Calgary Transit cut service on Orange Shirt Day despite 90% of city still working

Calgary Transit drew complaints Wednesday after running buses and CTrain on a modified Saturday level of service on September 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, even though most Calgarians worked the day despite it being a federal holiday.

Transit users reported lengthy waits for buses and jam-packed CTrain cars. The complaints spilled across the Calgary subreddit, which has over 300,000 regular users. "Why treat today like a general holiday for the transit schedules when 90 per cent of the city is working like any other day?" one user asked.

Calgary Transit spokesperson said the holiday is federally recognized but not a mandatory statutory holiday in Alberta. The transit authority noted that many businesses remain open and many Calgarians travel to work and other activities on the day. Normally, Calgary Transit runs Sunday-level service on statutory holidays, but for September 30 it used Saturday-level service as a base, then increased frequency where demand was expected highest.

"Each year, we review ridership data and patterns, customer feedback, and operational requirements, which helps us allocate resources as best as we can," the spokesperson said in an email.

Alex Williams, chair of Calgary Transit Riders, heard complaints from other users. "This is a frustration that comes up a lot whenever there's a holiday and whenever those hours change. The person who might use the bus at 6 a.m. might have to wait until 10 a.m. for their bus to be available, in which case they have to just find a different way to get around. It's actually pretty disruptive to their commuting pattern."

Calgary Transit advertised the reduced service beginning the week prior through digital displays, social media, the Transit app, its website, and holiday service announcements. The spokesperson acknowledged the frustration. "Because National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is a newer holiday with unique travel patterns, we continue to monitor demand and make refinements to the schedule as needed."