Calgary Transit is providing additional transportation to the Alberta referendum advance polling station in the city’s southwest due to a lack of transit access to the area.
On Oct. 9, Calgary Transit posted that it would make available a special shuttle bus to take customers to the advance polling location at Spruce Meadows.
The shuttle would operate during the advance polling station’s hours and transport passengers between the Somerset-Bridlewood LRT station and the Spruce Meadows site. It will operate for the next five days, according to Calgary Transit.
The special route uses the Route 75 stop at the LRT station and will run every 30 minutes during voting hours, with the final trip leaving the Spruce Meadows location at 8:10 p.m.
Regular transit fares apply. The route will not operate on the actual referendum day, which is Oct. 19.
“We chose to add shuttle service for the five days of advance voting because we recognized that many customers who rely on transit would be unable to access the Spruce Meadows voting location,” read an email response from Amanda Bradley at Calgary Transit.
Mayor Jeromy Farkas said Tuesday that he’s been encouraging everyone to get out to vote. Calgary Transit’s quick action helped make that possible for some Calgarians, Farkas said.
“I was really pleased to see over the weekend Calgary Transit spring into action to give better bus service and a shuttle to Spruce Meadows in the far southwest,” he said.
“There’s many communities right now who don’t have easy walking or transit options to their advanced polling stations, and seeing our Calgary Transit team spring into action and meet that need, I was really impressed with how quickly that they moved to meet that need.”
Most polling stations are open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily from Oct. 13 to 17.
There are four advance polling locations across Calgary: the Spruce Meadows location, the Foothills Alliance Church in northwest Calgary, the Scandinavian Centre in central/north Calgary, and in the Quarry Park area (205 Quarry Park Blvd SE).
You can find more information on where to cast your advance vote right here.
