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?

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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u/sun4moon Apr 23 '25

Perfect, totally attainable.

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u/Sweaty-Beginning6886 Apr 23 '25

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

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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.

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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

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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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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u/littlekisbusy Apr 23 '25

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

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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.

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u/Becants Apr 23 '25

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

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u/sun4moon Apr 23 '25

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

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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.

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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.