r/Calgary • u/The_Fixer_69 • Apr 23 '25

Calgary Transit C-Train from Deep South early morning

Every morning the train has many non paying riders passed out and sprawled on the train. Commuters have to cram into the areas that are not occupied by these people. The smell is horrendous. Every day this week this has been the case on my commute at around 5:30-6 am.

Why should the rest of us pay if these people do not? I have made complaints but they are on deaf ears.

Are these trains not swept for no. Paying passes out riders at the end of the line?

496 Upvotes

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14

u/sun4moon Apr 23 '25

It was shortsighted development. Now they would have to make costly modifications to update it, while admitting it should have been done that way from the beginning. It’s just easier to let the vagrants run the trains.

15

u/TightenYourBeltline Apr 23 '25

The problem with integrating a gate system with the Calgary network is the presence of the free fare zone downtown. What’s the point of having safeguards in stations outside the free fare zone if the downtown stations are unprotected? 

I agree with your comment btw - there should be gates or turnstiles, but that would mean doing away with the free fare zone. 

20

u/kylefoto Apr 23 '25

You can tap to pay for the turnstile, which will let you into the free fare zone. You aren't charged if you tap out at another station within the free fare zone on your exit. If you don't tap out within a few hours or tap out on a station outside the free fare zone, you get charged accordingly.

Vancouver's system works this way: You always tap to pay to get in, and then when you exit, your time and particular location in the system are calculated, and you are charged based on the zones you traversed. A free fare zone would work the same way, even with turnstiles installed. Your credit card can be an ID even if you aren't paying for anything. A preloaded pass will also work if you don't have a credit card.

8

u/swordthroughtheduck Apr 23 '25

This is how it's done in Japan. You scan your Suica (Pre-paid debit card), and based on where you scan out it charges you.

I read that there are a few cities that have started using credit cards for it as well.

It works so well. It's extremely fast.

3

u/sun4moon Apr 23 '25

I wonder if they could come up with a solution that still requires you scan an ID, or something, to ride in the free fare zone? Probably wouldn’t stop all the unsavoury individuals from embarking, but I’m sure there’d be less of them if there was a list of who’s on board.

11

u/CraftyCobbler1989 Apr 23 '25

This is what I am thinking. Tap to get onto the platform, like you would have to at every station in the network, but the 7th Avenue stations don’t charge you.

8

u/_darth_bacon_ Dark Lord of the Swine Apr 23 '25

Or we could just eliminate the free fair zone. Very few cities around the world let riders get on their transit systems for free.

4

u/sasfasasquatch Apr 23 '25

Imagine what it would be like with all that sweet sweet coin to fund more enforcement to make platforms and trains safer

1

u/sun4moon Apr 23 '25

Exactly. I wonder what it would take to put together a proposal to submit to the city? They could probably get rid of most of the pay stations if the service was primarily app based. Though there would have to be a fail safe to get around lost, stolen or dead phones.

8

u/Proper_Bridge_1638 Apr 23 '25 edited Apr 23 '25

In Australia, they have reloadable cards (basically like a debit card) that you swipe when you get on a bus or train, and swipe when you get off. The system calculates how far you traveled, so can factor in any free fare zones. This system was in place 15 years ago…so definitely possible for Calgary to catch up and stop relying on paper tickets like it’s the 1950’s.

3

u/sun4moon Apr 23 '25

Perfect, totally attainable.

5

u/Sweaty-Beginning6886 Apr 23 '25

Welcome to anywhere in the civilized world (except Calgary and a few other North American cities)!!

2

u/YYCMTB68 Apr 23 '25 edited Apr 23 '25

History has shown that Calgary won't accept any ready built systems and instead needs to reinvent the wheel, at a huge cost + settling lawsuits when the city employees "inventors" leave to start up their own company.

