General Route Discussion and History

[downbeat]

Calgary Transit’s sign makers have been busy preparing riders for next month’s route changes. 

[TechSpotlight]

Noticed yesterday that around the Westhills Shopping Centre and the Richmond terminal, all signage relating to the 13 and 112 have been removed and signage for the 22 as well as the updated 6 and 94 have been put in place.

[yvarushin]

1 minute ago, TechSpotlight said:

Noticed yesterday that around the Westhills Shopping Centre and the Richmond terminal, all signage relating to the 13 and 112 have been removed and signage for the 22 as well as the updated 6 and 94 have been put in place.

 

They've been updated for over a week now including the SW routes. All 16/79/80/84 stops have been removed and replaced with the new routes (95/99/125/126) and the 56's modification as well.

[armorand]

43 minutes ago, TechSpotlight said:

Noticed yesterday that around the Westhills Shopping Centre and the Richmond terminal, all signage relating to the 13 and 112 have been removed and signage for the 22 as well as the updated 6 and 94 have been put in place.

Same around Deerfoot Meadows - tons of new signage. 

[downbeat]

I’ve just noticed the routing of the new Route 66 has been quietly changed in Lakeview. Outbound service no longer goes into the community but continues along the periphery (66 Avenue westbound, 37 Street northbound).

See the map: http://www.calgarytransit.com/sites/default/files/066_dec_2019_r2.pdf

And the note on the Transit website says this: “Please note: after receiving additional community feedback, and in consultation with the area councillor, Route 66 has been adjusted from the initially-released route. The new route structure provides an appropriate balance of travel time, cost and service level while being respectful of community concerns.”

I remember reading about how bringing the bus route into the neighbourhood, instead of running around the edge, would cut walking time for some riders and make it easier for people on Lancaster Way and Lakeview Drive to board the bus on the outbound portion of its journey. I guess some NIMBY(s) didn’t like the idea of trying to make city buses more useful for people.

[Blake M]

On 12/20/2019 at 12:19 PM, downbeat said:

I’ve just noticed the routing of the new Route 66 has been quietly changed in Lakeview. Outbound service no longer goes into the community but continues along the periphery (66 Avenue westbound, 37 Street northbound).

See the map: http://www.calgarytransit.com/sites/default/files/066_dec_2019_r2.pdf

And the note on the Transit website says this: “Please note: after receiving additional community feedback, and in consultation with the area councillor, Route 66 has been adjusted from the initially-released route. The new route structure provides an appropriate balance of travel time, cost and service level while being respectful of community concerns.”

I remember reading about how bringing the bus route into the neighbourhood, instead of running around the edge, would cut walking time for some riders and make it easier for people on Lancaster Way and Lakeview Drive to board the bus on the outbound portion of its journey. I guess some NIMBY(s) didn’t like the idea of trying to make city buses more useful for people.

I have one 66 schedule that shows the 34 street routing, and another that shows the 37 Street routing, i guess the NIMBY's now don't have three stops near them

[downbeat]

2 hours ago, Blake M said:

I have one 66 schedule that shows the 34 street routing, and another that shows the 37 Street routing, i guess the NIMBY's now don't have three stops near them

That won't be confusing at all, lol!

[Blake M]

5 hours ago, downbeat said:

That won't be confusing at all, lol!

What will actually be confusing is drivers on Max Teal and the 20 not knowing to use the transitway

[yvarushin]

1 hour ago, Blake M said:

What will actually be confusing is drivers on Max Teal and the 20 not knowing to use the transitway

Wouldn’t there be some sort of communication lol

[Blake M]

12 hours ago, yvarushin said:

Wouldn’t there be some sort of communication lol

Lets hope so

[Transit Fan]

14 hours ago, Blake M said:

What will actually be confusing is drivers on Max Teal and the 20 not knowing to use the transitway

I would've assumed that MT and 20 operators would get trained on the transitway in addition to the MAX Yellow operators. Although to be honest, I don't think this particular stretch of the transitway is particularly tricky.

17th Ave SE was unique in that it was the first ever median bus-only road in the city as well as the first set of U-turn signals. There's also the weird way the 1 has to enter and leave the transitway at 52nd St. For the most part, the MY transitway is kinda just off to the side away from other traffic outside of intersection crossings.

[downbeat]

The verbiage used by Calgary Transit to describe changes to Route 302 in Monday's service revision is not the best. "Service will be revised in East Village. Bus frequency will be every 10 minutes during peak hours, and 25 minutes during off-peak hours until 7 p.m. weekdays and 6 p.m. weekends. View the route map and schedule."

It makes it sound as if the bus doesn't run after 7 on weekdays and 6 on weekends. It runs until around 10 p.m. every day.

Weekday off-peak frequency is 25 minutes, even in the evening, while weekend frequency is 32 minutes, not 25.

