Wooster
Jan 20, 2007, 7:37 PM
Transit hit by 10% rise in riders
City struggles to provide service amid staff crunch
Kim Guttormson, Calgary Herald
Published: Saturday, January 20, 2007
Calgary Transit ridership jumped almost 10 per cent last year, with nearly 90 million paying customers boarding buses and using the LRT.
That's more than twice the expected increase and about eight million more riders than in 2005.
The numbers include 250,000 people who ride the C-Train every weekday, a boost of 30,000 from 2005.
"Ninety million customers, it just speaks to the demand of growth pressures we're seeing everywhere in Calgary," Mayor Dave Bronconnier said.
But transit's increasing popularity comes with a series of challenges. The system is running over its capacity, leading to complaints about crowding and service.
Pat Couture, waiting for the LRT after work this week, said she started taking the train downtown after losing her parking space at the Calgary Board of Education.
"I hate it," she said of the packed LRT cars. "It's awful. You can't even breathe. It's so full you don't have to hold on.
"I've never sat down. Never."
While she isn't happy with the sardine-like feeling of rush-hour transit travel, Couture does enjoy speeding past cars crawling home.
"It's so fast getting out of downtown," she said. "You go by on Memorial (Drive) and look at all the people in their cars, sitting there."
Transit officials believe additional LRT cars and buses will alleviate some of the crunch. The first four new C-Train cars should be on the tracks by next month, with the remaining
36 arriving throughout the year.
Ultimately, they will be used on the northeast and northwest extensions, and provide service on all lines every three minutes during peak periods, up from every five minutes now, transit spokesman Ron Collins said.
As well, the first of 43 new buses begin arriving this week. And, some of the six articulated buses on order will hit town in mid-March.
"They're a good start for us, those additional cars, because we know we have overcrowding problems in peak periods," Collins said.
However, someone has to drive the new vehicles and additional LRT runs, as well as maintain the equipment. And like other employers in the city, transit is struggling to keep the employees it has, never mind adding more staff to accommodate growing demand.
Right now, transit is looking to hire up to 130 people to replace those who have retired or been lured away by other jobs. Collins acknowledged they'll need more than that to meet city council's direction to add 129,000 service hours this year.
"We'll have an announcement next week on a major recruitment campaign that will look at aggressively trying to hire at least the 100 or 130 drivers we're short right now," Collins said.
The increase in ridership demonstrates how valued transit is in the city, Ald. Druh Farrell said. But she's concerned so much money is still spent on roads rather than invested in transit.
"We've run out of capital funding. We made big decisions on huge funding areas with diminished returns, like interchanges. Perhaps we should have been focused on transit," she said. "We're building a city that's car-centric, yet we know Calgarians are interested in alternatives."
Despite the increased use of the C-train and buses, the number of cars on the road continues to grow..
The city's transportation department says there are between 140,000 and 150,000 vehicles being driven during the morning rush hour. And according to the Alberta government, 41,456 more motor vehicles were registered in the city -- ranging from scooters to semis -- between April 2005 and March 2006 over the previous 12 months.
During that same time period, Calgary's population rose by about 35,000 people.
In some ways, more cars should also lead to more transit use, Ald. Madeleine King said.
"The traffic jams are getting worse," she said. "There's much more reliance on transit. There's a huge appetite for more."
She said the transit system is the only issue where her constituents encourage her to spend more money.
Farrell said investing in transit can only boost ridership further.
"I imagine we'd be able to get a lot more ridership if the system was better funded," she said. "We should do everything we can to increase capacity."
Bronconnier said when the provincial government delivers new infrastructure funding, transit will be the city's top priority.
While customers tell Calgary Transit they find the service safe, affordable and courteous, Bronconnier said "the key is that it remains that."
