Hundreds of commuters using Calgary Transit as their ticket into the city center are bracing for a major disruption to their daily routine.
The city's last eight “express routes”, providing more efficient connections from suburban areas directly into the city centre, will be phased out over the next two years.
“It’s part of the community,” Crystal Tate explained. “I’ve been riding the bus with the same people for 20 years.”
Since moving to the Valley Ridge neighborhood in northwest Calgary two decades ago, Tate has taken the 70 bus to work every weekday.
But on Dec. 23, Tate and about 100 other daily commuters will have to find a new way to get around as the Valley Ridge Express route ceases service.
The remaining seven routes – 62, 64, 109, 117, 131, 142 and 151 – will be closed in 2026 and 2027.
“We need to clarify whether our area is considered part of the city or not,” said fellow Valley Ridge Express traveler Haleh Gerami. “What services do we actually receive in exchange for the taxes we pay?”
Gerami told Global News she moved to the area about a year and a half ago and has been using the route to get to the city center ever since.
“One of the main reasons we bought a house in this area was the availability of the bus, which makes it convenient for us to commute to work.”
With the demise of the express route, Valley Ridge residents will only be served by one bus, Route 108, Paskapoo Slopes, which serves the Brentwood LRT station.
Residents such as Tate and Gerami will then have to take the C train to complete the trip into the city centre.
Using Calgary Transit Trip Plannerthe drive to Calgary City Hall from Tate's home currently takes 42 minutes.
Starting December 23, the same trip will take an hour and 19 minutes, nearly doubling the total travel time.
Shown nearby is the current route (above) that Valley Ridge residents can take into downtown. After Dec. 23, residents will have to take a bus to the Brentwood C-Train station (below).
Calgary Transit Trip Planner
“This will mean I'll be out of the house before my kids wake up and back home after dinner,” Tate explained.
Gerami says it will take them even longer.
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“Using this other line takes over two hours to get to the city center – time that no one can spend just getting to their workplace.”
Calgary Transit says low ridership is the reason for the changes, promising “improved service in these areas.”
“We're moving away from one-way trips during rush hour to more round-trip trips throughout the city that last throughout the day,” said transit communications specialist Amanda Bradley.
“It offers more services to more Calgarians.”
Bradley explained that some of the city's most popular bus routes average more than 10,000 riders per day, while statistics provided to Global News by Calgary Transit show daily ridership on the eight express routes ranges from 100 to 370.
“When we use this bus, it goes to this area, makes two trips and comes back. It requires a lot of resources just for this small area for this small period of time.”
“If we remove this route, we can use those resources for routes that need it more.”
Both Tate and Jeramie say the buses they use every day are nearly full by the time they head downtown.
“I understand there are price pressures,” Tate said. “But it doesn’t make sense to take away buses that are completely out of service and continue to operate (Route 108) that is running empty.”
“It’s almost impossible to find a free seat—in fact, many passengers often have to stand,” says Gerami. “What other proof could there be of high ridership and public trust in the bus route?
“Now that that’s gone, if you don’t want to buy a car and start driving around and paying for parking, will you sell your house and move?”
Tate says a fellow racer is trying to make that big decision right now while another is shopping for a car, but it will completely change their financial plans.
“Everyone will be forced to use their own personal transport and spend two to three times more on transport than they do now, which is incompatible with many people’s budgets,” Gerami says.
“It also leads to even more congestion in the city center during peak hours.”
While Bradley confirmed there will be no immediate route improvements in the Valley Ridge area, she says Calgary Transit is making quarterly updates based on demand.
“The service itself in the area may not improve immediately, but the plan, the overall long-term plan, is for all areas of the city to be better connected,” she said.
Bradley says Transit's next changes will come next March.
Tate hopes those changes could include a more direct connection to the C-Train line.
“If they really want to make Route 108 a viable alternative, let it go to (Crowfoot LRT station). That's the closest train station – just like every other community the same age as ours.”
Petition As of Dec. 3, Calgary Transit's request to reconsider its decision to cancel Route 70 had received more than 700 signatures.
But Tate and others say they were never consulted about the changes.
“I guarantee if (Transit) asked riders and this community, they would gladly give up service on (Route 108) to preserve (Route 70). So I hope Calgary Transit will actually listen to riders and these communities.”
Ward 1 Count. Kim Tyers voiced her residents' concerns at City Hall.
“Pushing this issue forward has essentially allowed transit to step back and say, 'Oh wait, we really need to communicate,' and we need to make sure we get feedback from our constituents and our riders before making sweeping changes.”
“We don't necessarily consult (with the community) about changing one route or removing one,” Bradley says.
“If we're making really broad changes in the community as a whole across multiple routes, we'll then do some consultation just to see if we're on the right track and make sure we're not missing anything or missing something really important.”
Tate says that's what's happening in her area.
“It's not a perk. It's not a bonus.”
Calgary Transit will receive more funding in 2026.
Budget amendments approved this week approved rate increases that take effect Jan. 1. They say it will bring in an extra $4 million annually.
Another amendment allocated an additional $1 million in funding for the core transit network and $6 million for the core network funded by property taxes.
The funding increase is consistent with RouteAhead, transit's service expansion strategy, which recommends a $15 million annual increase in operations. The budget initially proposed a $14 million increase in frequency, but only on key transit routes.
“Given (the budget increase), cutting off the main transport link between this area and the city center seems completely unreasonable and unjustified,” Gerami said.
– with files from Adam McVicar
