If you've gotta get around Calgary, particularly downtown where parking costs an arm and a leg assuming you even find a spot, why bang your head against your steering wheel when for a mere $2.50 you can hop a ride on the rails. After attempting to drive around downtown in Calgary rushhour traffic, I think you might agree with me that Transit may just be your best option to avoid frustration. The transit is pretty good in this city - most routes head downtown where everyone works anyway, they're on time, and there's even transit lanes to help the bus go faster than any car could anyways. The C-Train is a great option to move masses of people from the 'burbs to the bright lights of downtown, and with multiple Park & Ride stations where you can park for free, it's a great way to get from Point A to Point B. The only issue that I have is the late night cutoff time. For some dumb reason, there is no transit available after 1:30am. This poses a potential hazard and logistical issue for those who are out partying, or for the poor servers and bartenders trying to get home after a late shift. Not even on New Year's Eve, when masses of people are out partying well past midnight and need a safe ride home! Ridiculous. read more

Calgary Transit - Public Transportation Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

Absolute horrible "public service", have been using public transit for well over 7 years and without fail they have caused me to miss work, doctors appointments and many other events. Their "real-time" arrivals and departures seem to be a rough estimate 10 minutes in either direction. Two days In a row now I have had to call a cab and spend $30 just to ensure my girlfriend can get to work on time due to busses being 6-10 minutes earlier then their "real-time" schedule. Seems like a waste to spend over $100 a month and our tax paid money for a service that's this unreliable. read more

My bus driver decided to pull over and have a chat with some random person. Regardless if the driver knew him he should be aware the people taking public transit have schedules of their own and by having your own personal conversation, you're taking up the time of the customers. Disappointing. read more

I was waiting for the 406 Mackenzie towne bus today on Nobember 24/2018 and my bus didn't show up from 11:00 pm to 11:42 pm, I was waiting for 42 mins, I'm not happy with the service, especially in the winters when there's snow. read more

do not rely on the schedule!!! literally there were two trains within one minute and then zero for 15 minutes. wtf?!?!?!?! decided to walk for a bit since the next time one wasn't for 15. guess what? it arrived earlier. wtf?!?!?!?! how hard is it to stick to a schedule???? guess what? next train is supposed to be in two minutes and just arrived. read more

The bus driver that I had on Sunday June 25 2017 was awful, rude and so unhappy. I was on the 73 around 4:30 and the bus driver was so erratic that you could tell everyone on the bus was clearly scared. She was going way over the speed limit and braking at the last minute for pedestrians. There was a special needs student from the U of C running towards the bus and she sped away as soon as she saw him, most people appalled at the fact she could not wait 30 seconds for this gentleman. She yelled at an international student and yelled at people in the crosswalk saying 'they were not pedestrians' .... yet they were in the cross walk ? Calgary transit you should screen your employees better, she is clearly not stable to be working with people. read more

I live in the north east and I'm constantly waiting upwards of an hour for a bus because there's only one route that comes every 45 minutes so it's me and 30 other people that can't get onto the bus because irs so crowded, especially in the afternoon due to the Saddletowne high school not having their own buses. Having one bus for two and a half communities is completely unreasonable, especially at night and during the winter when the buses are coming even less frequently. I shouldn't have to pay every time I use transit because the transfers expire while waiting for a single bus. Do better, Calgary. read more

I used to work for Calgary Transit so I can speak with a little bit of authority on the subject. This service needs to be run like a business instead of a city service. Businesses know that if you abuse your clients, you'll lose their trust and you lose revenue. How can a transit service in a winter city like Calgary break down every time it gets to -15? The people at the top of this service need to get it together and run the trains and buses as if they actually care about people getting to their destinations on time and without freezing to death at a bus stop because their once an hour bus didn't come. read more

