Changes in Calgary bus routes take effect

Some major changes took effect Mondayfor those who ride the bus in the northwest.Calgary Transit says it's a matter of making things more efficient and it will save a million dollars in the process.

At the Dalhousie C-Train station, new route signs are posted in an effort to catch people's attention.

• Playful pooch keeps Calgary transit officers busy for 90 minutes
• Council approves steep discount on Calgary Transit passes for those living in poverty
• Calgary family blasts transit service for stranding daughter who uses wheelchair

Rebeccaa 26-year-old who rides the bus every dayisn't quite sure why the changes were needed.

"I was walking around the other day and I noticed all the number changes and I'm thinking, 'What the heck?' so I went online and it's like, yeah, changes for this immediate area and these following areas, and I'm thinking, 'why?'" she asked.

Jennie Palmer, with Calgary Transit, says the changes are part of a recent service review.

"There was a lot of duplicated service, there was a lot of indirect routes that took long, winding paths to get places and it just wasn't very efficient," Palmer said.

She says of the 15 affected routes, mostly in the northwest, some will be discontinued while others will be modified.

• View the changes in a PDF map

"Most of these bus routes are going to be running longer into the evenings and on the weekends they'll be starting earlier, running later and those things customers told us they want, so that's what we've done."

She says one of the main goals of the changes is to encourage more people to take public transit.