Calgary transit fares to increase in 2022
Posted Dec 6, 2021 2:51 pm.
Last Updated Dec 6, 2021 8:11 pm.
It is going to cost you a bit more to ride the bus and CTrain in Calgary in the new year.
Ticket fares are going up by ten cents for most riders, with the cost of ticket books and monthly passes also increasing along with them.
This means it will cost adults $3.60 for a single-use ticket and kids $2.45. Tickets do remain free for kids aged five years old and younger.
A book of ten tickets will then cost $36 for adults, and a monthly pass will be up to $112. Youth passes will increase to $82, but that does not take effect until September of 2022.
Day passes for adults and youths are also increasing by 25 cents, to $11.25 and $8.25 respectively.
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For seniors, a regular yearly pass will increase by five dollars to $150, and a seniors low-income pass is also going up by five dollars to $30.
This did come as a bit of a surprise to some councillors, as Ward 11’s Kourtney Penner asked Calgary Transit General Manager Doug Morgan about the changes.
In response to follow-up questions from reporters outside the council chambers, Penner said there should have been some more clear communication.
“I think what’s really important is how do we communicate as a city. Having that strategic approach where we all have aligned communication so that we can better communicate with residents on what they can expect from the city,” she said.
In a tweet, Calgary Transit laid out the changes and said it is in response to increasing operating costs and growth in the city.
#CTRiders, to ensure our revenues keep pace with operating costs and city growth, our fares are increasing for 2022. For most customers, fares will go up about 10 cents per ride. Visit https://t.co/sR207KH0K4 for details. pic.twitter.com/NaRFDQpaeo
— Calgary Transit (@calgarytransit) December 6, 2021
Morgan told council this is in line with plans laid out in previous budget discussions, after initially instituting a freeze on increasing fare costs. She said it was then a little bit confusing because this was not brought up during the budget discussions that wrapped up last month.
“I would have asked transit to reconsider,” she said. “I’m very sympathetic to the challenges transit has faced through COVID and the loss. Again, though, I think we need to ask ourselves what kind of city do we want to be in, how do we want to incentivize transit use. It seems like a nominal raise, I mean it’s equivalent to about four per cent of the current transit fare. We do need to be sensitive and listening to residents though, that the timing I think has felt a little bit off.”
That said, the increase in Calgary is not quite as bad as it is up north in Edmonton, where fares will jump by fifty cents to $4 for a single ticket — tied for the most in the country.
If you want to test your odds and try to get away with not buying a ticket, then you risk a fine of up to $250 if caught.