I was a long-time Calgary Transit user. Those were some of the worst years of my life. As a university student I spent upwards of three hours a day commuting twelve kilometers (each way) to my assigned work-study placement: waiting in the freezing snow and rain for buses that never arrived, wasting hours upon hours on slow-moving buses that stop at every corner, standing on unheated C-Train platforms waiting for dirty trains... using transit actually took an emotional toll. As a young working professional I commuted by transit for a year while saving money for a car: sometimes the only bus to the neighbourhood where I worked wouldn't show up, sometimes it ran late while the driver ran into a fast food place to grab a coffee, and sometimes I watched drivers treat the young people who rode my bus with total disrespect. I think that routes are poorly laid out, schedules are stupid (I live across the street from a junior high- why does the bus come two minutes before the school bell?), vehicles are in need of upgrades and all staff require extensive customer service training. I moved out at eighteen and relied on transit until I was twenty-four. During that time I lived in cities all over the world where transit was run efficiently, effectively and affordably. If Mexico City can do it, why can't Calgary? Heck, if Tiraspol(!) can do it, why can't Calgary? I would like to end this review with an anecdote. This will probably reveal my identity to Calgary Transit, but I really don't care. Two years ago, mere weeks before I finally gave in and bought a car, I was taking a bus home from work in the mid-afternoon. The bus driver had a medical emergency which resulted in the bus veering slightly off the road, the bus coming to a stop off to the side of the road, and the bus driver laying down on the floor of the bus, unable to move. A fellow passenger called 911, and the driver asked me to get their cell phone from their jacket pocket and hit redial. I spoke to a family member on the other end and said there had been a medical emergency. The bus driver then gave me a phone number to call, which turned out to be something like a driver dispatch service (I'm not totally sure- it was an internal Calgary Transit number). I told the person who answered that I was on bus #XYZ, that the driver had a medical emergency, the bus was off the road and an ambulance was on the way. I was clear and concise. The person on the other end of the phone was accusatory ("How did you get this number? Hmmmm?") and did not provide any suggestions or reassurances. An ambulance showed up and I was asked by the EMTs to wait until they had administered some treatment; at that point in time the next bus came and the EMTs said I was free to go. That was a Thursday. The next Tuesday I took the same bus... and found the same driver operating the vehicle. The one who had been laying, seemingly paralyzed, on the floor of the bus only days earlier. You tell me if that's a bus you want to ride. read more

Been riding Calgary Transhit (not a typo) for over 10years now and in this decade the buses have always been late when I'm early and early when I'm on time. I've seen drunk midgets fighting, had my car stolen twice from the ctrain parking lots, seen some of the ugliest graffiti tags, drunk people falling off the train platform on to the tracks, kids stealing bikes, watched a cop car crash into the train cart I was in, and the list goes on...on a scale of 1 to 10 I would give you a ...negative 4 read more

Calgary just simply isn't a city designed for public transit. That being said the c-train system isn't bad it is just the busses that suck. Outside of the downtown core and directly off of the train lines transit is erratic, unpredictable, unpleasant and, to put it simply, a huge pain in the ass. During rush hour you end up practically sitting in someone's lap and at off peak times there isn't a bus to be found. When I have taken the bus to visit my parents for Sunday dinner I have had to bum a ride back because the last bus is the ludicrous time of 6:22! Transit is awful but with raising gas prices and concern over the environment there may be hope for a funding increase in the future. read more

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? read more

Abysmal. I used to take transit frequently and I just can't bring myself to do it anymore. I've lived all over Calgary for many years including downtown and it is terrible everywhere. My bf and I now live in the 'burbs although we are close to a train station. We used to take the train to work. It took at least an hour including our ten minute drive to the station. We can drive to work in 20-25 minutes. I have taken the train and then the bus all the way home...it took nearly 2 hours...during rush hour so I didn't even wait for the bus. Now that they charge for parking at the station it isn't worth it so we drive. We take the train during Stampede and sports games. Again, awful. Coming home from stampede this year the train broke down twice. An hour into it we just said forget it and walked downtown for dinner. I have traveled a lot for work and taken transit in every city I've been to and I have to say Calgary Transit is by far the worst! Don't even get me started on how ridiculous it is that the C-Train downtown isn't underground. So dumb and so confusing for people visiting Calgary who accidentally drive down 7th Ave. This also contributes to the bad traffic downtown. If you need to take the bus past 7PM, even on a busy route like route 2, have fun waiting for at least 20-25 minutes if you miss the bus! The city claims they want to encourage people to take transit, which is why limit the parking downtown which causes the exorbiant parking costs. Well, people would be willing to take transit if it wasn't such a failure. read more

