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The City of Calgary is floating out some options to potential travellers heading in and out of YYC Calgary International Airport.

Officials are hoping to gauge opinions on the airport transit system and the considerations for LRT, bus rapid transit or an automated people mover.

The city is recommending the people mover, with senior transportation engineer Alex Saba saying it is the most cost-effective option.

“There’s technical reasons behind the choice or the recommendation for the transit technology, which is the automated people mover, and that’s mostly due to the lower operating costs as well as the well-timed [rides],” Saba said.

The Calgary Airport Authority supports rail transit to the terminal and has land set aside and future planning to connect the airport to the city’s LRT infrastructure.

READ MORE: Green Line LRT project among top provincial election priorities for City of Calgary

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Any options are years away, but the city said it wanted to get ahead of the Green Line planning and Blue Line extension.

Travellers heading out of YYC on Friday afternoon have mixed opinions.

Melissa Faust said she wouldn’t use it.

“Calgary is very spread out, so it would have to be accessible by all. I live in the northwest and there is no direct route, so driving or Uber are my choices,” Faust said.

Benedict Bouche said it’s about time the city started exploring transit options.

“All the infrastructure is already in place. There is the airport tunnel that they could just put on a track and build a station here. They should just do it,” Bouche said.

The City of Calgary is hosting open houses on June 24 at the Genesis Centre and June 25 at Vivo for Healthier Generations from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Calgarians can also post their feedback online until July 9.

“After this, we would compile the public’s feedback through the open houses and online and those would be coupled with technical evaluation and that would inform the final report for this study that would be presented to council by end of year,” Saba said.

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