Calgary’s free fare zone evaded derailment on Tuesday night, for the second time since last fall. But city council is scheduled to again debate its future early next year.
Council narrowly voted 8-7 to defer making a decision about the free fare zone’s future until early 2027, when council will hear recommendations for an updated transit fare strategy.
In the meantime, CTrain users can still ride for free between the downtown platforms along Seventh Avenue S.W. while the city further engages with residents and businesses downtown about the free fare zone.
The vote comes after a city administration report this month recommended council scrap the free fare zone, which it suggested could bring in an additional $5 million in annual revenue. But Mayor Jeromy Farkas said the push from residents and businesses to defend the free fare zone’s survival has unified Calgarians as much as any issue he’s seen in five years on council.
Mayor Jeromy Farkas said he’d have liked to see city council vote to keep the free fare zone intact indefinitely, adding he supports exploring whether it can be expanded during major events. (Brendan Coulter/CBC)
“We can continue and stay the course on the things that we know are working. And in this case, we know that the free fare zone is working,” said Farkas.
Farkas added he would have liked council to agree to keep the free fare zone permanently, and that he supports exploring whether it can be expanded to more stops during major events like the Calgary Stampede. He argued the zone drives traffic to downtown businesses, benefits tourists and improves ridership, which benefits transit safety.
The free fare zone has been a staple of Calgary’s downtown since 1981, but last fall TD Bank ended its sponsorship of the zone three years into a five-year deal, throwing its future into question.
Council narrowly voted to keep it during last fall’s budget talks, before ordering a review of the zone in February. The review led to administration’s report that recommended requiring fares between downtown platforms, in an attempt to reduce disorderly behavior on the CTrain.
LISTEN | Mayor Jeromy Farkas reflects on vote pushing free fare zone’s future to 2027 decision:
Ward 10 Coun. Andre Chabot said council has heard the main reason residents don’t use public transit is safety concerns. He argued giving officers another tool to remove people from downtown transit platforms could drive more people to use the CTrain, and questioned council’s decision calling for more engagement about the zone after a report on the matter was already completed this year.
“The idea of we need to engage the downtown folks and other businesses and whatnot, that’s just what they finished doing,” said Chabot.
“At some point we have to decide whether or not we want to give our enforcement officers the tools to work with to keep our system safer.”
Ward 10 Coun. Andre Chabot supported scrapping the free fare zone in a move to try to improve public safety along downtown CTrain platforms, and encourage more people to use public transit (Brendan Coulter/CBC)
But Ward 4 Coun. DJ Kelly argued administration’s report did not make a strong enough case to scrap such a popular aspect of the city’s transit system.
“The majority of the individuals who we believe are providing safety concerns on the train are people who would qualify for the low-income transit pass anyway,” said Kelly.
“From that point of view, I just don’t believe that the $5 million number that’s in the report that administration provided is terribly accurate.”
When administration reports on an updated fare strategy, it will also include findings on the viability of new systems like distance-based or rush-hour fare.
Farkas said council has been examining the free fare zone’s viability, and other transit revenue options, because of financial pressures the city faces and a $49 billion infrastructure gap. But he said council’s focus on public transit should be directed toward how it can improve service and reliability, which will encourage more people to use it.
“I’m not compelled by the statements that people are suggesting, that the free fare zone is contributing to crime or social disorder,” Farkas told CBC Radio’s The Calgary Eyeopener on Wednesday.
“More bodies, more eyes on the system itself makes it safer.”