHANGED EVERYTHING! ***
It made me consider CT a viable option again!
Yes, I opted for the $ 70 a month stall that some people bitch about.
I reserve a spot, and I can say it has alleviated 90% of my transit frustrations. AND saved me a shitload of money. SAVED. ME. MONEY.
Now I can actually plan my schedule ahead of time, and see things unfold according to plan. I pull up to the station, and my spot is always there. I hop the train, and I’m downtown in half an hour. Start to finish, this process is more often than not pain free.
Within the context of how I use transit, with a reserved spot, I can now give CT 4 stars. (I deduct one star for the new train configuration… the standing room only cattle cars, which suck).
Nonetheless, I don’t have high hopes for reserved parking being around forever. Someone will kill it, because they don’t understand the relevance of my scenario described above.
And on that day, it’s back to one star for CT, and I rip them in the re-​written review. Me? I resume clogging the streets on my commute downtown. I will feel bad about it, but hey… if I don’t have a place to park, then I have no option.
Unilocal’s 30 Day Challenge 2012 — ⁸⁄₃₀

As a new Calgarian, let me tell you… I think people that lived here for most/​all of their lives might be jaded with the transit system. Living in Edmonton for just over 5 years and Lethbridge for more then I like to mention, Calgary’s Transit system is a cut above.
The C-​train service is pretty impressive; the first week on it I was like what? It has a free zone? Not what I’m used to coming from the over transit systems. I also wanted to mention that the drivers have been actually friendly.
I understand people always expect the best and continue to want more but coming from a fresh eyed perspective, we got It pretty good and I’m happy about it.

In all truth, it’s hard to write a review on something that is spread out all over the city, and operated by so many individuals. With so many variables, it’s easy to see both the good and the bad. But, nonetheless, here’s my take on CTS…
Overall, it gets the job done. Effectively? Not often.
Transit operators? I have ‘some’ sympathy for ‘some’ these guys. There are good ones out there, don’t get me wrong. But there are also the ones you can tell would rather be elsewhere, and then there are the ones that give all drivers a bad name.
The ‘bad’ drivers, are usually the ones that spark what I like to call ‘insane transit user syndrome’. You know, those individuals that feel the need to yell and scream at ALL the drivers over the smallest thing. Granted, these individuals can usually be found in retail stores and shopping malls doing the exact same thing.
Then there are the buses & trains themselves… There are so many different styles of vehicles. Look at all the trains and buses CTS offers, and there’s nothing uniform or consistent with them. There’s old, new, and some of these vehicles look like they drove right out of a horror movie.
Schedules? Well, there are a few that generally run «on time», or at least run often enough that missing one isn’t a huge issue. These are the ones, that I am grateful to now have to take to get to and from work, as well as to visit friends and clients. But, back when I lived out in Queensland, if you missed your bus, you were stuck waiting anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes for the next one. NOT cool if you were running late for work. Or if it was –30C.
I also feel that a lot of what frustrates people about CTS, is the cost, and the fact that we really don’t see what the money goes towards. Yes, they’re extending the C-​Train lines, paying the drivers, etc., etc… However, improving the current routes, buses, and schedules would be a touch more effective at the moment, in my opinion…
Anyway, in parting, I’d like to share a few tips, to those of you who take the bus as often as I do. Hopefully, they make things a wee bit more bearable, and ease the frustration of taking CTS…
1) Check ahead of time, to see if your bus route (s) are affected by the never ending construction of the city. Check regularly, as these change often.
2) Arrive at your bus stop at LEAST 5 (ideally 10) minutes prior to the next buses arrival. I know, in theory we shouldn’t have to, BUT, things in this world are rarely perfect.
3) Give yourself an additional 15 minutes of travel time. Leave early when possible, to avoid being late.
4) Bring an mp3/​video player. Or a tablet/​book/​e-​reader. Something to pass the time during your trip. Just ensure it doesn’t distract you so much you miss your stop.
5) Be courteous to those around you, and treat everyone with a certain level of respect. What people fail to realize, is that how much you enjoy the actual trip, is determined by the people you travel with. Keep audio device volumes to a comfortable level for everyone, don’t leave your trash on the seat for the next person, and don’t be a total douche to everyone on the bus (drivers included). Remember, you get what you give =)
Live well, rest well, be well. =)

