[frinkprof]

Late-night trains pondered as transit numbers grow




By Tamara Gignac, Calgary Herald January 24, 2014


Calgary Transit may run later into the night as ridership continues to soar.


More than 107 million customers crammed into buses and trains last year — a record for the city’s transportation network and an increase of five per cent over 2012.


Transit officials suggest a few reasons for the spike. Council bolstered service hours by 2.5 per cent in 2013, adding a new bus route in southeast Calgary and making changes to existing routes.


A growing number of jobs in the city also translated into additional passengers, as did an extension of the Blue Line to the city’s northeast.


And the city saw a healthy uptick in ridership — 11 per cent — from the $1.4 billion west LRT, which transports commuters from as far away as 69th St. SW.


[...]


Late-night transit service is being considered. “We’re going to do some studies to see what kind of market there is. Should ridership continue to increase, that provides us with funding to look at it on a priority basis,” Morgan said.


The issue is whether it’s the right place to spend money. “Are there other acute areas where we have overloads or ridership gains? We’ll look at all the options to see what the biggest bang is for our buck.”


[...]


Calgary Transit plans to hire additional peace officers to improve security and keep a better eye on drunk and rowdy passengers this year.


[...]

http://www.calgaryherald.com/Late+ni...081/story.html