Media Release: New bus rapid transit service from airport to downtown (and back again)

Transit options between Calgary International Airport and downtown Calgary are being improved with the launch of the Route 300 Airport Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) service on Monday June 27, 2011.

Route 300 Airport BRT provides direct service to the Calgary International Airport every 30 minutes, between 5 a.m.-12 midnight, seven days a week with limited stops along Centre Street. A trip between downtown Calgary and the airport will take approximately 30 minutes. Connections to downtown hotels, attractions, shopping and to the CTrain system are all available on the new service.

“For a long time, Calgarians have asked for public transit options to the airport,” said Mayor Naheed Nenshi. “Route 300 means that traveling Calgarians, airport employees, and visitors to our city now have a new low-cost, direct route to and from the airport.”

The new Route 300 provides a convenient transit service option for airport employees who live west of Deerfoot Trail and provides additional BRT service along Centre Street, Calgary Transit’s busiest bus corridor. After a six-month pilot of this new route, Calgary Transit will look at ridership and customer feedback to determine if the route should become permanent.

Regular transit fares apply for customers travelling to the Airport on Route 300 and customers travelling to other destinations on the route. Customers boarding the Route 300 at the airport will be required to purchase a Calgary Transit boarding pass for $8.

Monthly passes, senior passes, low income passes, day passes and UPass will also be accepted as valid fare to and from the airport at no additional cost.

Funding support for this new route has been provided by City Council’s Innovation Fund.

Route 100 McKnight-Westwinds – Airport will still provide transit customers with a connection to Northeast Calgary and the CTrain system.

For the latest from Calgary Transit please visit www.calgarytransit.com.

Click here to download the Route 300 Airport BRT brochure (pdf).

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The Mayor's Office first wrote about this new route when it was first passed by City Council. It's an example of the quick turn-around on projects that respond to the needs of Calgarians. The Innovation Fund allows the City to field test many of the good ideas that we have in Calgary. If it's a good idea and it works, we can all benefit.

- Daorcey from Mayor Nenshi's team