So in my last post and I said I’d rather stick to my car than transit, due to my current job I’m finding that difficult. I would drive to work, but there is basically no parking in the area so if I did drive I’d have no where to leave my car, and I’m assuming taking the train may be better than sitting in traffic. So now I spend a total of one and a half-​two hours sitting on the train every day because my job is on the opposite end of the city from where I live, joy!
I’ll give transit this, the LRT’s are more timely than before, and they have those little signs at the stations saying how long a train will be which is sweet. Most the time these signs are accurate, there has been the occasional time where it said «next train in two minutes» for five minutes. So yes, transit is getting to be better but I still have two huge downsides to the system:
I understand that the city needs to use the old LRT carts in order to run more frequently, but do you know how much it sucks being stuck in the really old ones when it’s crammed full? Stampede week was RIDICULOUS! At least the new ones have AC, the old ones don’t, and I am pretty sure I could feel the heater blasting onto my legs when it was 30 damn degrees outside. Please catch me if I pass out. So the old ones suck balls, and the trains still remain to be really crowded whether it is the new or old carts.
My second issue: Downtown. I swear I sat on the train one day after it left Victoria Park and was waiting to go into downtown for five minutes. First it had to wait for the Whitehorn going into downtown, then traffic, then the Whitehorn going north, then traffic again, before it could move. The fact our system has to wait for traffic and is blocked by other lines is just silly. Downtown is definitely the worst in regards to trains being stalled due to traffic or people trying to cram on and the doors not closing.

Calgarians are fortunate to have an excellent light rail system that runs more than 30 miles from way south of downtown to a solid distance north of it. My only complaint is that it doesn’t run to the airport. Built in the 1980’s before the Olympics came to C-​Town, it doesn’t really show it’s age at all.
I didn’t have an opportunity to try the bus system, so I can’t comment on that.
The downtown area is completely free, but once you leave downtown you must have purchased a ticket and validate it before boarding. At $ 2.75 each way, it’s a bargain. Much easier than trying to find a parking space! The ticket vending machines are easy enough to operate and there is plentiful free parking at the station that I patronized.
Comfortable seating, if you can find it but no wifi on board. A minor complaint. Trains run often during peak hours but less often outside. 15 minutes at most, is what they say.
Since it’s mostly a north to south line, if you live east or west of Calgary it probably won’t be of much use to you.
Adding Calgary’s mass transit trains to the list I’ve ridden: New York City, Charlotte, Washington, Atlanta, Chicago, Boston, Rome, London, Paris, Munich, Basel.

I absolutely hate Calgary Transit. I have been late for almost everything because a bus was 20 minutes late/didn’t show up, or the train unexpectedly broke down. People have suggested that if I don’t want to be late, I can leave my house half an hour earlier. Not only does it take me almost 90 minutes to get to the University already, I think another half an hour would just be ridiculous. You should not be expecting problems every time you take transit, that you would have to head out half an hour earlier.
It’s absolutely ridiculous that the trains aren’t underground, and that some train stations aren’t even enclosed. When they build those stations, did they think that Calgary was incapable of having cold winters? And what about the irregular bus times, where three buses going a similar route shows up within 10 minutes of each other, such that if you miss those buses it’s another half an hour’s worth of wait? I can’t express my frustrations for Calgary Transit enough. I think an interpretive dance with stabbing motions and me tearing out my hair would be more accurate of how I feel.
I hate that in Calgary, you are absolutely FORCED to either drive or take this horrible excuse of a public transportation system, because there are no other alternatives (not easy ones, anyways as Calgary isn’t very pedestrian friendly, or that great for cyclists).

