Loitering, non-destination users the subject of tougher Calgary transit rules

Calgary city council amended its public transit bylaws on Tuesday in an attempt to improve rider and operator safety.

Council voted unanimously in favour of approving amendments that better define loitering and introduce an offence for non-destination transit users, even if those riders have paid a fare. The amendments also give peace officers the authority to ask for proof of age from riders to prevent misuse of the free-fare option for people 12 years old or younger.

The amendments also add an offence for tampering with or making fake copies of transit passes and possessing visible weapons on transit, and strengthens penalties for verbal harassment, threats and intimidation of transit operators, riders and staff.

Marcia Gonder, the City's acting chief of public transit safety, said the changes to how loitering is defined and to prevent non-destination transit users, were introduced so that officers are properly placed to ensure they're dealing with individuals who aren't using transit for intended purposes.

"[Loitering] was an issue in terms of not using transit for its intended purposes," Gonder said. "It gives our officers a tool to be able to address any behaviours that they see and to ensure that they can use their discretion when identifying behaviours when they're on the transit system."

Gonder added that officers will be expected to use their discretion when applying these new bylaws, and will take an "education-first" approach. She also said officers will be expected to help people who need mental health, addictions or homeless supports to access those services.

When Mayor Jyoti Gondek was asked by media about whether these bylaw amendments could lead to profiling transit users, she said that she has faith in the training and compassion of transit and peace officers.

Gondek added that council will soon get an update on research about how Calgarians are feeling about the city, but she can already say that concerns with transit safety in the city have slightly dropped. 

"I do think that's because we've invested in making sure that we've got more officers," Gondek said. "We are making sure that the Calgary Police Service is able to focus on the criminal element, and that people in positions of vulnerability or crisis are being met with the care that they need by officers and with outreach workers."

The city will now implement educational and communication elements to inform the public about these changes.

"Will not solve the problem"

But the new amendments may not be an effective response to social disorder in the city's transit system, said Vibrant Communities Calgary executive director Meaghon Reid.

The non-profit advocacy group released a study earlier this year on transit safety that examined the factors contributing to social disorder in Calgary's transit system. It found a lack of confidence in the safety of the city's homeless shelter system was contributing to the issue.

The emotional toll officers feel from engaging with social disorder is difficult, Reid said, but fines aren't an effective deterrent to loitering and non-destination transit use.

"It may work temporarily to keep people away from transit stations, trains and buses, but that will not solve the problem. It will just disperse the problem to other areas of the city," Reid said.

Instead, Reid said she'd like to see more attention paid to opening more meaningful daytime spaces for people experiencing homelessness, more mental health and addictions supports, and more accessible housing.