Province, feds commit $82M to Calgary Transit to cover pandemic revenue shortfall

Calgary Transit is set to receive just over $82 million in combined funding from the provincial and federal governments in an effort to combat major revenue shortfalls brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Premier Jason Kenney made the announcement Wednesday morning, noting that ridership in Calgary had dropped 51 per cent over the last two years.

"Transit systems took a big hit during the pandemic with people working from home, many businesses cut back on staff, and some closed altogether," said Kenney "Students were sometimes attending school online, and all of these factors contributed huge revenue losses.

"So we are pleased to provide assistance to ensure that buses and LRT services continue to move around their communities in the province."

Calgary Transit was projecting an $89 million shortfall in 2022 if ridership met the 60 to 75 per cent pre-pandemic target. 

Previous shortfalls in 2020 were $93 million and $106 million in 2021. 

Mayor Jyoti Gondek says the funds will also help the city move a step closer to bringing back critical bus routes.

"Calgarians are already suffering from some of the route shortages and seeing the frequency having gone down," said Gondek. "So I can tell you that the transit team and leadership did their best to make sure that they were assessing which routes needed to keep the service levels and which ones we could cut.

"I'm happy to say that we're 60 per cent recovered in terms of ridership, and this funding for our operating shortfalls will allow us to keep going and give that service to folks."

That level of service is especially important for frequent Calgary Transit riders like Nicole Hamlin who says she wouldn't be able to survive financially without utilizing CTrain or bus service. 

"I use transit every single day to take my daughter to school so we rely on transit to get to and from, for doctor's appointments, everything," said Hamlin. "To hear about this funding, it's mind blowing actually, I didn't think we'd pull that much and I hope the money goes really far to make transit even better than what it is now."

Others like Bhadat Minhas require transit to get to school each day and to keep him connected to his religious community in northeast Calgary.

He hopes the funding will improve travel times and accessibility in the future.

"It makes me feel amazing to hear this news, but I guess we have to see where this money goes so I really hope they use it to make sure buses come more frequently," Minhas said.  

"COVID took a big hit on the system so I’m hoping they can go back to having at least buses come every 10 to 15 minutes instead of every half an hour to an hour in some places."

The Alberta government is committing a total of $79.5 million to support transit systems operated by 26 municipalities across the province including Calgary Transit.

The Government of Canada is matching that amount for a total of almost $159 million in top-up assistance.

The breakdown is as follows:

• Calgary - $82,364,776
• Red Deer - $2,095,524
• Lethbridge - $1,234,883
• Bow Valley (Banff, Canmore, Lake Louise) - $1,163,420
• Medicine Hat - $627,653
• Airdrie - $305,871
• Okotoks - $20,920
• Rocky View County (Crossfield, Irricana/Beiseker) - $18,609
• Cochrane - $15,269
• Black Diamond - $5,000

The province is expected to announce how much funding Edmonton is to receive later Wednesday.

Martin Bean, chief administrative officer for Bow Valley Regional Transit Services, says 2019 was a record year for his region with more than 1.5 million riders.

That soon dropped in 2020 following the arrival of the pandemic, with ridership declining around 80 per cent.

"We’ve been working to recover ever since because transit has been essential to connecting people to medical appointments, grocery stores, pharmacies and workplaces, especially in the Bow Valley," said Bean.

"Our focus continues to be on keeping service levels convenient and consistent, while ensuring safety for example we’ve enhanced cleaning measures, fogging, sanitizing, and installing plexiglass shields. These are costly measures, but necessary to restore funding."

Bean adds that the more than $1 million in support to his region will help to continue the rejuvenation of rider confidence and provide a huge boost for the upcoming summer tourist season.

"We’ve seen a lot of Albertans last summer and now we're starting to see some international and national visitors coming back so vehicular traffic in the national park is really an issue," he said.

"Transit is working to solve that so our growth this summer will really play a key part in solving that congestion issue."