Decided to review CT because of the challenge. Perhaps its difficult because your relation with system varies based on where you live, the times you travel and where you are going. As someone who spends 80% of his time in downtown and the beltline, I think it suits my needs just fine.
Considering this is a city of only 1M people I think you get decent value for the system. And I’ve seen some incremental improvements such as the posting of train times in downtown C-​Train stations and the development of the CT app. We’ll see with the extensions to the C-​train if the city finally creates a service closer to what Calgarians deserve. It’s an OK system, but only because I do see improvements.
At least they are trying!
¹⁶⁄₃₀ Unilocal 30 Day Challenge

OMG I am so happy you can review Calgary Transit. WTH Calgary? What a mess your transit system is. OK. It’s not that dirty, but I haven’t been anywhere that was dirtier, so it’s all relative. I come from Edmonton and as much flack we get for having a high murder count, or a dirty downtown… our buses are cleaner and a lot newer too than CT ones. And the transit system is much less of a gongshow and embarrassment to a city that’s thought to be progressive. Yes. CT is an embarrassment. CT is an embarrassment to any visitor to Calgary, any resident of Calgary, and to the city of Calgary.
Not only that… but $ 2.75 for «maybe» getting to your destination on time — if at all? No wonder everyone drives. I’d rather pay double the price for parking and gas than have to brave the horrible transit system in Calgary. Are the trains/​buses ever on time? No. Are the buses/​trains ever clean? No. Have I waited for a bus that’s just never come at all? Yes. Do I have a busy schedule that doesn’t allow for «will the bus decide to come today or not?» Yes. Does that explain why no one takes CT unless they absolutely have to?
Free transport downtown? What a waste. People traveling downtown either work downtown or live downtown and should be able to afford transit downtown. Why would you make it free? For lazy business people to avoid having to walk a couple of blocks and to create a place for people to hide from the cold? Even Edmonton figured that one out quick and nixed it. Maybe if they stopped letting people travel for free downtown, they’d make enough money to make the buses less ghetto and the fares less steep.
And in what world does the «LRT» STOP FOR RED LIGHTS??? Are you kidding me? What a mess that makes for the downtown area. What a horrible, horrible mess. Not to mention the trains getting stuck, people getting hit by the trains crossing the streets, trains blocking traffic, trains stopping for whatever reason and locking their doors for the already over-​capacity train to boil to death. What an embarrassment to a developed city.
And as for the Calgary Transit itself, why the $@#)(* would they have a bus route that has to cross 5 lanes of traffic within a block from 2^nd or 1^st st. SW to center st. SW along 5^th ave. Are you kidding me? You can’t figure out a bus route that doesn’t require crossing 5 lanes of traffic and cutting off everyone in rush hour, so that half of 5^th ave. is actually empty each light. Talk about inefficient. What the h$#(* was Calgary Transit or IS Calgary Transit thinking.
I’d give it 1 star even if I could give it 0 stars, only because CT actually does an awesome job of hiring bus drivers and C-​train conductors. They have mostly been pleasant and friendly on all the routes I’ve traveled.

Single worst transit system in N. America. Hands down! I’ve been on transit from Sam Fran. to L.A. to N.Y. to Van. city to Halifax and back.
CT is the worst system in planning and execution I have seen.
As soon as the weather turns I expect to see the amount of passengers go up and I also expect busses to run a bit late… thats understood. The problem is more in the fact that if I can anticipate these things, why cant they? 4 of my busses passed me by before I could fit on the 5^th. Thats about 1 hour standing outdoors in –30. Really?
Calgary is a driving city… if we ever want to see a signifigant change for the better ie. more transit /​bike/​pedestrian traffic, It needs to appeal to people.
Right now Calgary Transit can eat a D*** for raising my bus pass price every year without providing me better service.

