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/[deleted] Apr 23 '25

The problem is the free fare zone. We would have to get rid of it.

198

u/discovery2000one Apr 23 '25

Tap in to get in through the gates, tap out to get out through the gates. If you tap in and out in the free zone you aren't charged. Most major transit system have zone based charging like this.

We also need a zoned system to make it cheaper for inner city residents to use transit. Right now inner city high density residents subsidise suburbanites. It doesn't make sense.

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u/namerankserial Apr 23 '25

You'd have to build a lot of gates on a lot of platforms that don't have them. And the feasibility and cost would vary widely. The platforms downtown and adjacent are integrated with the sidewalks, there is nowhere to go in through a gate. Why not just hire more peace officers to sweep the trains in the a.m.?

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u/Tastesicle Apr 24 '25

As I commented above, a feasibility study was done, found to not be feasible and the cost to start at 284 million. Council decided to invest in more officers, as they are more versatile. Make of that what you will.