Bikes on CTrain pilot extended through end of 2023

The City of Calgary is extending the pilot program that allowed bikes to be taken on CTrains during rush hour to the end of 2023.

“Calgarians have told us that they value having options for how they get around the city, including how they access transit,” Chris Jordan, manager of transit service design, said in a statement.

“We want to see if lifting the time restrictions for bikes on CTrains can provide more options, without negatively impacting other customers or the operations of our CTrains.”

The pilot that began in May 2022 was supposed to end on March 31.

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With a faster than expected return to pre-pandemic ridership levels, Calgary Transit want to see how extending the availability of bicycles on CTrains will impact the system overall.

“We want to be sure that we have solid and complete feedback about how bikes affect transit customers and operations, at all times, before we make a final decision,” Jordan said.

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The latest ridership data from Calgary Transit showed that in January, CTrain usage had returned to pre-pandemic levels, while bus boardings were at close to 70 per cent of where they were in 2019.

Prior to the pilot, bikes were only allowed on CTrains and train platforms during off-peak hours.

Calgary Transit plans to install bike racks on all buses and community shuttles by the end of 2023, as part of its initiatives to integrate bikes into transit use.

A decision on the CTrain pilot is expected in early 2024.

1:48 Public transit ridership returning to pre-pandemic numbers, says Calgary transit

–with files from Adam MacVicar, Global News