Calgary transit is TERRIBLE. A few days after that major windstorm that broke all the glass downtown the c-trains were still down. Wasn't a big a deal, wasn't in a rush and I understand acts of nature can throw a wrench in things. Every bus that came by was full and skipping the city hall stop. After being stranded downtown for over an hour I called in to find out if they were going to send more shuttle buses. The customer service agent called me a liar and assured me there were no delays or issues. I pointed out I was reporting an issue. He said none of the drivers were reporting that they were missing stops or full. To get them to care/notice/be bothered to fix it the crowd had to get other bus drivers to call it in. They refused at first because it wasn't their bus that was full (seriously? WTF talk about not caring about your service/job) But everyone was pretty annoyed and insistent at that point so they eventually relented. Some people had been stuck there over 3 hours (namely the parents with strollers). Eventually 15-30 mins later after we'd bothered 5 other drivers to report the several hundred people being stranded at the city hall stop they FINALLY sent extra buses. Sadly this was one of the better encounters I've had with the Calgary transit customer service. read more

Calgary Transit, from the viewpoint of an occasional transit user, you're not so bad. Sure, you could use some improvements, more frequent bus routes, an LRT extension out to the airport and the likes. But can I really be angry at you today for a decision that was made several decades ago for Calgary to be a driving city rather than a transit city? Some say yes. I see no value in even going there. There are far better ways to expend my energy. We all know the drawbacks to Calgary Transit, I'm going to focus on the bonuses: - The train is free downtown. While our downtown is not huge, I appreciate this the most on a cold day. Taking the train an extra 8 blocks versus walking them on a -25 day (or worse with windchill) without having to worry about having a ticket makes a world of difference to me. - You can get anywhere in the city for $2.75. Recently, I was in San Francisco. They have payment zones. It cost me $8.10 to go from the airport to downtown. $2.75 for anywhere in the city doesn't seem so bad, yes it can take awhile, but that's the nature of taking transit. If you want speed, take a cab. - Service during major events. There's usually staff on hand with bins to collect your money and to hand you your transit pass. A large volume of people move through at a much faster rate than if we were left to use the self-serve ticketing machines. Train service is also beefed up with more frequency surrounding major events. Yes, I know, it's all part of city planning, they have to do it, blah blah... I still appreciate it. - It's bike, scooter and stroller friendly. - There are obvious plans for C-train expansion. Something I'd like to see sooner rather than later is a ticketing booth that takes bills and dispenses change. Or an easy-pay/quick-pay card I can load up and just swipe on my way by instead of having to worry about bus tickets. At any rate, every transit system could use some improvements, and we are a bit far behind other cities. But, as much as I'd love to see improvements come at a faster rate, I'm reluctant to see an $8 transit ride in my near future. read more

Calgary Transit has its perks, but not one of the best. I have lived in Calgary for eleven years now, and my dream is to simply move to a place with better transit. Sincerely, Calgary Transit is horrendous; let my count thy ways: Waited for bus 42 (Marlborough) which was one and a half hour late with a -35 degree weather; bus driver later on parked on a circle route with the door open (wind blowing inside) for twenty minutes. Bus driver 73 would take smoke breaks for twenty minutes at a time; normal bus ride was 40 minutes, bus driver took 1 hr and 30 minutes. Bus driver 73 (again!) different driver; stopped in the middle of a road in front of a light, went to Timmy's, took fifteen minutes. Red, yellow, and green lights passed more than a dozen times. This is on a busy road, near Chinook Station. Bus driver no. 1 cussing at each and every person during a spring festival. Bus drivers usually park on a place for ten to twenty minutes wasting gas; no wonder fares are high! Environmentally unfriendly, and wasteful! You do not look after your resources and your employees lack training and consideration!!! C-train with orange dotted floors and old seats that reek of puke, dirty bodies, and urine often used during winters with little heat. Newer C-trains have smaller seats for other types of demographic population. I'm fine, but I dislike being squished in with other people who came in from the rain, I've stayed dry for so long and this is how I got soaked on one side of my coat. So much accidents in the transit system, so much filth, inconsistencies, poor management and poor spirit. Maybe it's being Calgary, or maybe it's Calgary because of Transit. We'll never know which came first. But all I know, I want to move away from Calgary because of Transit. read more

