If you've noticed you're more squished when riding Calgary Transit — here's why

If you've noticed your commute on Calgary LRTs has been getting squishier lately, you're right. 

Calgary Transit says since school started earlier this month ridership has shot up by 15 per cent. It's now sitting at about 80 per cent of pre-pandemic levels. In 2019, year-end projections pegged the total number of trips on the system at more than 106 million.

For people like Lexus Firstrider, who takes the train to and from her job downtown every day, it's been noticeable and nearly impossible to find a seat. 

"It's just it gives you anxiety really, because just, there's nowhere to sit and nowhere to stand and everyone's falling over," she said while waiting her her train on Wednesday evening. 

Transit spokesperson Stephen Tauro says for now, the city hasn't made the switch back to using four-car trains, and instead all trains have just three cars. 

"Using that three-car configuration, we're able to get more trains through per hour than if we went with the four cars," he said. 

"It is a good sign that the vehicles are more full and we're not running empty, but you know, we do watch for overcrowding and if customers are left behind and those, those kind of things are tracked."

But some transit customers say changes need to happen now.

"I think it's time for them to add some more for four-car trains," said  Arshid Jhingra. "Right now it's hard for people to stand or sit down."

Transit says it continues to monitor ridership activity and has the ability to make adjustments if things like overcrowding become a persistent issue.