Airdrie Transit will operate a reduced holiday schedule on local and Intercity Express (ICE) services on Dec. 24, 27, 28 and 31.
“Because the holiday season is typically a low point for ridership, there is not a significant demand,” said Chris MacIsaac, Airdrie’s transit coordinator. “We are reducing the number of trips from Calgary to Airdrie from four to two, and with local transit, it is going to operate on the base one-hour service.”
The Intercity Express (ICE) service to Calgary will be reduced from four buses to two. There will be one Route 901 and one Route 902 trip. Route 901 will arrive in Calgary at 6:45 a.m., while afternoon departure from Calgary will be at 4:10 p.m.
Route 902 will arrive in Calgary at 7:48 a.m., while afternoon departure will take place from Calgary at 5:10 p.m. No changes will be made to pick-up and drop-off locations from either Route 901 or 902 and the local connector will run.
Local transit will also be affected during the reduced holiday schedule. The buses will run on an hourly frequency on all local transit routes, there will be no peak service (30-minute frequency) during the normal peak hours of 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. There will also be no Dial-A-Bus service on Dec. 24. For more information on Airdrie’s holiday transit schedule, visit www.airdrietansit.ca or call 403-948-8888 or 403-948-8875.
January route changes
Effective Jan. 1, the ICE Route 901 East will no longer stop at Sierra Springs Dr. and Yankee Valley Blvd.
“Right now what has happened with ICE ridership growing… parking has become a concern at that site,” said MacIsaac.
“When we launched. it was basically and empty parking lot and now parking can be difficult to find.”
MacIsaac said when the buses come in, traffic congestion is also a problem at the site.
“It turns into one of the busiest streets in Airdrie,” he said.
MacIsaac encourages riders to use the Ron Ebbesen Arena Park & Ride to access Route 901 East, as the location has ample parking.
For Airdrie transit riders, local transit routes will connect with 901 East at WB Yankee Valley Blvd. and Market St. on the east side of Highway 2.
Route 901 East Schedule:
• 6 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. pick-up from Ron Ebbesen Arena Park & Ride
• Service along southbound East Lake Boulevard
• 6:45 a.m. and 7:15 a.m. arrivals in downtown Calgary
• 4:10 p.m. and 4:50 p.m. departures from downtown Calgary
• 4:55 p.m. and 5:35 p.m. arrivals at Ron Ebbesen Arena Park & Ride
For more information, visit www.airdrietransit.ca