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. read more

I was taking the C train last night from the 69 st station, and it was approximately 10 minutes late. That is understandable. But what happened next infuriated me! The C train arrived, and so I followed the crowd to board the train. I wanted to take the train that was the furthest away, and just when I get there, I try to press the button to open the door, and about 5 seconds later, the train leaves. I'm sure it took me less than 2 minutes to walk there, and I was only about 10 seconds later than the 2nd last person who entered the C train. What infuriates me, is if the system on the announcement board does not work, then someone should announce that the train will leave in 1 minute, or whatever they decide on a time to leave. Normally, when the train arrives, the board announces that there is 6 minutes left. IF CALGARY TRANSIT WANTS TO INCREASE THEIR CUSTOMER BASE, THEY DEFINITELY NEED TO MAKE IMPROVEMENT SUCH AS WHAT I COMPLAINED ABOUT! THESE PROBLEMS REALLY ALIENATES PEOPLE! read more

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!! read more

As a new Calgarian, this transit system is the pits. It is so awful it has actually eroded my quality of life to such a degree that I am miserable and I've only lived here for one year. Due to disability, I've been a life-long transit user. I have regularly used systems in Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, and Seattle. I can't imagine weathering another winter dealing with Calgary Transit's poor service every day with such limited routes and hours. It is so difficult to get to and from work that I give up, and have asked to be transferred to Vancouver or Toronto, which is such a shame because I actually love Calgary as a city. I am not exaggerating, I am moving out of province because of Calgary Transit. I live far enough away that to expect me to walk to and from work is unreasonable and unsafe. And yet CT can't offer a fast, reliable, frequent, or direct service to an important landmark from even a local neighbourhood. If you have a job that requires you to be called on short notice, be prepared to be screwed over or spending a fortune on cab fare. In Calgary you either own a car or you are treated as a second class citizen. The only good thing about CT is that there are no zone fares. But if that discount is the reason holding us back for a decent (not even good) system, well then, things need to change immediately. Also, on a connected matter, the CT website is the most frustratingly user-unfriendly piece of trash ever made. Have the powers that be honestly never visited another city in North America and research their transit system? Or even so much as glance at a website like Vancouver's Translink? And someone remind me again why the train doesn't go all the way to the airport? I feel like, as a resident, I need to apologize to tourists for the crappy bus service they are expected to navigate while on holiday. CT is an absolute failure. They are bad and should feel bad. If I could award something no stars or negative stars, I totally would. read more

the transit system is one of the best however when the weather in Calgary puts things into some situations are okay to deal with dress warmly in colder months is a great idea but use courtesy when passngers are getting off do not hold dors open this is dangerous and you might get hurt but other than that it's great read more

Bus drivers need to learn to SLOW DOWN in playground zones. Just because you have a schedule to keep does not mean risking the lives of children playing at the park. I have witnessed countless buses speeding through the playground zone route that I live on. Very dissapointing. I did talk to someone in the complaints dept. Despite being on hold for 15 minutes, she was extremely helpful. read more

Great train system. Drunks puke on the seats and in the isles. But boy are CTS cops efficient, not to remove drunks or trouble makers, but to write tickets. I am a full year full time student at the U of C and I paid for my Upass in September. After Christmas while returning to campus I was given a $150.00 fine for not having a valid fare. (The agent for CTS, namely the University of Calgary, put an expiry date of December 31, 2011 on the card instead of April 30, 2012) I had my luggage with me and I had just spent 13 hours on a bus when my ticket was requested on the train. I had never been required to ever remove the pass from my wallet during the fall session and even if I had I would not have noticed the expiry date because it is in fine print and most of the print had rubbed off while in my wallet. The officer never investigated the circumstances nor did he give me a chance to explain the situation or purchase a fair at the next station. But he did take the time to deliver me to the campus several stops beyond where he ticketed me. Now I've had time to review the ticket and guess what! It's stacked against me. In order to fight the ticket I have to send the ticket by mail as a registered letter. Okay that sounds reasonable, but they will send a reply with the court date by regular mail and I am responsible to notify them if I don't receive it before the court date. But now comes the real kicker; I have to go to court, missing a day of classes just to get a trial date, then I have to miss another day to stand trial. If I ask to be tried by my peers I have to pay for jury selection, jury duty and court costs. If I hire a lawyer I'm looking at several more hundreds of dollars. I've been told that all of this is non recoverable if I win my case. What kind of a legal system and transit system is this. Don't ride the C-train it's a money grab by the city. read more

