Strong public transit is critical to Calgary becoming a world class city and public transit users must be heard.

Why Calgarians don’t love YYC transit

As many of Calgarians have already noticed, the last few years have launched a cultural battle over the soul of our city. And the canary in the coal mine? Public transit.

Since I started chairing the #iloveyyctransit committee, I realize more than ever that Calgary is a city in the midst of a metamorphosis. CBC’s series “Calgary at a Crossroads” nervously discusses what Calgary is in an economic downturn, as if we previously were just a collection of jobs and office buildings. And maybe we were. But with an unemployment rate of 8.6% and the looming shadows of empty office towers, now is the time we will redefine ourselves.

If you’ve ever browsed the many “Top Cities to Live In” lists out there, you know the usual suspects– New York, Toronto, Tokyo, San Francisco. And if you’ve been a tourist in any of these places, you also know about the NYC subway, the TTC, Tokyo Metro, and the San Fran cable cars. Because these systems are not only physically integrated into these cities, they are also integrated into the city’s social geography. They are part of what makes citizens proud of their city and connected to its past and future. Public transit is an irreplaceable and critical component of what makes great cities great.

Over the last few months I’ve had the opportunity to talk to many Calgarians about public transit. I heard from students who appreciate the ability to finish last minute school work on their train ride and seniors who take the bus to have tea with their friends every day. I talked briefly to moms on the CTrain who were too busy trying to wrangle children to tell me about their experience and regular commuters who told me their tips about getting the best bus seats and waiting for CTrain cars with air conditioning. Millions of Calgarians use public transit every year. They are the silent majority.

So, if so many of us use and appreciate our public transit system, which is actually one of the best in the country, why don’t we, as a whole, love YYC transit?

I am not a sociologist or an engineer, so I can only try to answer the question based on my own many years of taking public transit and the conversations I’ve had with other Calgarians. I started this article talking about the best cities in the world because I believe Calgary can be one. But it will have to be a choice, and a choice we need to make soon.

The best answer I can conclude from my question is not one most of us want to hear: fear. The conversation around public transit has become so polarized, City employees who were excited and supportive about #iloveyyctransit felt they couldn’t publically voice their opinion. These are people who have dedicated their lives to building and supporting Calgary’s award-winning public services. If they feel prevented from showing pride in their own work, what does that say about our civic culture?

One Councillor told me personally they were very supportive of our message but publically said something very different. We were sad to see some councillors respond to the loudest and angriest citizens and not listen to everyday Calgarians who didn’t have the resources to advocate for themselves so forcefully.

When I spoke to Calgarians about other world class cities like NYC and Amsterdam having robust BRT systems and long-term transit-oriented development, I was often met with “well, we’re not NYC, are we?” and a shrug. The conversation about the critical Southwest BRT ended up being dominated by a small group of people who offered only criticisms, no solutions, and also were largely not transit users. However, these people saw a gap in the conversation and they found a way to fill it.

The challenging truth is most public transit users in Calgary, this silent majority, do not have the time or the resources to lobby in their best interests. They have one or more jobs, children, classes, and likely hours of commuting to fill up their day. So those of us who have the privilege and the experience to speak out have an obligation to. If we do not speak out and push our government representatives to be informed, vocal advocates for public transit, Calgary is in danger of missing to opportunity to be a world class city we are so close to becoming. Let’s be brave Calgary, and make sure that canary thrives.