Express Routes

About Express Routes

Calgary Transit’s existing bus network is made up of several types of routes, including Express Routes, which offer one-way, peak-only service that takes people directly between one community and the downtown core. These routes were put in place to complement other service that brings people downtown to work in the morning, and then back to their communities after work in the evening. Historically this premium express service has helped meet the needs of a large percentage of Calgarians working downtown.

Calgary has grown significantly and with this growth have come changes in employment schedules, locations, and patterns, in the way employment hubs have developed throughout the city, and in the desires of Calgarians to use transit for more than their work commutes.

In their current format, our Express Routes present some challenges:

•  One-way bus routes spend a greater amount of time out-of-service travelling to and from the start and end points of the trip. During this out-of-service time, the bus carries no customers but continues to incur costs. 
• The cost of this limited service is significantly higher than regular routes, which provide two-way services that stay on the road for longer and can carry passengers in both directions
• Our resources (funding, operators, and vehicles) have not increased at the rate of population growth, meaning we must spread our resources more thinly across the city. This means that we have to make adjustments that provide as much value as possible within our limited resources.

Next Steps

RouteAhead, our 30-year strategic plan, directs us to focus on all-day two-way services for communities as opposed to more specialized, peak-only services. This will help us provide predictable, sustainable service.

The removal of our existing Express Routes will be part of several transit service reviews that we are conducting in 2026, in different areas of the city. Our focus is not to simply discontinue the routes - but to improve the service and coverage we provide in an area. Our intention is for each area to be covered, with all-day, two-way coverage to support customers, including those traveling to and from downtown.