There is nothing overly wrong with our Calgary Transit system that could not immediately be cured by a simple adjustment of MANAGERIAL PRIORITIES.
The entire bus /​train system has been conceived as a DAYTIME /​WEEKDAY /​PEAK TRAVEL «relief valve», intended solely to take pressure off the road system. And therein lies the problem. Calgary is more than a 5-​day a week, 12-​hour a day enterprise populated by traditional families with OPTIONS; in particular, the CHOICE of driving or using public transit.
In TRUTH, huge numbers of Calgary residents and visitors have NO OPTION at all. It’s «take the bus» or NOTHING. Frequently, doing nothing wins out for this group. Staying home evenings and weekends is too often the only practical choice for the «no option» group, especially on COLD days. Being grossly LATE for daytime, non-​peak travelling time appointments and rendezvous’ with family and friends is the depressing norm. Freezing at bus stops and C-​Train stations late at night is the reality and, along with the pain, carries the risk of exposure to the less savoury elements present in our city.
It’s pure delusion that prevents Calgary Transit and City Hall officials from seeing the C-​Train and bus feeder system as an ESSENTIAL SERVICE for this «no option» group. It’s deliberate DISCRIMINATION to treat one segment of the population as if they do not exist. It cannot be justified on any basis. It’s shameful.
Who then is in this NO OPTION group? It’s young working people, people actively looking for jobs, struggling families, temporary workers, new arrivals, foreign travellers, shift workers, students, the handicapped, the elderly etc. etc. etc. Look around. We have young adults visiting and staying in Calgary for months at a time. They travel here from all over the world. They have chosen to visit Calgary from afar. It’s a huge shock to them when they get here and experience firsthand our HALF-​HEARTED public transit system.
Foreign ESL students are everywhere in Calgary. We have dozens of ESL (English as Second Language) schools in the area serving young adults. These guests, living all over our city, invariably do not have cars. Public transit is their ONLY choice. However, they do have money to spend, time on their hands and no reason at all to stay home evenings and weekends. Calgary’s reputation around the world is being forged in the malleable minds of these smart and soon to be influential international visitors. We are not scoring any points around the world by FUMBLING THE PUBLIC TRANSIT BALL.
Until things change, we will continue to be viewed as an UNDERDEVELOPED country by huge numbers of well-​travelled young foreigners who KNOW how an effective public transit system operates. They’ve been using one for years in Seoul, in Madrid, in Mexico City, in Sao Paulo, in Frankfurt, in Tokyo and in Taipei, for their entire lives.
It’s obscenely short-​sighted and now URGENT that things change. Simply, Calgary Transit and City Hall must revise their PRIORITIES. The physical system is in place already. It’s just not being used properly.
We have a TOKEN public transit system in Calgary because it’s only a PART-​TIME system.
We must all drive this point home to our complacent elected representatives, those OVERSEERS of the PUBLIC GOOD.

I’ve been fortunate to have taken transit all over the globe. I“m talkin’: Chicago, Toronto, India, Rome, Seoul, Singapore, Washington, Montréal, Vegas, Mexico, and the list goes on and on. So where does Calgary measure up in terms of its transit level? Here goes:
— Calgary Transit is reasonably clean.
— Calgary Transit is a comfortable ride, and I do like that it is one of the few cities still based on the honour system. Everyone is expected to pay for their ride and passengers are only seldom questioned when C-​Train officers come aboard
— The Calgary Transit line that runs from Crowfoot to Somerset is my preferred line
— The Calgary Transit line that runs from downtown to McKnight/​Westwinds is NOT my preferred line
— The crowd on the Crowfoot-​Somerset line is genrally welcoming and friendly
— The crowd on the Downtown-​Mcknight/​Westwinds line is sometimes shady
— During peak hours, the trains get uncomfortably packed, but that’s the case in all cities and countries
— The Calgary Transit fare is reasonable in comparison to other cities, coming in at $ 2.50/Adult. Plus it is transferrable in the same direction for a total of 90 minutes — definitely a perk.
Complaints:
— The Calgary Transit line could use some work in regards to reaching popular areas of Calgary.
— Why does the train NOT go to the airport? Why is it not mandatory for all cities to have a train that commutes to the airport??? I know it’s in ‘the plan’, but that’s not good enough
— Recently, all of the train stops downtown were renovated. Yes, they look pretty, but are absolutely useless. The giant clocks and the sheltering above are useless. I wish the city had used that money for something worthwhile.
— The bus system needs to be more accessible. I don’t want to have to go to Dalhousie station first to get to Edgemont. It doesn’t make sense depending where I’m coming from. We need more busses that come more frequently and that go farther, just like other major cities on the continent.
Overall, the transit system in Calgary is adequate for the city’s size, however considering how fast Calgary is expanding, the city really needs to get on this! I know there are plans underway, but having the intent isn’t going to cut it anymore. Let’s get more busses and more train stops running… less talk, more action.