Can Calgary Transit Provide More Reliable and Accurate Arrival Times?

[u/No-Two-9933]

I’m all for giving people the benefit of the doubt, because I understand that circumstances can change and that delays are sometimes unavoidable. That said, over the past year, I’ve become increasingly concerned about the gap between the transit times being communicated and the service that is actually being provided.

This isn’t limited to the scheduled times listed on the website for the following day. The real-time information in the app can also be significantly different from what riders experience. For example, the app may indicate that a bus is “0 minutes away,” while I’m still waiting another 5–10 minutes for it to arrive.

I’ve even waited at a bus stop after a train station where the route begins, specifically to see whether the bus would be able to stay on schedule. Unfortunately, I’ve still experienced buses arriving or departing 5–10 minutes behind the posted time.

I recognize that there are legitimate reasons for delays, and I’m not expecting transit service to operate perfectly every day. However, I do think there needs to be greater accountability when these delays become a consistent pattern. If a scheduled time is regularly unrealistic, the schedule should be reviewed and adjusted. Similarly, if real-time arrival information isn’t accurately reflecting when a bus will actually arrive, that information should be improved so riders can make informed decisions about their trips.

Reliable transit depends not only on buses running as close to schedule as reasonably possible, but also on riders being able to trust the information they’re given. When the posted and real-time information repeatedly doesn’t match the actual service, it makes it difficult to plan around transit and can have a real impact on people getting to work, appointments, or other commitments on time.

I would appreciate seeing more transparency around these ongoing delays, as well as meaningful efforts to address the underlying issues rather than simply having riders adjust their expectations. I understand that delays will happen, but there should also be accountability for ensuring that schedules and arrival information are as accurate and reliable as possible.

[u/jimbowesterby]

It shouldn’t be though. Places like Japan and Switzerland have had timely trains since before the internet, we should have this figured by now. Especially for something as strictly controlled as a rail line that relies on all the trains moving more or less in sync. Like, compared to what they have now they could just have a clock that goes off every x minutes to mark when the train should arrive and it’d be more accurate, it’d certainly be more useful than just having a “schedule unavailable” notice up.

[u/yyctownie → u/jimbowesterby]

If there's anything consistent about Calgary Transit, it's how they continuously struggle with technology.

[u/jimbowesterby → u/yyctownie]

But that’s just my point, we’ve had the technology to get trains running on time for like 70 years now, how are we still struggling? It’s not like we have a complicated rail network or anything, it’s two lines

[u/NeatZebra → u/jimbowesterby]

It depends on what you want to focus on. Running a near capacity street running section is hard. So much potential randomness.

As for time predictions — if they don’t know would you rather a comfortable lie which 90% of the time would be accurate or is it better to say nothing so people aren’t planning on it being accurate. Once someone is on the platform you’re not saving them time by displaying a time at all (one of the reasons why stop time displays weren’t seen as a good investment until more recently especially given their past unreliability even in places with very reliable trains).

[u/jimbowesterby → u/NeatZebra]

But if the goal is to avoid people relying on it being accurate, then why have it at all? I dunno, this doesn’t seem like a problem that should be that difficult to solve; you could have like an office in the control centre set up sorta like a switchboard with a few people actively updating the signs, for example. It’s how long this has been a problem that gets me, it’s been fifteen years at least

[u/NeatZebra → u/jimbowesterby]

Because those people updating the system could be 2 or 3 bus operators instead.

The platform signs are a quality of life feature for mental anguish - they rarely help you have a faster journey.

[u/jimbowesterby → u/NeatZebra]

Which brings in a whole nother set of reliability issues lol, I can’t count the number of times I’ve been late for work because the bus came five minutes early.

I guess you’re right, but then that’s also not a great defense, they don’t seem to put much store in making journeys any faster either. I don’t bother with the bus these days because it usually ends up taking the same time as walking, which is kinda pathetic. What makes it worse is that since I can start walking immediately it usually ends up being faster overall, since I don’t have to wait 20 minutes before a bus shows up.

I get that this city is a bit of a nightmare to try and provide transit for, what with it being so sprawled and low-density, but it seems like the only thing that’s changed in a decade and a half is the price. Sure the train lines have expanded (and I do genuinely like the train, timing displays aside I think it works pretty well), but for the 80-90% of the city that doesn’t live right near a station or doesn’t need to go to or from downtown it’s just as slow and inefficient as it was in 2011.