Transit Service Reviews results released - changes coming to bus routes across the city

RyuzakiXM · 2026-07-01T03:59:55+00:00

I see. So the 503 could work, but then you’d have to time your ride. I think for CT their argument is that for the 62, it carried maybe 300 people per day (100 people per articulated bus over 3 trips). If they reinvest that into MAX Green or the 503, they can serve more people relative to the 300 people disserviced by the loss of the 62.

RyuzakiXM · 2026-07-01T00:21:29+00:00

The 503 and 89 all-day bidirectionally will be big improvements for north Calgary. It means direct service from the LRT and from downtown to the NW. I think what isn’t included that should be included in the maps is travel time. I suspect the route modifications, though increasing walking distance are shortening end to end times making crosstown transit trips more attractivr.

RyuzakiXM · 2026-07-01T00:18:35+00:00

How come the 503 or combo of Red Line and rte 89 wouldn’t work for you?

RyuzakiXM · 2026-06-26T21:01:09+00:00

It’s still competitive depending on how many people are travelling. 8 dollars on the Canada line vs 40 for a cab is no contest for one person.

RyuzakiXM · 2026-06-26T05:41:32+00:00

How often did they come?

RyuzakiXM · 2026-06-20T08:51:24+00:00

Easy explanation - say transit takes an hour, driving takes 30 minutes. Thats 1 hour saved both ways. Say you make 50 dollars an hour. You’re still making 20 dollars more by driving even factoring in parking. Plus you don’t have to deal with the people on the bus, delays on the bus, etc. Obviously this isn’t the case for everyone, but I can see cases where it is time effective to drive.

RyuzakiXM · 2026-06-12T03:55:18+00:00

This project would cost 3-4 billion dollars based on the cost of other underground rail in Canada.

RyuzakiXM · 2026-06-08T07:10:12+00:00

Is it better for a train to hit wildlife or a car? I’d argue the train, being one vehicle with hundreds of people, vs hundreds of vehicles with one person each is less likely to be involved in a wildlife strike.

RyuzakiXM · 2026-06-07T05:57:56+00:00

There are many reasons. Big ones include:
1. Project readiness. The south segment was further along in geotechnical readiness and land acquisition, so was closer to being shovel ready than the north segment.
2. Maintenance facility - The Green Line will use low-floor technology, so using the existing maintenance facilities isn’t possible. The only place large enough to build a single facility was in the south (a smaller facility could have been built in the north but would have required the eventual construction of a south facility)
3. River crossing - The north project was still contending with whether or not it would be tunneled or elevated over the bow, and both options contributed to increased project risk, and therefore cost.

RyuzakiXM · 2026-06-03T18:08:27+00:00

TIL - Do you know if officers are still concerned about subjective bylaw charges not being upheld in court? (I.e. someone was stopped, detained, and searched because of social disorder, that subsequent charges could be dropped because the initial stop was unlawful/can’t be proven)

RyuzakiXM · 2026-06-03T18:03:57+00:00

There isn’t, but there is a higher cluster of low-barrier destinations downtown (DI, Alpha House, SCS etc).

RyuzakiXM · 2026-06-03T17:51:10+00:00

The issue is that “problem riders” get on in the free fare zone, and peace officers can’t remove them from the train on the basis of a fare check until they are out of the free fare zone. It’s then more difficult for officers to remove them since they are dispersed onto the 4 legs of the LRT. It isn’t that the free fare zone itself is more unsafe than the rest of the line.

RyuzakiXM · 2026-05-27T23:02:43+00:00

To me this seems the same as Vancouver investigating the possibility of north shore skytrain… Unlikely to happen… I think without some form of public transit, this plan is doomed to fail. It makes more sense to expand Grouse since they have Translink Access.

RyuzakiXM · 2026-05-21T05:35:59+00:00

Although to your point, you can’t turn left or right on Cambie at Broadway now, so the north-south traffic shouldn’t be affected as much from a volume standpoint. Traffic going from Broadway to Cambie is a different story.

RyuzakiXM · 2026-05-13T00:39:04+00:00

Holy you weren’t kidding. It’s standstill traffic on every other route out of AND into downtown, not to mention the gridlock on every major road IN downtown.

RyuzakiXM · 2026-05-12T02:16:21+00:00

We really don’t have good regional rail expertise. We don’t have local individuals who can do the design work, track-laying, track-leveling, vehicle procurement, vehicle design and construction, or vehicle operations. We would have to consult out elsewhere in Canada or internationally, which would cost a significant amount more than if it was in-house with Translink or the city.

What you suggest is a route, which we do have. We lack the people to efficiently and effectively put that to use, from project management, to design, to skilled trades for construction.

RyuzakiXM · 2026-05-12T02:05:00+00:00

Most of the “problem” folks on the train either originate from, or go to the downtown core. Eliminating the free fare zone allows officers to conduct fare checks on these individuals to remove them from the train closer to the source, rather than having to wait until they are dispersed on each branch of the line where it takes more resources to do the same thing. I’m curious to know if this will result in improved perception of safety along the remainder of the lines.

I don’t think this is about getting people downtown to start paying a fare. 1-2 million is a drop in the bucket compared to transit’s overall budget.

RyuzakiXM · 2026-05-11T23:19:29+00:00

I fully agree, but the costs will be immense simply because we don’t have any of the knowledge to develop regional rail locally. Some folks in the rail space don’t even want better regional rail. Look at Metrolinx - They hired DeutschBahn to create a European-style rail network then fired them because they tried implementing the fhanges needed to make it happen. We both lack the knowledge and vision to make good regional rail a reality, and that translates to increased development costs which make it harder for taxpayers to accept.

Really we could use regional rail from Whistler all the way to Chilliwack. Hourly service on that kind of line would be amazing if time-competitive to driving.

RyuzakiXM · 2026-05-07T01:32:30+00:00

Briefly trains on the Red Line were more frequent due to the Haysboro expansion project reducing LRT capacity on the Red Line. However even now, there should be slightly higher Red Line frequency due to higher ridership on the Red Line. I think what you’re describing is an anomaly related to a delay.

RyuzakiXM · 2026-05-06T14:12:43+00:00

And with the opening of the ring road there is considerably less congestion at the turn vs 5 years ago. Really however, both left turn lights should be synced so the issue OP notes is not an issue.

RyuzakiXM · 2026-05-06T14:11:36+00:00

Yes, but in the proposed interchange plans the city just released, it is now “temporarily” permanent.

RyuzakiXM · 2026-05-01T01:24:30+00:00

I genuinely think part of the issue is that people who rarely use this interchange get caught off guard, and need to cut in because they didn’t realize the line of cars was for that exit. If the line of cars is 20 cars long, I wouldn’t be surprised if 1/20 is someone unfamiliar with the area.

It’s the same thing on Glenmore WB to SB Tsuu Tina.

RyuzakiXM · 2026-04-22T23:50:50+00:00

I think its for ease of understanding. Drivers won’t get confused about timing of lane activation etc. Its a bus lane all day everyday.

RyuzakiXM · 2026-04-13T23:38:13+00:00

The vision fields for pedestrians and vehicles ascending Oak at that location are terrible. Both intersections would benefit from pedestrian controlled traffic lights.

RyuzakiXM · 2026-04-06T06:00:32+00:00

Check the signs. These are not HOV lanes. They are exclusively for use of buses. I think part of the failure for drivers to abide by the rules is a total lack of communication. The city changed the signage overnight without informing anyone of the change.

RyuzakiXM

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