Citizens in two of Calgary’s newest southeast communities are getting preliminary transit service, and the area councillor said having transportation access is great news.
On March 30, Calgary Transit launched On-Demand Transit service to the southeast Calgary communities of Sora and Hotchkiss, giving residents a way to get around to notable locations in the area.
On-Demand Transit is both an entry-level service for new communities and a replacement for some Calgary communities where ridership varies. Potential clients can book an on-demand trip between their community and nearby amenities or transit hubs where they can access the entire transit network.
Trips are booked using the On-Demand Calgary Transit app, and the routes are created as residents book, according to the Calgary Transit announcement.
According to Calgary Transit, there’s no formal ranking for new on-demand service implementation. When they add a new service, they consider the development and growth level of the neighbourhood and whether the service can be provided with changes to an existing bus route in the area.
“The development level in Hotchkiss was high enough to require transit service. However, due to being east of Stoney (Trail), it couldn’t be efficiently served by any existing bus routes,” read an email from Amanda Bradley with Calgary Transit.
“We had the available resources to provide on-demand service as an alternative.”
The service is being provided by Via, an external company. They have been providing the service since 2024, according to Bradley.
“Via has added vehicles to its fleet to provide this service, but that was covered by Via’s current contract with the City,” she said.
“The new service does not come at the expense of Calgary Transit’s existing On Demand service areas.”
Heard on the doors: Coun. Jamieson
Ward 12 Coun. Mike Jamieson said that during last fall’s municipal election campaign, he heard from the people in the growing communities of Sora and Hotchkiss that a transit link was needed.
“They want to access like everybody else, and they want a voice, and this is giving them an opportunity to get access through on demand,” he said.
Jamieson said that more transit access is needed across the city, and in this case, there were challenges with the Stoney Trail barrier, that still need to be dealt with. He said there’s a larger conversation to be had about opening up access at 130 Avenue and Stoney Trail to provide multiple access points into Hotchkiss and Sora. Right now, the communities are only quickly accessible via Stoney Trail and 22X.
“It’s about making a different room, other than Stoney south and having multiple access points,” Jamieson said.
“I think when you start talking about the greater infrastructure plan of the area, it will naturally open up a lot more routes, which will be easier for the bus systems to add.”
Bradley said that there’s no current timeline for when the area would be transitioned to a regular bus route.
“Similar to new service implementation, it depends on community size, the transit demand it generates, and available (operational) budget,” she said.
The Hotchkiss-Sora service operates from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Friday. On Saturday, Sunday and holidays, it runs 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
More information on Calgary’s on-demand transit can be found here.