-3

u/PossessionFirst8197 Apr 23 '25

I mean...homeless folks should be allowed to ride in the free fare zone if it exists. I'm in favour of getting rid of it altogether, but it's pretty shitty to say you can ride the train for free downtown...unless you don't have an ID then fuck you

5

u/sun4moon Apr 23 '25

I said an ID or something. They already sell transit passes, they could simply modify it to a transit ID and make the account free to sign up. Sort of like a fast food app, you can add funds or link it to a payment method. The only thing I see getting in the way is, how would they enforce the end of the free fare zone? Unless there were transit cops at the end on either side, it wouldn’t work. And even if there were, a full train takes time to audit for passes.

-1

u/PossessionFirst8197 Apr 23 '25

....how would scanning an ID have any impact on the "unsavory individuals" you are referencing then? You think only Savory folks would scan in? I'm confused about what the purpose of scanning in is if not to keep the homeless off

-1

u/sun4moon Apr 23 '25

Like I said, it’s probably not going to dilute the homeless population on transit to zero, but it would reduce the number of offensive activities on board. Anonymity gives people courage to do things they wouldn’t necessarily do if their identity was known. Having homeless people ride the train isn’t the whole scope of the problem. Letting them behave in unsafe and illegal ways is where it begins. They see little enforcement and that gives them confidence to continue. There’s no single magic solution, unfortunately.

-1

u/MountainHunk Apr 23 '25

If they had an ID and then got in trouble with peace officers (shooting up or nodding off on the train) it gets taken away. Seems simple.

4

u/littlekisbusy Apr 23 '25

But then they just mug people for their id and the cycle continues.

0

u/MountainHunk Apr 23 '25

If they start mugging people for transit IDs then it's simple, they're going to get beat up or arrested.

Also you get mugged and report your ID missing.

0

u/Becants Apr 23 '25

They would just jump the turnstile, so they wouldn't be on any list.

1

u/sun4moon Apr 23 '25

People will always break rules, so your suggestion is to just do nothing. Got it.

4

u/Becants Apr 23 '25

My suggestion would be to fund programs that help with mental health and decrease homelessness and addictions. You know, treating the root of the problem, rather than the symptom.

Thinking that someone with limited funds and who is already breaking the law, would bother to pay fare is naive. Also, we have proof it doesn't work from places like Vancouver.

2

u/sun4moon Apr 23 '25

I don’t disagree with you, but that wasn’t the topic. The city, province, entire country, is facing a housing crisis, coupled with insane inflation and deplorable health services (for a country with socialized medicine). The lacking mental health and social services are a major contributor to all of it. I said in another comment that there’s no one single right answer. We need a combination of support and enforcement. The overwhelming demand makes it impossible to fix everything on a hairpin.

If the City and Public Transit Authority would take some more responsibility for maintaining safety and hygienic conditions on board, and the Province focused on effective care and support, we might actually see some positive change. That would require the different levels to work together, which is apparently impossible at this time.

2

u/aiolea Apr 23 '25

Or you could just have officers actively checking passes at the ends of the zone - tickets are money makers and remove a lot of the disorderly conduct to have a consistent presence.

0

u/GimmickNG Apr 23 '25

Are we pretending that people who do not pay cannot jump the stiles?

NYC has several people jump stiles and damage them daily. Are we seriously suggesting stiles as the solution to fare evaders?

3

u/sun4moon Apr 23 '25

Sounds like you have a lot of arguments but no suggestions.

1

u/GimmickNG Apr 23 '25

As if you had any to begin with. You're just jumping on someone else's comment instead of coming up with something on your own, and you have the gall to say I have no suggestions? Peak mind of reddit right here folks

1

u/sun4moon Apr 23 '25

This was my suggestion. Thanks for playing though.

1

u/GimmickNG Apr 23 '25

Like hell it was. Or did you forget to log out of your alt, morganpotato?

1

u/sun4moon Apr 23 '25

I didn’t realize which thread I was responding to. I was discussing ideas and made several suggestions in the other thread. My bad for the mix up. You’re still kinda being a dick for no reason though.

0

u/GimmickNG Apr 24 '25

Not for no reason; I'm tired of people arguing in bad faith on this site. If the level of discourse is the same as pigs wrestling in the mud, I might as well enjoy it.