Commute times get a break in southeast Calgary

Starting on Monday, August 31, transit riders in southeast Calgary will find their commute much, much shorter. The new Southeast Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is expected to cut some commute times right in half.

Here’s how it'll do it:

• 118 trips each weekday – 59 leaving downtown, 59 leaving McKenzie Towne


• High capacity buses – with frequent, limited-stop service


• Peak periods – service every 10 minutes or better


• Off-peak periods – service every 20 minutes (Sundays, every 30 minutes)


• Current local routes – easy connections with Southeast BRT

Part of what’ll make the system a lot faster are the priority signals at most traffic lights along the route. When a bus is coming, the signals will briefly delay a green light from turning red or decrease the length of the red light.

Southeast BRT will follow the same route as the future southeast LRT line, stopping at all future LRT stations.

“[Southeast BRT] is addressing some of the service gaps that southeast Calgarians are experiencing,” said Jen Malzer, senior transit planner. “It’s really going to benefit anybody traveling outside of the peak period and to industrial or employment areas in southeast Calgary.“

Calgary Transit expects Southeast BRT to service about 15,000 people every day.

Watch the interview with Malzer for more details.