Calgary Needs Public Transit to the Airport

In the last week of January this year two Calgary seniors went to Vancouver on a flying trip. After getting off the plane they walked a short distance to the Sky train. They bought the tickets to downtime for $7.50 each which included the airport fee of five dollars. A clean spacious train took them to downtown in comfort in twenty minutes. They crossed the street and were well settled in the hotel room with a view of the ocean in less than an hour after leaving the plane. Comfortable and convenient transportation from airport cost fifteen dollars for both of them.

When they got off the plane in Calgary two days later there was no reasonably priced transportation, either train or a bus, to take them anywhere. They joined a queue for the cabs on the side walk in minus thirty weather. A cab took them home, about the same distance as in Vancouver, in a little over an hour from the touch down. It cost sixty dollars compared to thirty on the Skytrain in Vancouver. While the difference of sixty dollars for the return trip may not matter much to prosperous Calgarians, it is a factor for many tourists the city is trying to attract. I have met many overseas visitors in Banff and Lake Louise who went directly from the airport to their resort destinations without stopping in Calgary. One can only conjecture on the numbers, but at least some of them would have considered a stopover in the city where 1988 Olympics were held if it were convenient and economic to do so. Environmental considerations also support connecting Airport and downtime with an efficient transit system.

I have lived in Calgary for thirty five years and have heard a lot of glib talk about public transportation from our local and provincial politicians. But the action is a different world than words and LRT connection to the airport is one prime example. Some Calgarians believe that the Airport Authority likes their cozy arrangement with the cab companies and is opposed to public transit connection from downtown to the airport. If this is indeed true the financial loss to the Authority can be circumvented by a surcharge on LRT tickets similar to that imposed in Vancouver. There is no doubt that the public transport will hurt the cab companies. However, if various public and citizen organizations succeed in placing immigrants in jobs appropriate for their training, this may be a remedy for the foreseeable shortage of cab drivers. As for the companies with parking lots, the appreciation in land values makes up for the reduction in parking business.

Extending LRT from McNight station to the airport is not a major logistical problem. It is perhaps expensive but so is the continuous widening of roads and additions to parking spaces. Other option would be to include stops at Calgary and Edmonton airports for the high speed train connecting the two cities. However, this project appears to be far in the future and the airport connection needs to proceed without delay. Whatever route is chosen, it needs to be worked in with the expansion plans of the airport to minimize duplication. For this to happen, the Airport Authority needs to expand their vision beyond the airport building to include the long term convenience of the city and its citizens in its plans and the province may have to intervene in the discussions for all parties to reach a satisfactory agreement without an interminable delay.