Sadly, it's my mode of transportation. LRT is normally ok as it tends to arrive within 2 minutes of it's estimated schedule time. Working nights however, If I have to do overtime I get to walk 3 hours home. It used to be 4. What annoys me the most is that when I get home, I get to see the southern section up and running. A quick check of the station and you can find that they even keep that section running longer then the other. LRT I'd probably rate around 2.5 or so. The bus to the lrt runs 1 and a half blocks from my house. I've taken it twice because it is less time for me to walk 30-40 minutes to the LRT then it is to wait for a bus that might not show up. Oh, and the bus is pratically non-existent during the weekends, so it's more walking. I have 2 options for the bus home. Taking the closest LRT to bus stop, I have to walk again for a couple blocks, which isn't bad. I do however end up missing the bus if it it's running on time. As such, it's faster to walk home then it is to take this bus, since it only goes maybe 1/3rd the way of my destination. The other way, I simply walk home. No point waiting 28 minutes for the bus, as it's already left. I've gone so far as walked for 2 hours straight on the longer bus routes and beat the bus to my destination on 3 of 5 times I went to that place. The 4th we tied. (well, it did beat me by a minute.) The 5th time, I called the route and was informed that the buses weren't running, so I started walking again. Lo and behold the bus runs by me 10 minutes later. And this is from a fella that's gimped, so it's no power-walking. The best I can do is average. read more

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). read more

Hahahaha, I don't wanna get started on Calgary Transit. But here it is. So lets say you decide to take transit. This is what you will most likely experience. 1. If you drive to the station (Good luck finding parking spots) / This depends on the time 2. If you take the bus to the station (It's not so bad if you can overcome the cold temperature, long wait period for the bus, and the overcrowding. 3. So now your at the train station, its freezing, people are panhandling (asking for money etc..), heating doesn't work at times, everyone's just pissed off that they're taking transit. 4. So the train arrives, (if there's no delay) your attempting to get on the train. (Now you gotta let the herd of people get off so you can enter) 5. So you decide to sit down (But the seats are dirty, your getting stared down by suspicious individuals/homeless/panhandlers/wannabegangsters. 6. So instead you decide to stay standing up (now you must survive the bikes/strollers/carts/pop can bags of other passengers attempting to invade your personal space) - This is on a normal day, don't get me started when its busy. 7. Now you get peace officers on the train checking tickets. (You will notice they target passengers who are well dressed for tickets, and leave the panhandlers and others alone without checking for their tickets) (They gotta meet their quota right? I mean the homeless cant pay tickets, but you can.) 8. So you show your fare payment as the peace officers have their hands on their batons acting like wanna-be cops. 9. Now you arrive at your destination. (Problem is you cant get off, too many people are getting on. 10. Now you missed your stop. This means you gotta take another train, one station back. Transit fare - Definitely worth it (Sarcasm) I have many more stories of transit encounters, things that occurred. Maybe ill write a book. This is the story of a student taking transit, only intention to get to class on time. :) read more

The c-train is reasonably decent. It seems to be growing faster than many other cities with the new west line. Not bad but could be improved with more lines inluding a line to the airport and more frequent service. Cost is higher than most cities. My guess is the oil industry wants this to keep people driving. Maybe if the price was subsidized more the traffic wouln't be so bad in Calgary. read more

If you want to get to work on time and plan on taking Calgary transit, you would need to leave several hours early if it takes you 20 minutes to drive there. CT is a bag full of horrible surprises read more