[Gsgeek540]

On 11/4/2019 at 12:27 PM, downbeat said:

New schedules show Route 2 is no longer part of the 11:45 and 12:20 a.m. outbound pulses from city centre on weekdays.

Last westbound buses from Suncor Energy Centre are 11:46 p.m. (although buses could/would likely hold for this one) and 12:09 a.m.

Last northbound buses from 5 Ave x 2 St S.W. are 11:28 and 11:55 p.m.

This was an over site and has been corrected starting today.

[downbeat]

1 hour ago, Gsgeek540 said:

This was an over site and has been corrected starting today.

Here's a PDF from Transit containing the adjusted schedule.

http://www.calgarytransit.com/sites/default/files/content/PDF/route-2-dec-27-2019.pdf

They say the change won't show on their website and in apps until early February.

[downbeat]

Surely, the 2020 service changes aren't *that* bad. The 66 inside Lakeview is identical to the 18 and the 63. How is Route 66 an unusable mess? Outside Lakeview, there are workable alternatives. Do people just hate change? Do they expect to be able to use transit with zero effort on their part? Do they just like being angry? I honestly don't get it.

 

[TechSpotlight]

I honestly dont get why these people are so upset about the changes.  During the morning rush hour, Crowchild ends up becoming quite congested.  At least with the new 66, you still get to bypass at least half of it. Yes, the rerouting of the 66 may appear slightly longer than the 18, but that probably isnt the case in practice, at least they're still going to be able to get to downtown!  I guess people arent willing to accept change!

[Transit Fan]

If the verbatim comments from the recent and last year's service reviews are anything to go by, many complaints are often completely invalid or irrational. Way too many times there would be comments about a route being removed as if there was going to be no replacement whatsoever. In many cases, the replacement route was almost the exact same if not better. I swear there's people that would flip out if you changed just the route number. 

IMO, the only main complaint I would expect out of Lakeview is the need for an extra transfer to head east to Chinook. If anything, downtown travel is improved now that you have all-day service between Lakeview and downtown.

[downbeat]

32 minutes ago, Transit Fan said:

IMO, the only main complaint I would expect out of Lakeview is the need for an extra transfer to head east to Chinook. If anything, downtown travel is improved now that you have all-day service between Lakeview and downtown.

All-day *and* all-week service. 

[Blake M]

On 12/31/2019 at 9:51 AM, Transit Fan said:

If the verbatim comments from the recent and last year's service reviews are anything to go by, many complaints are often completely invalid or irrational. Way too many times there would be comments about a route being removed as if there was going to be no replacement whatsoever. In many cases, the replacement route was almost the exact same if not better. I swear there's people that would flip out if you changed just the route number. 

IMO, the only main complaint I would expect out of Lakeview is the need for an extra transfer to head east to Chinook. If anything, downtown travel is improved now that you have all-day service between Lakeview and downtown.

When the 199 was becoming the 138, I tried explaining to a couple people at my bus stop one morning the route from that stop to Crowfoot would remain the same, only that the number was changing. These people completely understood, yet refused to accept they wouldn't have to take the bus to Tuscany, and therefore, determined the changes were an inconvenience. Some people just don't get it.

[Blake M]

Will the route 3 signs be updated now that the blocks are now "Centre St." and "Elbow Drive"?

[armorand]

6 hours ago, Blake M said:

Will the route 3 signs be updated now that the blocks are now "Centre St." and "Elbow Drive"?

I was always curious about that... Winnipeg only use directional signage on mostly stops with multiple destinations (old 78, for example). Is the directional signage necessary, on bus stops with only one route, going one way? I could see the need for it at 85 St with the 302, 148, 149 and others... absolutely can. But is it necessary, on other routes, with modern advances such as the Luminators - which could just show the directional information on the bus, by itself?

[BCT-3122-D800-10240]

So this would be going back into the early 1980's, but does anyone recall the routing for the old route 25 Chinook / University?  I believe it was replaced with the opening of the N.W. CTrain Line at the time.

[vicinity]

13 minutes ago, BCT-3122-D800-10240 said:

So this would be going back into the early 1980's, but does anyone recall the routing for the old route 25 Chinook / University?  I believe it was replaced with the opening of the N.W. CTrain Line at the time.

I have a system map from that era I’ll take a look when I get home 

[BCT-3122-D800-10240]

8 minutes ago, vicinity said:

I have a system map from that era I’ll take a look when I get home 

Actually I got my answer already:

"From Chinook via Glenmore, Crowchild, 50th ave, Richard Rd., Crowchild, University Dr. to the U of C loop.  It was gone in 1983 when the Circle Route was completed.  It was absorbed into the Circle Route."

From "calgarybus"  -  Thank You!

[downbeat]

2 hours ago, BCT-3122-D800-10240 said:

So this would be going back into the early 1980's, but does anyone recall the routing for the old route 25 Chinook / University?  I believe it was replaced with the opening of the N.W. CTrain Line at the time.

For the more visually minded … from a 1975 map.