Ride Free on Calgary Transit...oh and by the way....

[swo2k1]

Originally Posted by shermanator

These yearly rate increases for passes / tickets are just to deal with inflation (at least the monthly increases are at inflationary levels), so I would expect the increases to keep coming.

Passes will be going up to $90 in January 2011. This was part of a tiered increase they announced back in November of 2008. Going from 75 to 90 in essentially two years seems a little much for inflation.

[RW99]

Originally Posted by Ashartus

I contacted Calgary Transit about that last year. Basically, they told me they order the passes for January/February before the price is finalized, so they don't show the price and you have to keep your receipts. By March or so they should be showing the price on the pass itself.

Cool, that makes sense.

For the amount of time I spend on transit and how I have chosen not to have a car, it's not that much. If all you do is drive to a parking lot at $3 a day and only take the c-train, I can see where there's not a lot of value.

[shermanator]

Originally Posted by swo2k1

Passes will be going up to $90 in January 2011. This was part of a tiered increase they announced back in November of 2008. Going from 75 to 90 in essentially two years seems a little much for inflation.

Hmmmm didn't know that. Seems a little steep for sure. However, remember that the City is increasing the profile of the C-Train by doing the following.

1. Building West leg of the LRT.
2. Upgrading all platforms to accomdate 4-car trains (by 2014 I believe)
3. Extending both the NW (by 2014) and NE lines (by 2012)
4. Looking into SE leg of LRT and the downtown subway

So at least you can make the argument that the City is trying to provide better service to more places, at least via train. (I'm not knowledgeable about bus routes). The money to build said lines has to come from somewhere.

[wooohooo]

Originally Posted by shermanator

Hmmmm didn't know that. Seems a little steep for sure. However, remember that the City is increasing the profile of the C-Train by doing the following.

1. Building West leg of the LRT.
2. Upgrading all platforms to accomdate 4-car trains (by 2014 I believe)
3. Extending both the NW (by 2014) and NE lines (by 2012)
4. Looking into SE leg of LRT and the downtown subway

So at least you can make the argument that the City is trying to provide better service to more places, at least via train. (I'm not knowledgeable about bus routes). The money to build said lines has to come from somewhere.

The insane prices to park downtown could probably cover some of it.

It doesn't really seem fair if you work downtown. They want to promote people to take the transit by increasing parking, but yet they also increase fares and cost to park in the lots. I think to make transit actually fair is to do the price tier system as others have suggested. It's really not too fair for the people that live a short-medium distance away.

[Bill Bumface]

Speaking of real machines that allow payment with bills/credit cards etc, the other one that would be nice is the ability to buy a 30 day pass. Instead of having everyone have to line up at the end of every month to buy passes, just go to a machine and buy a 30 day ticket that is good from the time of issue.

[Joborule]

If they're increasing prices, the least they could do is improve their ancient fare payment system. Get with the times at least and provide change at the minimum!

[Reggie Dunlop]

Just don't let transit cops kick your ass. Those guys are fly.

[tripin_billie]

Do companies in Calgary provide transit subsidies? In DC, feds get them and so most private companies provide some sort of metro benefit.

I never really took the C-train much, but now I live by Metro.

Calgary has a nightmare ahead of them because they built out for way too long.

[Shazam]

You live in DC and think Calgary's built out too much?

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by hulkrogan

Speaking of real machines that allow payment with bills/credit cards etc, the other one that would be nice is the ability to buy a 30 day pass. Instead of having everyone have to line up at the end of every month to buy passes, just go to a machine and buy a 30 day ticket that is good from the time of issue.

That would be good; or a weekday pass- good for 5 days only for a given week.

The problem is when you try to suggest that to CT, they come back with "even on the days you don't work you can still use CT to go shopping, visit friends, etc." It seems they don't have a clue that so much (if not a majority) of their riders on weekdays do so because it is more economical that driving; and that if there was free parking downtown most of us would then drive.

[Puppet Guy]

Originally Posted by CrusaderPi

I'm not sure you should be blaming Calgary Transit for the distance between your home and your job.

that's the funny thing about it - I don't live that far from work (DT to Riverbend). I need to transfer from the train to a bus to get home which in transit time takes about 30-40 minutes (reasonable). The problem is that with the bus sched being every 50 or so minutes after 6 PM, if the timing isn't perfect I can be waiting for close to an hour. It's a great chance to catch up on my reading, but I'd rather be home.

[Mr.Coffee]

haha, wow, simply stunning. Everytime you think CT is done screwing the city over- they just fire another curve ball right atcha!

Who are the monkeys running this organization??

Let's see, you don't have to pay the fare, and you can't really anyway unless you have change- but the platforms don't provide this. Meanwhile, you have trains that come at intervals that are pretty long (15 mins on non-peak I believe), that are jam packed, that rarely have security or people checking for tickets (I've been checked probably 1 time in the last 6 years or so and I've rode the train quite a bit). There is no staged or tiered payment system, they raise the prices based on some plan that likely originated prior to the recession hitting the city... the train has to stop at red lights through the core and takes forever to get through. If you drive to the train station you have to pay $3 to park? I carpool to work downtown with 2 buddies and save significant money by not driving to the station and taking the train, plus on the future cost savings of therapy bills required if I were to take the train.

