After taking part in a series of experiential visits to Calgary Transit locations, one city councillor is hoping to jumpstart plans for service tweaks to improve the rider experience.

Ward 3 Coun. Jasmine Mian will put a Notice of Motion forward for technical review at the March 11 Executive Committee Meeting that asks for a Calgary Transit response to 15 different rider- and operator-generated suggestions for improving commutes, and for that response to be included as a part of the Route Ahead annual update.

The suggestions come from riders and operators surveyed during visits the councillor made, along with members of Calgary Transit Riders, a local transit advocacy group, to three Calgary Transit hubs. They attended Anderson Station, North Pointe and Saddletowne Station on Feb. 14, 21 and 28, respectively.

Among the suggestions they collated from the data (not including service level increases), were the extension of the 90-minute transfer window to 120 minutes, announcements on the LRT of when they were approaching a MAX rapid transit hub, eliminating digital ticket expiry, partnering with sports events or conferences to make transit a part of tickets prices, and implementing GPS for transit operators to reduce routing errors, or improve detour adherence.

“These are small little improvements that hopefully transit can implement,” Coun. Mian said.

“Transit is going to come back as part of their Route Ahead update (May 14) and let us know, which of these are actually feasible and what would be the cost of some of them. Then, that can turn into continued advocacy.”

Jakob Fushtey with Calgary Transit Riders said that after advocating for big ticket items like night bus service, track maintenance and improved station accessibility during last November’s budget deliberations, they wanted to narrow in on some small wins for commuters.

“Even the small, seemingly insignificant stuff that some people might see on the outside, can improve rider perception and just general perception of the transit system,” he said.

Sweating the small stuff on Calgary Transit

One of the operating philosophies at CTR is ‘sweating the small stuff,’ Fushtey said. While the big budget items, like adding more buses and increasing service hours come with a significant cost, many of these suggestions require small changes.

To find out what riders wanted, they hit the stations, talked with riders, and had people fill out a survey. They got 366 responses.

One response that stood out was the extension of the transfer window to 120 minutes. Fushtey said restarting the Calgary Transit etiquette program, only funded for 2013, was another suggestion that topped the list.

They’d also included an operator-focused suggestion of ensuring that GPS was available to drivers to help them stay on route, or to follow designated detours to ensure efficient bus service.

“These improvements, these quick wins, are definitely not intended to be a replacement for proper service funding,” Fushtey said.

“But just rather to strengthen Calgary Transit foundations until that proper service funding eventually comes.”

Coun. Mian said most of the items on the Notice of Motion have already been discussed with Calgary Transit.

“There’s a lot of kind of small improvements that people spoke about that I feel it’s important to pull this conversation out into the public, because transit’s actually working on a lot of these things,” she said.

Both Mian and Fushtey want the items to be included as an appendix in the Route Ahead strategy. Some may be implemented; others may have to wait.

Fushtey said the goal of getting them into Route Ahead, based on rider data, was to ensure they could hold the city accountable for achieving these actions. He said that’s step one.

“If it gets approved, included in this document, we can try to hold council to some accountability for progress on these items, and that’s the biggest thing,” he said.

“We can press all we want for things we want improved in Calgary Transit, but if they’re not in official documentation and approved by council, there’s very little sway we have.”

If the motion passes technical review, it will be debated at an upcoming full meeting of council.