With bad weather breaking records, workers commuting on the Calgary Transit are getting increasingly dissatisfied with their transportation.
But weather might be only one of the factors leading to unhappy Transit customers, according to Dr. Nigel Waters, Director of the Transportation Theme School at the University of Calgary.
“Transit especially LRT (Light Rail Transit) is notoriously crowded,” Waters says. “It can be really hard to get on and off the bus or train.”
Travelling on Transit can be expensive and the long, cold waiting times and fairly long travel times add to a commuter’s daily stress, according to Waters.
“It’s mostly a slower and colder alternative to a car,” Waters says.
Only 23 per cent of people who travelled between home and work on mass transit said they liked commuting, compared with 39 per cent of drivers, according to Statistics Canada’s survey ‘Like commuting? Workers’ perceptions of their daily commute.’
Results of the study suggest that if the average travel time of public transport users was equal to that of car drivers, their perception of commuting might improve.
Intelligent Transportation Systems are the solution to both the transit providers’ and commuters’ problems, according to Waters.
“Transportation systems in the U.K. and Europe have Global Positioning System (GPS) and tell the commuter how many minutes till arrival time,” he says.
Waters also suggests that communication between vehicles would help drivers make better decisions about their route and respond to warnings of congestion and accidents, saving time and effort.
But Transit is not sitting idle about workers’ problems, he says.
“They are getting more trains, Bus Rapid Transit and extending and building new lines,” Waters says.
“But it’s not happening quickly enough.”
Transit commuters also feel the speed at which capacity is increasing is very slow.
“Public transportation in Calgary is not good,” says Rishan Mesfun, a SAIT English language foundation student.
“We have only one bus serving the Beddington area.”
People in this area have a hard time getting around because of low frequency and repeated delays, according to Mesfun.
“Even though I’m on time the bus is late, sometimes by half an hour,” she says. “I have missed the connecting bus so many times because of this.”
Mesfun says the bus route is often used to train new drivers, which might be one of the reasons for the delays.
“Sometimes I have to take a taxi or call my husband to drop me, just to get to work on time,” she says.
According to Calgary Transit’s 20-year capital plan from 2006-2025, ridership on the CTrain system has increased by 120 per cent between 1995 and 2004.
But Transit is also facing a funding shortfall of $802 million to maintain, replace, upgrade and expand Calgary Transit’s infrastructure and fleet for the period 2006 to 2015.
Yet Calgary Transit is continuously working towards resolving travellers’ problems, according to Ron Collins, public relations manager for Calgary Transit.
“There have been weather related delays and they’re unfortunate because people are waiting in the cold,” Collins says.
“But when the temperature dips below 40 C, not even our CTrains can handle it.”
Buses also get delayed due to heavy traffic which is moving slowly due to slippery roads, he says.
As for improving bus frequencies and adding more routes, Transit is currently looking at bus and LRT service plans for 2007.
“There will probably be new routes and schedule changes, but we’re just looking at that,” he says.
Collins says that the option of GPS in buses is also being explored.
“GPS would augment the Teleride program,” he says. It will make getting schedule updates faster and easier for customers.