You guys are doing excellently well. But i want to appeal that you guys extend bus service (10pm to 12midnight) to 34 avenue area area (the area currently being plied by bus 30 during day time. There are number of industries there, and many of us workers have no other option than walking for over 30mins to get to 39th Avenue train station (anytime we are on afternoon or night duty. Kindly intervene Thanks....abudu read more

Yesterday I dropped my sunglasses on the platform and they bounced onto the track, under the platform. I freaked because they are custom made to fit my glasses and it would cost $80+ to get a new set made. I called the transit service line and a nice lady told me to use the red Help "phone" on the platform. I did that, and three nice Peace Officers came about 15 minutes later and retrieved my sunglasses. Kudos for the great service from Calgary Transit! read more

I got off work and heading home. I reside in Downtown Westend. C-train for #BlueLine was unavailable in downtown core. About 2 pm at City Hall I was about to get on the C-train Shuttle Bus and the driver stop me from getting on and insisting that I have to pay a fare in order to get on the bus. I explained to the driver that I want to get off at Kerry Station. He insisted that it doesn't matter where I was going because it is a BUS and since it is a BUS I have to pay to get on it. There is no point trying to reason with him. Duh! I know that bus or c-train if I travel pass Kerby Station I need to pay. Within downtown it is free fare zone. What he is saying just because it is bus makes no sense at all. So I called 403 262-1000 and talked to the operator and after explaining my situation to her, she said I have a valid point and in that case I do not need to pay to get on the bus. I was heading back to see if that bus was still there so I can get the driver's name and report him. The bus just left and another bus just arrived and this driver let me get on without any issue when I told him if he stops at Kerby Station. Just to show that it is very frustrating after a long day's work and have to deal with people like that. read more

This review comes from the point of view of a visitor to the city, a person coming from a large metro area with transit areas managed by multiple agencies (versus a single city agency as Calgary Transit). From the several days I spent in Calgary, experiencing the service so many depend on including my local friend, I feel that many other transit agencies near and far can learn from what Calgary Transit has cultivated, and how it handles aspects of its present situation. Most importantly, I noticed the density of ridership (even with the high numbers of riders using the service primarily for Stampede); somehow, the agencies back home in my neck of the woods (SF Bay Area) might somehow figure out how to concentrate this sort of ridership, whether through strategic planning for further route development or creating further incentives for riders through such features as frequency of service (nearly four and half stars in my book for Calgary Transit, in this vein), among others. I was surprised how quickly I could make it to and from downtown to my friend's more suburban neighborhood in the southwestern quadrant of the city. I was rather surprised how quiet Calgary commuters are compared to other portions of the SF Bay Area transit agencies I have used. Sure, the C-Train's not as comfy as SF BART is; however, the frequency of service does make up for that. I'm glad for such a transit system that made a visit with my friend much easier and less worrisome. read more

My one and only experience on Calgary transit was taking it to the airport. Considering, I've successfully navigated the transport systems of London, Paris, Brussels, Barcelona, Madrid and Tokyo, I didn't think it would be difficult. Languages aren't exactly my forte, as my Spanish is so bad I say "Buenas nachos" and I have a nasty habit of saying "I hold squid" instead of "welcome" in Japanese, so I was pretty impressed how user friendly public transport was there. Firstly, I went online and stared at the transit map. I say stared because all of the 159 bus routes are represented by tiny blue squiggly lines, only 2 of which are airport bound. Trying to figure out where those routes go amongst the other 157 routes isn't ideal but eventually I figured out my bus and C-train. My friend however suggested I take the new rapid transport bus to the airport, which had been introduced a week before. (It was July 4th, after all). So I head out to find the airport bus stop which I can't find. Checking out a transport map at a C-train stop I see that the downtown blow-up is smaller than a regular sheet of paper covered with those helpful blue squiggly lines representing at least 50 different bus routes. Seriously you'd need a PhD in cartography and a magnifying glass to read it. Also, the map is for 2010 NOT 2011 so my airport bus isn't even on the map! I ask a kind local man on a bicycle for directions. He was also perplexed looking at that map. I guess that's why he rides a bike, no nonsensical maps to decipher. So I resort to plan B, the C-train and bus route. The light rail transit train was pretty good. Clean, fast, frequent and they were repairing one of the stop platform that I passed by. Hopping on my connecting bus, I wisely ask the driver if the bus is airport bound. The bus isn't but thankfully the driver tells me which bus to take at the last C-train stop. Oh yeah, buses only come every 30 minutes so I had to take a cab when I got to the last C-train stop. A couple of days later, I double checked to see if I had misread the online transit map. According to that map my plan B would have taken me to the airport so not only were the maps at stops not up to date but neither was the map online. I was going to give Calgary Transit 2 stars because the driver was helpful and the C-train was nice. However, this was a few days before the stampede and the city couldn't even be bothered to have up to date maps for the tourists. Nice. Note: Calgary has updated its transit map since mid -July to include new routes and route changes. It's still hard to decipher all those blue squiggles so bring a magnifying glass. Emulating Sherlock is ironic, right? read more

