December 30, 2025
RED FM News Desk
Calgary will stand apart from many major Canadian cities this New Year’s Eve by continuing to charge transit fares, even as other municipalities offer free rides to help residents celebrate safely.
Cities including Victoria, Vancouver, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Regina, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa and Halifax have announced they will waive transit fares Wednesday night after a certain hour. The move is often promoted as a way to reduce impaired driving and encourage people to leave their cars at home.
In Calgary, however, transit riders will still need to pay to get where they’re going.
Alex Williams, chair of the advocacy group Calgary Transit Riders, says the decision is disappointing and counterproductive.
“It’s frustrating because that’s one of the draws for people — to say, well, it’s free,” Williams said. “And hopefully that encourages, through that process, less drinking and driving.”
Calgary Transit has offered free New Year’s Eve service in past years, but officials say the city is unable to do so this time. Tess Abanto, Calgary Transit’s senior leader of transit design, said the program depends on outside funding.
“This year we are unable to do it because we did not land a corporate partnership for the service,” Abanto said. “So we’re back to where it has been — service for a fee — just like any other day.”
The decision means Calgarians heading out to ring in the new year will have to factor transit fares into their plans, even as residents in many other Canadian cities ride for free.
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