The future of Calgary’s downtown “free-fare zone” is in doubt after TD Bank abruptly ended its sponsorship deal two years ahead of schedule.
The free-fare zone, which allows riders to travel along 7 Avenue between Downtown West/Kirby Station and City Hall without paying, has long been a fixture of Calgary’s CTrain system.
For many residents and workers in the core, it’s been an essential service.
“I’ve been living downtown for five, six years now,” one rider said. “Without it, with this condition, it’s hard.”
TD Bank had originally signed a five-year naming rights agreement with Calgary Transit, but announced it was terminating the deal early after what it described as “careful consideration.” The decision leaves the city to decide whether it can continue funding the free-fare zone on its own.
At City Hall, opinions are sharply divided. Ward 7 Coun. Myke Atkinson defended the program, calling it vital to downtown vibrancy.
“We’ve had that free-fare zone since the very beginning of the introduction of the CTrain,” Atkinson said. “It provides a huge amount of economic vibrancy in the downtown, allowing people to connect across the downtown.
“It keeps cars off of our streets that are in an already crowded downtown. So these are all benefits that would be a massive loss if we were to lose the fare-free zone.”
Ward 10 Coun. Andre Chabot, however, argued the zone has contributed to social disorder rather than reducing it.
“Elimination of the free-fare zone downtown, contrary to the mayor, I think it’s created more social disorder than what it’s contributed,” Chabot said.
Some riders say they won’t continue using the service if fares are introduced.
“Well, I’m gonna stop using it, yeah,” one commuter said. “Like it’s just pointless otherwise. It’s centrally located. There’s no justified reason to pay for two or three stops when you could walk it in five, ten minutes.”
For now, Calgary Transit says the free-fare zone will remain in place. But with TD’s withdrawal and ongoing discussions about restructuring transit fares, the long-term future of the program remains uncertain.