Riding all Calgary's Rapid Transit (Part 2)

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Part 1: • Riding all Calgary's R...
This is part 2 of my exploration of Calgary Transit's Rapid Transit system. In this video, I will be riding the 300s bus lines, which are considered "Bus Rapid Transit", and give my analysis of them. I will also ride to some LRT Stations in the suburbs to see what are their differences from the ones in downtown Calgary. I did not mention much about the frequency of the 300 buses, but out of the three, route 301 wins my frequency competition, as it runs every 5-10 minutes!
Calgary is located on Treaty 7 Territory, the Homeland of the Ktunaxa ɁamakɁis, Ĩyãħé Nakón mąkóce (Stoney), Niitsítpiis-stahkoii ᖹᐟᒧᐧᐨᑯᐧ ᓴᐦᖾᐟ (Blackfoot / Niitsítapi ᖹᐟᒧᐧᒣᑯ), Tsuut’ina, Michif Piyii (Métis) and Îyâxe Nakoda Nations.
Chapters:
0:00 Recap of Part 1
0:13 Intro
0:24 Honourable Mentions
0:56 Starting the day at Heritage Park
1:00 Reason why I abandoned the 305
1:07 Public Art at BRT Stations
1:24 Accessibility Measures
1:33 MAX Teal to Douglas Glen
2:00 Park and Ride at Heritage Station
2:23 At Douglas Glen Station
2:38 Commentary about the station
3:30 Getting on the 302 to Downtown
4:04 The difference of the 300s bus lines compared to the MAX BRT routes
4:30 Future plans for the 301 and 302 BRT
4:40 "BRT" or "Express Bus"?
4:56 on the 300 to the Airport
5:13 The special fleet of the 300
5:47 The "Dedicated" lane on Centre Street
6:20 Beddington Trail
6:29 Brief about the Green Line LRT
7:12 At 96th Ave NW, waiting for the 301
7:20 The different design of the 300s BRT Shelter
7:52 Boarding the 301 back downtown
8:04 17th Avenue SW, a potential future Car-Free Street
8:12 Shoutout to ‪@humanecities‬
8:21 exploring 17th Avenue SW
8:35 On the RED Line to Anderson Station
8:46 The car-oriented design of Anderson Station
9:01 On the RED Line to Fish Creek Lacombe Station
9:16 The concrete ditch (pedestrian bridge)
9:33 At Anderson Station, ending
9:50 Shoutout to Donours and Supporters.
Music used in the video:
"Tobu - Rollercoaster" under this license: tobumusic.com/license
Music provided by BreakingCopyright: • [No Copyright Music] T...
"Alex Productions - Alone" is under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license
/ @alexproductionsnocopy...
◇ Music Provided by BreakingCopyright
Kedam - Heroes: • Non Copyrighted Music ...
Sources used in the video and for future references:
Plans and Projects - Calgary Transit: www.calgarytransit.com/conten...
Future Green Line LRT: www.calgary.ca/green-line.html
More Links on the Green Line:
engage.calgary.ca/greenline1
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgar...
www.calgarytransit.com/conten...
www.projectcalgary.org/southe...
calgaryjournal.ca/2016/12/06/...
Map Courtesy of Daily Hive Calgary: dailyhive.com/calgary/calgary...
Public Arts at MAX bus stations: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgar...
Global News Article on 17 Avenue SW, Calgary: globalnews.ca/news/9819424/ca...
Transit Friendly Design Guide (1995): www.calgarytransit.com/conten...
Access Design Standards (2016): www.calgary.ca/development/ac...
RouteAheada (originally uploaded in 2012, latest update 2023): www.calgarytransit.com/conten...
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[@morethantransitt]

A quick correction: The design guidelines for the current MAX BRT Lines were included in both the RouteAhead document in 2012 and the Accessible Design Standards published in 2016. I have included them both in the bio for your reference. Also, the original Transit Friendly Design guide was from 1995 and last updated in 2006. Those guidelines mainly target the 300s bus lines - I assume.

