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In Toronto, they’re nicknamed the “vomit comets” — the buses that ferry downtown revellers home, after the beer taps have stopped flowing and the subways have stopped running.

In Calgary, they’d be called the 900 buses, but their magic number would be 15.

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tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Late-night Calgary buses would need 15+ riders per hour to make sense: Calgary Transit Back to video

After years of discussion and gripes about weekend taxi shortages, Calgary Transit has sketched out plans for late-night routes Friday and Saturday. Five buses would mimic the four LRT routes and also service Centre Street, with pickups every half-hour, between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

If it is as successful as after-hours service in comparable cities like Quebec City or Ottawa, each route would have 15 to 20 passengers per hour, senior transit planner Asif Kurji says in a report.

Any fewer than that “would be a signal that the service is struggling and requires adjustment or cancellation,” Kurji’s report states.

Timothy Choi has no doubt it would be as busy as night buses he enjoyed in Vancouver.