Population growth puts strain on Calgary Transit

Calgary Transit is one step closer to receiving $3 million dollars in additional funding this year, as it says the city’s population increase is putting a strain on the system.

About five bus loads of people arrive to the city everyday — that’s the level of growth Calgary Transit says its trying to keep up with after 2024 saw the agency deliver over 100 million trips.

The additional funding request will now go to council after the Infrastructure and Planning Committee voted for the measure. If approved, funding would come from the city’s reserve fund.

“This would get us operators trained up to go for January, it will allow us to invest a little bit in some of the operator safety initiatives by putting in permanent shields on the buses,” explained Calgary Transit director Sharon Fleming.

Calgary Transit appeared before the committee as part of an update on the city’s 30-year transit plan, RouteAhead, that aims to provide expanded and faster service across Calgary.

The agency says while progress has been made, with the level of funding it is currently receiving, it isn’t able to make significant changes and is instead left to play catch up.

“We want more service out there, we need to pay for the hourly wages, we need to pay for the fuel, and we need to make sure there’s a bus for them to get on,” Fleming said.

Another ask that cleared committee Wednesday that will now go to council was for the prioritization of funding for the city’s Primary Transit Network in the 2026 budget adjustments.

Calgary Transit says currently only the C-Train lines make up the Primary Transit Network since they meet the criteria of providing 10-minute or less service, 15 hours a day, seven days a week.

But what council prioritizes to make Calgary’s transit system better is still in question.

Councillor Sonya Sharp: “You can put as much money as you want into transit but if people aren’t taking it because it isn’t safe, then that is an issue,” said Coun. Sonya Sharp.

“I’m afraid that if council does not approve RouteAhead funding in November we are going to see continued growth in overcrowded buses, buses skipping stops because they are full already, people missing their bus and not getting to work on time or school and just generally this will lead to ridership lagging,” explained Jakob Fushtey, board chair, Calgary Transit Riders.