Calgary Council: Downtown Free Fare Zone Faces Potential Axe

CALGARY, AB — Two city councillors are taking another run at Calgary's 45-year-old downtown free fare zone, filing a motion that could finally end the policy after a razor-thin budget vote in December kept it alive.

Ward 3 Councillor Andrew Yule and Ward 6 Councillor John Pantazopoulos have tabled a "Review and Reform" motion scheduled for Monday's Executive Committee meeting. The move comes just two months after Council voted 8-7 to preserve the zone during 2026 budget fights—and three months after TD Bank walked away from its naming rights deal two years early.

The Numbers Behind the Fight

Calgary Transit Director Sharon Fleming has put a price tag on the zone: $3.6 million in annual fare revenue left on the table. That's real money in a year when Council just bumped single-ride adult fares to $4 and monthly passes to $126. The city also threw $9 million at CTrain safety improvements during those same December budget sessions, hiring more peace officers for rush hour.

The free ride covers a small slice of downtown—seven blocks where commuters can hop on and off without tapping a card. It's been around since the CTrain launched in 1981, with free bus service on 7th Avenue dating back to the 1960s.

TD's Exit Changes the Game

When TD Bank pulled its sponsorship on November 14, 2025—killing what was supposed to be a five-year partnership halfway through—it stripped away the corporate cover that helped justify the zone. The bank cited "a review of its sponsorship strategy," corporate-speak for "we're out." No one's stepped up to replace those dollars.

Ward 10 Councillor Andre Chabot led December's charge to kill the zone outright, pointing to safety headaches and lost revenue. He came one vote short. Now Yule and Pantazopoulos are playing it smarter: instead of demanding immediate elimination, they're asking for a comprehensive review—ridership data, safety metrics, financial impact—with a report due by the end of June.

What Happens Monday

The Executive Committee meets February 3 to debate the motion. If it advances to full Council, Mayor Jeromy Farkas and the same crew who split 8-7 in December will face the question again, this time with six months of data collection baked in.

For now, the free zone survives. But the players pushing for change just bought themselves a study period, and studies have a way of becoming political ammunition.