Calgary Public Transit II

[UofC.engineer]

Originally Posted by outoftheice

I know that this thread is dedicated to "public transit" but after my first night out downtown in a long time, I felt the need to unload and figured this was the best forum to do it in.... My situation: A good friend of mine was in town from Toronto. We went to the Flames game (a loss... but that's another story). After the Flames game we decided we wanted to have a few drinks in a nice pub. Upon exiting the Saddledome we discovered that there are no obvious places to catch a taxi. Instead, we walked 6 blocks to 'The National' pub on 17th Ave and 5th Street to enjoy a few beverages. At 2 am, the pub closed and we were forced out onto the street to fend for ourselves. I immediately called '#taxi' to try to arrange for a taxi home. After 15 minutes on hold, while standing outside in -15 weather, I was finally connected to Associated Cabs. They told me I was #7 for the calling area and there was no guarantee as to how long it would take for a taxi to arrive. After another 1 hour and 15 minutes (1 hour and 30 minutes total) standing around in -15 temperatures my friend and I were finally able to get into a taxi and this was only by standing in the middle of the street and literally blocking a lane of traffic. Upon asking the taxi driver if waiting over an hour for a taxi was standard for a Saturday night in Calgary we were informed that yes, it was. I have lived in Ireland, England and several cities in Canada and Calgary is the only city where I have had to wait longer than 10 minutes for a taxi cab. Combined with the cold temperatures in the winter, this wait time crosses the line from inconvenience to a health and safety hazard. This is absolutely ridiculous!!! I don't know what the solution is but I was absolutely embarrassed to be a Calgarian tonight and there needs to be a resolution. Whether it be through better public transit or a complete over-haul of the taxi system in Calgary, something needs to be done. "Public Transit" means the ability of the majority of people to make it from 'A' to 'B' without the use of a vehicle. Calgary's bus and train system do this fairly well but they are limited by their hours of service.... Calgary's taxi system is in a desperate need of an overhaul. I just hope this happens sooner rather than later....

The city should look into starting a "Night Bus" service similar to what Vancouver has. That, or keep trains running longer on Friday and Saturday nights.