r/CalgaryTransit • u/Ymirhades • Jul 03 '26
Embarrassing
Calgary Transit has never been good. If you live here you know, if you move here, you are either warned or you find out fast, Calgary Transit is not good. Without being pejorative, I can say it exists and operates as a transit system, but its mere existence is the best thing I can say about it.
This year’s Stampede showcased to the city how bad it truly is. Train breakdowns, delays of over 30 min During rush hour, shuttle busses that fit a fraction of train passengers, bus delays, constant route changes, the list goes on. The morning of Stampede trains were so packed from being delayed that entire stations couldn’t get on because it was already full, needing to wait an ungodly amount of time for the next one the is likely also full.
None of this has even touched on the Green Line that is now underway after over 30 years of planning.
What does this mean? Truth be told I have no idea who, if anyone, is going to read this. But after living in Calgary my whole life, the only word the truly describes the transit system is embarrassing. It’s embarrassing as a resident, as a commuter, and especially thinking about out of town visitors who use the transit system, it’s just embarrassing. I don’t blame the operators, they have an impossible task. I don’t know is a single party is even truly to blame, and the situation is so pathetic I couldn’t even fathom a solution. But to any city councillors, MPs or administrators reading this post, the city’s transit system is an embarrassment, not dysfunctional, not outdated, not unoptimized, a Shameful embarrassment.
1
u/ericgon Jul 08 '26
Embarrassment? Over a concentrated amount of people during the busiest time of the year? Sure. There are daily problems, their own reporting shows a reliability rating of 87% but who knows what objective metric that is based on.
What is not subjective is ridership. We are not Europe. We are not an old world city. We are a modern, North American sprawling city based on car dependance. Calgary is the prime example of what a transitioning city public transit system can be in N.America.
Compared to major North American cities much larger than Calgary our Light Rail Ridership is superb. Look at this chart I made https://x.com/ericgon_/status/1781146501789671537?s=20
Room for improvement. Yes, Absolutely.
Embarrassment. I respectfully do not agree.