[@RickyLeong]

Thanks for your videos! A few observations to share: • Summer tends to be a lighter season for Calgary Transit ridership, with more users geared to destinations/events - Stampede, CFL football, some festivals, Bowness Park on weekends. You'll even see riders use buses as a multi-modal option when going upstream before/after recreational floating down the Bow River. (They bring their deflated rafts on the bus!) • The airport bus no longer charges a special rate at YYC. It now accepts a standard fare there. • Max Orange continues to blossom, with the introduction of high-frequency daytime service on weekdays in Fall 2023, with a respectable 20-minute service in the evening. • Introduction of a Primary Transit Network is expected in Fall 2024.

[@morethantransitt]

I'd be excited about the Primary Transit Network!

[@nicthedoor]

Thanks for sharing, I've learned quite a bit about Calgary's transit through these videos. I have only ridden rail there a couple times several years ago and was actually impressed given the stereotypes of Alberta.

[@humanecities]

I even have a friend who moved to Calgary BECAUSE OF the CTrain 🤣 We’re doing okay. Lots of room to improve… But we’re getting there!

[@morethantransitt]

And the network is changing, although slowly! Meanwhile, Edmonton Transit is running their Valley Line SW tomorrow!

[@humanecities]

5:35 So! It used to have a separate fare if you were traveling from the airport. But last I checked, it’s just a regular ticket now.

[@morethantransitt]

Ah I see! I asked the driver that day if I have to pay extra. He asked where I was going to and I said "Beddington Trail." Then he just shooked his head saying No you don't!

[@RoboJules]

Calgary needs better TOD, and they should also consider burring the downtown portion of the C-Train, and constructing a busway and pedestrian/cycling mall in its place on the surface. Calgary could also use an orbital light rail route in the future when the Green Line is completed, as it's a sprawling city with many different residential and job centers. I'd also love to see some regional and intercity rail services, including an air-rail link, in the future. Calgary is unique in Canada, as it's a large Western city with a location that would make it the perfect regional transit hub akin to how Toronto operates in Southern Ontario. There are strong business cases to be made for passenger rail links to Banff, Red Deer and Edmonton, and Lethbridge and Medicine Hat. For regional rail, there will definitely be a need for it in Cochrane, Airdrie, Strathmore, and High River in the future, so mainlines should be upgraded for future freight and passenger requirements. Alberta is still the most affordable and well paying place in Canada, so the population is going to explode over the next decade, and it would be best if it developed as something other than endless Texas-style sprawl.

[@LoneHowler]

Calgary already has a pedestrian/cycling mall. Steven Avenue is in the center of the city and stretches almost the entire length of the downtown core. It's just giving the buses their own lanes and priority signals would improve things significantly

[@uzzfra7975]

8:50 Thankfully, the city is planning on making Anderson station a lot more transit oriented at the stations and the nearby mall. This is alos the case with Brentwood, Westbrook, Chinook, and possibly Rundle.

[@humanecities]

I’m very optimistic about it!

[@morethantransitt]

This is great to hear! I'm excited to see these plans approved and implemented!

[@JJR93]

I look forward to Calgary extending the Red Line of the C-Train to YYC itself, so you can hop on light rail directly there instead of taking a bus to the nearest LRT station.

[@morethantransitt]

That is actually a part of the Green Line! While not going straight to the airport, there will be an Airport Link line between Centre Street and McKnight-Westwind (?) LRT Station! But the project I'm more looking forward to is the rail connection to Banff!

[@iarp4965]

Route 305 has been cancelled for the second(!) and final time as of September 2023. It was introduced in December 2008 as the second 300-series “BRT” route (only predated by route 301, which was introduced in August 2004) and attempted to copy the 301’s successful formula of providing fast service to complement an established mainline route (in this case the 1 Bowness-Forest Lawn). However, the 305 ran into a few issues: due to traffic congestion it was rarely any faster than the 1, due to scheduling issues it always ended up arriving at stops in Bowness after the 1 had already departed (and the aforementioned speed issues meant Bowness residents had no incentive to take the 305 over the 1), and Calgary Transit faced a number of budget issues in the early-mid 2010’s that eventually led to 305 service being confined to weekday rush hour only in 2012. From there the 305 gradually slid into irrelevance, and when the MAX Purple took over its eastern half on 17 Avenue SE in 2018 it was basically a dead route walking. During the pandemic it was temporarily cancelled alongside the suburban express routes, resurrected after a short time with a modest 3 round trips per each rush hour, and finally put out of its misery this fall. It’s truly the most pathetic excuse for a BRT route I’ve ever heard of, and my hope is that Calgary Transit learns something from that experience the next time they consider rapid transit to Bowness.