"We need more routes and resources with which to provide a service."
kguttormson@theherald.canwest.com
By the numbers:
90 million
Number of paid customers on Calgary transit -- buses and LRT -- last year
40
New LRT cars to come online in 2007
130
New transit drivers needed
© The Calgary Herald 2007
City struggles to provide service amid staff crunch
Kim Guttormson, Calgary Herald
Published: Saturday, January 20, 2007
Calgary Transit ridership jumped almost 10 per cent last year, with nearly 90 million paying customers boarding buses and using the LRT.
That's more than twice the expected increase and about eight million more riders than in 2005.
The numbers include 250,000 people who ride the C-Train every weekday, a boost of 30,000 from 2005.
"Ninety million customers, it just speaks to the demand of growth pressures we're seeing everywhere in Calgary," Mayor Dave Bronconnier said.
But transit's increasing popularity comes with a series of challenges. The system is running over its capacity, leading to complaints about crowding and service.
Pat Couture, waiting for the LRT after work this week, said she started taking the train downtown after losing her parking space at the Calgary Board of Education.
"I hate it," she said of the packed LRT cars. "It's awful. You can't even breathe. It's so full you don't have to hold on.
"I've never sat down. Never."
While she isn't happy with the sardine-like feeling of rush-hour transit travel, Couture does enjoy speeding past cars crawling home.
"It's so fast getting out of downtown," she said. "You go by on Memorial (Drive) and look at all the people in their cars, sitting there."
Transit officials believe additional LRT cars and buses will alleviate some of the crunch. The first four new C-Train cars should be on the tracks by next month, with the remaining
36 arriving throughout the year.
Ultimately, they will be used on the northeast and northwest extensions, and provide service on all lines every three minutes during peak periods, up from every five minutes now, transit spokesman Ron Collins said.
As well, the first of 43 new buses begin arriving this week. And, some of the six articulated buses on order will hit town in mid-March.
"They're a good start for us, those additional cars, because we know we have overcrowding problems in peak periods," Collins said.
However, someone has to drive the new vehicles and additional LRT runs, as well as maintain the equipment. And like other employers in the city, transit is struggling to keep the employees it has, never mind adding more staff to accommodate growing demand.
Right now, transit is looking to hire up to 130 people to replace those who have retired or been lured away by other jobs. Collins acknowledged they'll need more than that to meet city council's direction to add 129,000 service hours this year.
"We'll have an announcement next week on a major recruitment campaign that will look at aggressively trying to hire at least the 100 or 130 drivers we're short right now," Collins said.
The increase in ridership demonstrates how valued transit is in the city, Ald. Druh Farrell said. But she's concerned so much money is still spent on roads rather than invested in transit.
"We've run out of capital funding. We made big decisions on huge funding areas with diminished returns, like interchanges. Perhaps we should have been focused on transit," she said. "We're building a city that's car-centric, yet we know Calgarians are interested in alternatives."
Despite the increased use of the C-train and buses, the number of cars on the road continues to grow..
The city's transportation department says there are between 140,000 and 150,000 vehicles being driven during the morning rush hour. And according to the Alberta government, 41,456 more motor vehicles were registered in the city -- ranging from scooters to semis -- between April 2005 and March 2006 over the previous 12 months.
During that same time period, Calgary's population rose by about 35,000 people.
In some ways, more cars should also lead to more transit use, Ald. Madeleine King said.
"The traffic jams are getting worse," she said. "There's much more reliance on transit. There's a huge appetite for more."
She said the transit system is the only issue where her constituents encourage her to spend more money.
Farrell said investing in transit can only boost ridership further.
"I imagine we'd be able to get a lot more ridership if the system was better funded," she said. "We should do everything we can to increase capacity."
Bronconnier said when the provincial government delivers new infrastructure funding, transit will be the city's top priority.
While customers tell Calgary Transit they find the service safe, affordable and courteous, Bronconnier said "the key is that it remains that."
"We need more routes and resources with which to provide a service."
kguttormson@theherald.canwest.com
By the numbers:
90 million
Number of paid customers on Calgary transit -- buses and LRT -- last year
40
New LRT cars to come online in 2007
130
New transit drivers needed
© The Calgary Herald 2007
