City to study Bikes on Calgary Transit without time restrictions

Watching the March 29, 2022 Calgary City Council Meeting was fun, (after talking about birds, ) Councillors voted to move forward with a Pilot Project to allow bikes on C-Trains without any time restrictions starting May 1, 2022.

This is something Youth en Route has been pushing for! It gives students more flexibility in their transportation choices. Unlike working Calgarians, students don’t have the ability to choose when their day starts. We look forward to seeing how the pilot works.

How did we know that students wanted this flexibility? We ask in our student travel surveys that start each project.

Understanding the numbers

At Bishop O’Byrne, in deep South Calgary, 57% of students have a bike, and 38.2% of the 240 students surveyed said they’d like to be able to bring a bike on the train.

At Crescent, where we had close to 400 survey responses, 28% of students said they’d consider bringing a bike on the train. (Bike ownership at Crescent is slightly lower, at 55%)

What city council approved was a pilot project. They’ll consider how bikes are working with regular riders, and if there is room in train cars for bikes. We’ll be encouraging students to give it a try with some free bus passes. There will be a report back to city council later in the summer to see how it’s going.

Share you story, be heard

If you’re taking your bike on the train, take a photo, tag @calgarytransit and @youthenroute. It’s important for the city to understand how youth use city services and that your voices are heard through the data that is captured.

We also know many youth are uncomfortable trying new things. We put together a video with our partners at Bike Calgary to help demystify the experience of putting your bike on a bus rack, or taking it on the train. Check it out!

Our Submission to city council