Transit safety remains a consistent concern among Calgarians.
During the 2025 Calgary civic election, voters told CBC News that this was a top issue when considering candidates.
Michael Pratt, the city’s chief of transit public safety, says the city developed the 2023 public safety strategy plan in response to concerns about crime.
“Although in one sense the strategy has been completed, now it’s into the implementation and operational phase of it,” said Pratt.
The plan
This plan focuses on addressing five main areas of the transit system: integrated response, connection to community resources, staff well-being, and modernization of systems and station infrastructure.
While the strategy plan was finalized in 2023, Calgary also saw a spike in public transportation crimes that same year.
According to data collected by CBC News and the Investigative Journalism Foundation, transit-related crime spiked in 2023, with 33.15 crimes per 100,000 people.
While those numbers dipped in 2024 to 23.5 per 100,000 people, Calgary police chief Katie McLellan told CBC News the rate of crime on transit over the past decade is “very concerning.”
What has been done to make public rides safer?
In 2019, Calgary introduced its transit text line — a number riders can use to report crime or other concerns as they unfold.
The number connects people with agents of the transit system. Once informed of the key details of what’s happening, agents can relay the information to peace officers and track events in real time via live CCTV footage.
As of a February 2023 report, roughly 50 texts a day are received through the text line.
In mid-2023, the city deployed an additional 28 peace officers to patrol the transit system for 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Several more officers were hired and are working to complete training according to the City of Calgary’s safety on transit page.
By the end of 2024, the city announced it had reached its goal of 185 peace officers.
Pratt says this increase in staff ensures there are 40 to 45 peace officers available on any shift.
“That was the number that was identified to be appropriate to respond to calls in, what we hoped would be a reasonable amount of time,” said Pratt.
Most recently, Calgary transit opened its fifth transit safety office in the City’s northwest.
“This approach supports faster response times, increased visibility and more consistent coverage across the transit system, all key objectives of the multi-year strategy approved by City Council in October 2023,” says the City of Calgary Newsroom in a Jan. 28 press release.
These offices are located throughout the City to decentralize peace officers and distribute resources equally across Calgary to reinforce community and rider safety.