MAYBE $2.75 would be reasonable if the fare actually meant something and was checked... how hard is it to put a turn-style on each platform so that you can't get on unless you pay? MAYBE the $2.75 would be reasonable if on TWO occasions I hadn't been standing next to somebody who decided to take a leak, on the train, and I had to stand in it or if I didn't have to be sandwiched between 15 people. We are not Tokyo.

The whole inflation argument is total BS, I really do wonder what "inflation" was for 2009 and would venture to guess there was next to none or even a recession in Calgary's economy.

Amazing.. / stop bitching I guess. My advice would be to find some folks that you can carpool with because the train is managed by nothing but morons, it appears.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by Puppet Guy

that's the funny thing about it - I don't live that far from work (DT to Riverbend). I need to transfer from the train to a bus to get home which in transit time takes about 30-40 minutes (reasonable). The problem is that with the bus sched being every 50 or so minutes after 6 PM, if the timing isn't perfect I can be waiting for close to an hour. It's a great chance to catch up on my reading, but I'd rather be home.

I used to have the same problem with the bus from the train to my neighbourhood (Mackenzie Towne) when I took the bus outside of normal rush hour. Since they added the BRT it is like heaven. The 302 runs right beside Riverbend and even at 9:30 at night the longest it would take to get to Riverbend is about 30 mins with a maximum 30 min wait for the bus. Downside is you either need to live reasonably close to the couple stops near there, or find a location nearby to drive and park to take it.

[Mr.Coffee]

I think the problem, and I can sympathize with the cost of major transit, but when you are in other cities- for example Toronto, the transit system makes Calgary look like a 4 year old's lemonade stand.

While I realize they've had years to refine whatever they've got, Calgary needs to seriously evaluate it's fares situation because there are some insane decisions being made.

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by swo2k1

Passes will be going up to $90 in January 2011. This was part of a tiered increase they announced back in November of 2008. Going from 75 to 90 in essentially two years seems a little much for inflation.

Look at the price of diesel fuel though. It outpaced inflation significantly, and I have to think that's a large part of where the increases come from. Their fuel costs between 2005 and mid to end of 2008 nearly doubled, before cmoning down in 2009, and is now on the rise again. I doubt they have a huge hedge in fuel like a railroad or airline would, simply because I doubt they have that kind of operating capital.

[Ford Prefect]

Originally Posted by Reggie Dunlop

If people can't afford the fare, they should key the bus or vandalize the shelter. That'll sure show 'em!!!

And puke on the benches in the bus shelter. And urinate on the them too.

[MRCboicgy]

Also, would it take much to install a few fake Owls in the c-train stops? There's so much pigeon poo, that I have to watch my step.

[Traditional_Ale]

I think they should take all the money from the increase and put it in to education. That way in about 16 years there won't be effing morons running the service and there can actually be some realistic planning, other than "hey gee, what do we want to buy today!?"

[tripin_billie]

Originally Posted by Shazam

You live in DC and think Calgary's built out too much?

Yeah, but I don't leave the downtown much. I live a mile away from my work and just walk, so the city seems small to you. But I understand your point, there is a buttload of suburbs here. But hey, there is like 5 or 6 times the population, so of course it is going to get big.

[frinkprof]

First off, this is my first post on CP, but I've been lurking here on and off for years. Finally found something I could weigh in on where someone hasn't already said something I would have.

Thought I'd address a few things brought up in this thread.

Re: Fare payment/no change or plastic, etc.

Yes it is a headache, but thankfully a solution (at least in part) is coming. A capital expenditure for Electronic fare payment systems has received funding as part of a larger package of transit projects earlier this year. I don't know any more details on that, but given the pricetag ($7M), I would guess it will just be for the LRT. Not sure what it will entail other than some sort of smart card, but I would imagine other forms of payment (credit card, debit, bills, etc.) will be valid, and change given. Not sure on an exact timeline either, but the 4 LRV platform extensions are funded through 2014 and are part of the same package, so I would guess the fare payment systems would be implemented no later than that. More info on the funding and projects here.

Re: Fare Zones

Yes, Vancouver has such a system. However, it is quite unpopular amongst users as I understand. It's not a bad idea on the one hand, but it can be impractical in that there is always the special case of someone taking a trip just barely over the imaginary zone line, etc. The other thing is that Vancouver's Translink transit authority serves several municipalities in the GVRD (Surrey, Burnaby, Richmond, New Westminster, Vancouver, etc.), and I gather that this is part of the justification for a fare zone system. Calgary Transit only serves one municipality for now. A fare zone system would likely be even more unpopular in Calgary due to the argument that services and fees should be equal across all areas since they are all part of the same city.

Re: Infrastructure improvements (as posted by sherminator)

The list and timelines are correct. However, the fare increases should not be confused as going toward or paying for these improvements. Nor do parking fees (downtown, park and ride, or otherwise). The fares go toward operation of the transit system (day-to-day needs) as opposed to the one-time capital infrastructure expenditures which are funded through other means. It depends on the project, but usually this is some combination of provincial, federal, and some city capital funding. For example, the funding for that package of transit projects I linked to above is split equally 3 ways between the City, the Province, and the federal government. I know most people probably understand this, but a couple posts seemed to suggest otherwise.