Calgary Transit needs more than $2 billion to deliver the frequent, reliable service a growing city demands — but with a long line of competing budget priorities, some councillors aren’t ready to put transit at the front of the queue.

Councillors on the Infrastructure and Planning Committee (IPC) voted to approve principles for a revised fare strategy, and also to have the funding plan prioritized for the 2027-2030 four-year budget.

Both items will still have to be approved at a full meeting of Calgary city council.

Overall, while incremental gains have been made, a lack of investment over the course of many years has held Calgary Transit back from widespread service improvements.

Ridership in 2025 was 93.1 million trips, which was a decline of 0.6 per cent, but that was attributed to an extreme cold event in February, fall workforce shortages at Calgary Transit, and the October teacher strike.

Calgary Transit satisfaction stuck at 77 per cent, with on-time performance improving marginally to 85 per cent. 

The report did note that in general, only 10 per cent of people live within walking distance of the fast-and-frequent service sought on the Primary Transit Network.

“Calgary has grown quickly. We haven’t seen the investment keep up with the level of our population and with the growth of our geography,” said Calgary Transit director Sharon Fleming.

“It’s time to make the investment that we need, and the Route Ahead plan maps out exactly what we need to make it happen.”

The budget prioritization plan looks at millions in annual funding over the next 10 years to meet operating and capital needs just to keep Calgary Transit buses providing citywide coverage. It would also bolster the fast and frequent service prescribed in the Route Ahead plan.

It also includes massive capital investment to add to Calgary Transit’s bus fleet and build homes for the buses, with two maintenance facilities included in the overall $2.3 billion ask.

“We already know that Calgarians are facing a number of overloads on their buses and trains. We’re also seeing frequency issues. People are not getting the level of service that they want,” Fleming said.

“We have communities that continue to be underserved and only see peak service rather than having all day and weekend service. We need to stop that. We need to commit to funding transit like a big city, and we’re really looking forward to seeing all of those changes come to fruition once it’s properly funded.”

Many budget asks, only so much money for transit

Ward 12 Coun. Mike Jamieson, who voted against the prioritization of the Calgary Transit Route Ahead funding, said that the conversation needs to be changed to one of finding cost savings.

With funding requests lining up for recreation, parks, police, fire, roads and more, Jamieson said that it will come down to priorities for Calgarians.

“We really need to prioritize what’s most important first, because we can’t afford everything, and the average taxpayer does not want their taxes to go up 20 per cent,” he said.

“So, we have to be really mindful and smart about the decisions we’re making.”

Ward 2 Coun. Jennifer Wyness, who did vote in favour of the budget prioritization, said that transit needs to start focusing more on delivering better overall outcomes for riders.

“It’s about actually making a system that moves Calgarians and people that come to the city,” she said.

“I find we’ve been distracted with using transit as a city building opportunity and not providing a reliable service for Calgarians.”

With many of the councillors around the horseshoe expressing their frustration with Calgary Transit service delivery in one fashion or another, Ward 8 Coun. Nathan Schmidt said the solution isn’t complicated.

“Every problem that we have right now with transit, for the most part, even the deeper details, the way we get four cars, is by spending money. This plan asks us to spend an appropriate amount of money to get there,” he said.

“So, I’ll repeat again, things cost money. Good transit costs money. It’s clear, based on our questions, we all want good transit, so let’s give them some money.”