[@morethantransitt]

Thanks for this input! Very insightful!

[@domomot4025]

I think he should have included route 1 in the honourable mention list too. It’s quite frequent and effective!

[@iarp4965]

5:13 XD40’s 8301-8308 are fitted with luggage racks specifically for use on the 300, and have been since 2018. Previously that role was fulfilled by 2011-12 Novas 8176-8183, which also had luggage racks that have since been removed.

[@morethantransitt]

Are those Novas still in operation for other routes?

[@iarp4965]

@@morethantransitt yep, currently they run out of Stoney Garage

[@humanecities]

8:14 Thanks for the shoutout 🙏 ♥️

[@Star_Jewel_Realm]

You should apply for a job with Calgary Tourism.

[@fordclapperton4600]

The Green line will unfortunately be very poor. LRVs are very unreliable as a regional system as seen in Ottawa (same contractor being used to build Calgary’s system). Also, because it is an LRV it will be less grade separated than our current system and very slow. It would have been better to start with the North Section and loop it with the blue line at the airport. Right now because they are using two different technologies, there will be a people mover so you’ll have to make an extra connection to the airport. An automated system like the SkyTrain would also have been better.

[@planefan082]

I don't know who the hell thought it would be a good idea to use a glorified tram for what's essentially a major metro line spanning the city. I hope the rail is at least standard gauge so the city doesn't need to tear up the whole track eventually. I used a line like that in Nice and while it was well-done, it was always crowded and the wheels occupying parts of the cabin made it a pain with such large crowds. Especially with suitcases! Important for what will eventually become an airport line

[@mayloo2137]

I sometimes use the 300. I have a regular monthly bus pass which is accepted by drivers. I separate the Max buses from the 300 series buses which I call express buses.

[@morethantransitt]

Yep, they are only express but not that rapid in my opinion!

[@thebigdog360]

Very surreal to see bus routes and locations that I use and visit almost every day in a YT video haha. To clarify some points from the video: Yes the 300 leaving from either of the two airport stops charges a fare of $11.25, but from any other stop on the route including arriving at the airport it is a regular fare. Kinda dumb, but that 11.25 ticket also gives you a day pass across the network, so kind of a plus? Across these two videos, I am very surprised by how many old buses you rode on! The only XD40 you were on was that 300, and the only CNG Nova was that last 301, I can assure you that the majority of trips I have made are usually on a much newer bus lol. Also those seats on the articulated joint of that 302 are only on the oldest models of artics, in the newer ones they simply have hand rails. But, they are actually not that bumpy and quite nice to sit on. When you mentioned the road getting small, then bigger again on the 301, that is because the residents living along centre street there opposed the road being extended and made wider for cars to go through as the city grew north in the 80's, so instead there is just one of Calgary's many bus traps that only allows transit and emergency vehicles through. Cars need to take a significant detour, but many try and make it through the bus trap and inevitably get stuck, blocking the way. This is despite the many HUGE signs saying do not enter lol. Articulated buses are much more common on the 301 than 40-foots, but during off-peak times or weekends 40-foots are then the majority. The 301 also has some amazing frequency on weekdays of at least every 12 minutes, going up to every 4-5 minutes during rush hour, which is handy. Thank you for covering the (flawed) but overall pretty good transit in our city!

[@morethantransitt]

Thanks for these info! Very insightful!

[@aaronmiles3375]

anything brt in calgary is kind of just not. you can take any other bus in calgary and you will wait the same amount of time, the service will be about the same, sometimes you'll get the longer buses on the max, but i've also gotten just standard buses. it's really just infrastructure and not much else.

[@morethantransitt]

The headway can be improved, but I was there during the summer so I'm not sure if it is adjusted at other times of the year!

[@fordclapperton4600]

Not that I’m against expanding the system but Calgary would have also done better to improve our current system rather than building a new line if you had to choose between the two. Creating a downtown tunnel, increasing grade separation, improving signaling, frequency, and safety would do way more for the system than the poorly planned future Green Line LRV.

[@fordclapperton4600]

Also creating more TODs and adding faregates.