Calgary Transit launches new text help line

CALGARY (660 NEWS) — There’s a new resource for Calgary Transit passengers to report issues, aimed to be both more convenient and more discrete.

It’s a 24/7 text line, allowing people to detail minor problems or disturbances.

“The text line is for non-emergencies — so if you see broken glass or something that our staff need to attend to. We ask you to either use the help phone or the Transit Watch text line,” said Calgary Transit Director Doug Morgan.

The number is 74100, with transit staff standing by to respond immediately to any concerns.

This doesn’t completely replace the emergency options, such as help buttons or calling 911, but can still improve the passenger experience.

“It will help Calgarians respond to issues that may happen on their journey and make sure we can get some staff out to help out,” said Morgan. “We’re putting safety at the heart of our whole operation.”

Ward 3 Councillor Jyoti Gondek was on hand for the unveiling of this text line at Saddletowne Ctrain station in northeast Calgary and is excited for the possibilities.

“As a rider, there’s been a couple of moments where I’ve been a little bit concerned about people being in distress. There’s been some disorder as well, and I can tell you when my daughter was younger, and I was riding with her alone there was times I was able to use a tool like this,” said Gondek.

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The fact that it is more discrete is also being billed as a positive, as opposed to getting up to use a help button or calling 911.

“It’s not unusual to be using your cell phone while you’re on transit,” said Gondek. “So you don’t really draw attention to yourself if you’ve got to call out something — whether it’s you feeling uncomfortable in the situation or you notice somebody else might be in distress — no one is going to know what you’re doing and I think that’s a fantastic way to use technology to its best advantage.”

There is a possibility the line could become overloaded with irrelevant concerns, but right now Calgary Transit is confident it will be handy no matter what.

“We’ll take whatever feedback we get from customers. We’ll reinforce that we want this to be for things that need action right away. So if it becomes a complaint line, we’ll try to educate customers, but we’re never going to turn away feedback.”