Terrible terrible service. Trains constantly delayed for "mechanical issues" and no ETA is ever provided. Would give 0 stars if possible. Attempting to get support on their website is also a joke. Hey Calgary, maybe you could use some of the extra profits you get from constantly increasing transit fare to upgrade your trains?? read more

The bus is either early or late. They cancel buses when it's-20. So I waited exactly one hour for a bus that runs every 20-30 min. Skin on My legs were loosing feeling. I don't know how they justify raising fee when the quality of service is like this read more

Ok so is it me or are all the stations worst than before since the maintenance layoffs? It's dirtier.. less maintained.. more spit.. dirty glass.. I've seen more people in danger now then before... like contracting out the workers was a stupid mistake!!! I hope they rehire the old crew back!! Especially that Mike guy who worked the south line! He was absolutely dedicated and amazing at what he did! He kept everything clean and did beyond required tasks.. he helped the homeless and I've witnessed him help people with needing assistance daily!! Now it's like I don't feel as safe and other people I know don't want their kids around there anymore not feeling as safe.. and the needles omg! Didn't realize how many needles were being picked up until they laid people off.. now the needles are everywhere to be seen! How dangerous! And garbages are everywhere.. seems like there's more gangs hanging out idk.. I'm pissed! Don't feel safe anymore without the old crew there.. like wtf are the contractors doing out there.. it's looking so bad.. no more compassion out there.. no staff to ever be seen anywhere.. no help for the need.. sorry but it's disgusting the city made a huge mistake laying these people off.. HUGE!!! Please I beg you to rehire the maintenance staff!!! They were much more than just cleaners! They were a part of our everyday routine life on the line! We miss you! bring them back! Bring them back! Bring them back! Rehire! read more

To all of you who dont like calgary transit, i am one of them, Especially some of the bus drivers and staff.i am an immigrant and i usually board the route number 56 going to southland.over the past few days i have been boarding this bus in the mornings around 7:00am.the bus driver is very negative towards me, he asked me to say please all the time when i want to get a transfer, and more than once.i was very angry at him the other day because he humiliated me in front of the other passengers, im sure he doesnt ask every other passenger to say please every time they want a transfer- . I have a drivers licence and in fact do not need to take this transit if i dont have to! i have made up my mind to never get on that bus. read more

all night lrt service in all directions during stampede? fuuuuck yeaaaaahhhh!

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. read more

Calgary Transit C-Train service is absolutely unreliable. I have lived in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver & Calgary and have had to commute in all of these major centers. I have to say that Calgary C-Train service is absolutely the worst! I have experienced nothing but unreliable service on a weekly basis. Weekly breakdowns seem to be the norm for this poorly run service. Being that the ridership is a paying customer, Calgary Transit should be ashamed! I try to avoid the C-Train whenever possible as it is very unreliable - especially in cold weather. I would like to see the Executive Management at Calgary Transit standing on a platform in -20 to -30 weather waiting for a train that does not come. If they had to tolerate this as much as their customers, maybe service would improve. Shame, shame Calgary Transit. Avoid the C-Train if you can, unless you want to ad to your commute time rather than reduce it! read more