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Calgary and Airdrie are taking early steps to explore integrating their transit fare systems so commuters don\u2019t need to pay twice for one trip.<\/p>\n
Airdrie Mayor Heather Spearman sent a letter to Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas earlier this year to seek city council’s support to better integrate their transit fare systems. <\/p>\n
Integrating the systems would mean commuters transferring from an Airdrie bus to a Calgary bus or CTrain, and vice versa, wouldn’t need to pay a second fare when switching between systems.<\/p>\n
City administration presented the idea to Calgary’s intergovernmental affairs committee on Thursday, which voted to send the idea for council to debate in a future meeting.<\/p>\n
WATCH | Why Calgary may integrate its transit fare system with Airdrie:![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1784262809_812_default.jpg\")
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Why Calgary may integrate its transit fare system with Airdrie<\/p>\n
Travel to and from Calgary made up about 60 per cent of Airdrie’s transit ridership last year. Now both cities are considering integrating their transit fare systems so people can transfer between cities without having to pay twice.<\/p>\n
As Calgary rapidly grows and expands closer to its neighbours, the city needs to have conversations with municipalities about how their services can be better integrated, according to Ward 3 Coun. Andrew Yule. <\/p>\n
He said residents in his ward already often travel to Airdrie to use amenities that are closer than other alternatives around their own city.<\/p>\n
A more integrated system could also take more cars off Calgary\u2019s roads, Yule said, as he noted a lot of congestion on Centre Street comes from neighbouring municipalities like Airdrie and Cochrane.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we can take some of those cars off the road as well, it might just alleviate some of the pressures on our infrastructure in Calgary,\u201d Yule said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs we grow outward, we are aligning our fates with the other municipalities. It\u2019s better to work together than in silos.\u201d<\/p>\n
Airdrie currently runs several transit routes to northeast and downtown Calgary, via routes 900, 901 and 902.<\/p>\n
In 2025, trips to and from Calgary accounted for 60 per cent of Airdrie\u2019s transit ridership, according to a city spokesperson.<\/p>\n
If approved by council, city administration is expected to bring a progress report back on integrated transit fare by early next year.<\/p>\n
Growing regional transit<\/p>\n
Calgary already allows other regional buses to use many of its stops and stations. The city is also working on expanding transit to the Taza development in Tsuut’ina Nation, and already extends the Max Purple bus route<\/a> to Chestermere.\u00a0<\/p>\n Spearman said many residents in her city commute to work or school in Calgary, and she’s heard calls for a more integrated system “all the time.”<\/p>\n Cutting down residents\u2019 day-to-day transit expenses could also help tackle overall affordability issues, said Spearman.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019d be remiss if we were not facing this with full arms open in terms of getting this across the finish line for folks. It\u2019s been long required, long asked for,\u201d said Spearman.<\/p>\n Farkas said he\u2019s keen to collaborate with neighbouring municipalities to build out a high-performance transportation network in the area.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re growing up as a region,\u201d Farkas said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAs we welcome our two-millionth Calgarian, we\u2019re going to need to up our game in terms of the service provision, but also the technology behind the scenes that supports that.\u201d<\/p>\n Farkas said the city will need to discuss its cost recovery if the integrated transit fare idea moves forward. A potential uniform transit pass, whether Airdrie would contribute to the low-income transit pass, and which routes would be covered are all still up in the air.<\/p>\n An eventual light rail connection between Calgary and Airdrie isn’t out of the question, Farkas added. Alberta’s passenger rail master plan calls for eventual all-day commuter rail service at least every 20 minutes between the two cities.<\/p>\n But Spearman noted that barring a major investment from the province, a rail line between the two cities is likely decades away.<\/p>\n Other regions around Canada have explored similar transit integration in recent years.<\/p>\n