Transportation in Calgary

The city of Calgary, Alberta, has a large transportation network that encompasses a variety of road, rail, air, public transit, and pedestrian infrastructure. Calgary is also a major Canadian transportation centre and a central cargo hub for freight in and out of north western North America. The city sits at the junction between the "Canamex" highway system and the Trans Canada Highway (Highway 1 in Alberta). As a prairie city, Calgary has never had any major impediments to growth. As such, it has developed into a city with an area of about (of which only half is built up) and a metropolitan area of nearly This outward growth has encouraged the development of an extensive personal vehicle oriented road network complete with a freeway system. Since 1981, when the city officially opened the first leg of its CTrain rapid transit system, emphasis on public transportation as an alternative to cars has become important. The CTrain has the second highest light rail system ridership of any North American city, only slightly behind Guadalajara, Mexico. Cycling is also seen as a major alternative to driving in Calgary. In recent years, increases in the population and density of inner city neighbourhoods such as the Beltline have favoured greater pedestrianism as well.

Calgary's primary public transportation system is operated by Calgary Transit. The service operates only within Calgary city limits and does not provide transportation to and from other communities within the Calgary Region. Some communities within Calgary's metropolitan area provide their own transit services (for example, Airdrie Transit). Calgary Transit is owned and managed by the City of Calgary.

The light rail transit (LRT) system, known as the C Train, consists of of track connecting 45 stations and was one of the first such systems in North America. Until very recently, Calgary and Edmonton were the only two North American cities with populations under two million to operate rapid mass transit systems. The Saddletowne 69 St. (Route 202) line serves the city's West, downtown and Northeast areas, while the Tuscany Somerset–Bridlewood (Route 201) line runs between the Northwest and South Calgary via the 7th Avenue South transit only corridor. Travel between stations along 7th Avenue in downtown is free of charge. Unique to the C Train system, its power is completely wind generated and completely free of emissions. An extension of the Route 202 line was recently built to serve some Southwest communities to the west of downtown. The project is called the WestLRT and was completed in December 2012.

Calgary Transit also has a system of buses, with routes stretching over the whole city. It has won several awards for its efficiency and its environmental responsibility. It consists of over 160 bus routes and four C Train lines (two routes), stretching over .

Calgary has an extensive street network. Smaller roads are supplemented with a number of major arteries, expressways and freeways. The largest of these is the north–south running Deerfoot Trail. The majority of main expressways and freeways are named Trails, as well as some of the main arterial roads that do not fit in the numbering grid. The use of the term Trails to describe major highways resulted from the development of early pioneer trails into the highways themselves. The original trails were named after the settlements to which they lead; for example, Edmonton Trail (part of the former Calgary and Edmonton Trail), (Fort) Macleod Trail, and Banff Trail (which combined with 24th Street W was later renamed Crowchild Trail). More recently developed local expressways were given the Trail moniker and have been named after important people from Calgary's history (Crowchild Trail, Marquis of Lorne Trail), native groups (Stoney Trail, Sarcee Trail, Blackfoot Trail) or again after their destination (Airport Trail). There are a couple of exceptions to this rule in which a few older residential streets have also been labeled "Trail", such as Morley Trail. Plans originating in the 1950s and 1960s for a considerably more extensive freeway system including elevated freeways were largely abandoned in favour of a growing trend to reduce the emphasis on roads and increase the amount of public transportation infrastructure in North American cities. Sidewalks at intersections in areas outside the downtown core are often stamped with the name of the cross street, especially in older districts. As this was once done by hand by municipal employees who were not always literate, some street names are misspelled or the letters reversed.

The Calgary International Airport (ICAO Code CYYC, IATA Code YYC) is the only international airport in the Calgary Region and one of only two in the province. The airport is WestJet Airlines's main base and largest hub, and acts as an Air Canada hub. In total, about 20 passenger airlines have regular scheduled flights to and from the airport. It is also a major hub for several cargo airlines including DHL, FedEx, Purolator, and United Parcel Service. The airport primarily connects Western Canada with non stop flights to Eastern Canada, 18 major American cities, as well as destinations to Europe, Asia, the Caribbean and Mexico. Calgary International airport also has regular scheduled service to London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Mexico City and Tokyo. Calgary International Airport is Canada's fourth busiest airport in after Toronto Pearson International Airport, Vancouver International Airport and Montreal Trudeau International Airport. In 2008, it served more than 12.5 million passengers and is expected to for several years. Calgary's second airport, Calgary/Springbank Airport, is located in the western suburb of Springbank, handles the majority of private plane flights, and acts as a reliever for the main airport while also being the 11th busiest in Canada for aircraft movements.

Scheduled bus service from Calgary or Calgary Airport and north to Red Deer and Edmonton, or south to Lethbridge, is provided by Red Arrow, and Ebus. Calgary to Medicine Hat is provided by J&L Shuttle of Medicine Hat. Banff Airporter and Brewster provides service between the Calgary Airport and Banff. Brewster also provides service to Lake Louise and Jasper. Effective October 31, 2018, Greyhound Canada has cancelled all services in Western Canada, which includes Calgary, citing low ridership.

On It Regional Transit provides scheduled bus service to commuter towns surrounding Calgary. Commuter service is provided to Cochrane, Okotoks, and High River. On It also provides a summer weekend and holiday service to Canmore and Banff, Alberta.

Calgary is also the largest Canadian city without intercity passenger service, as all Via Rail service to the city was terminated in the late 1980s and early 1990s by the Conservative government. Rail tours by Royal Canadian Pacific can be booked by private charter. Rocky Mountaineer pulled out some years back and now runs only from Banff, Alberta westward.

Calgary has four main Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) and Canadian National Railway (CN) lines that traverse the city, in addition to the various feeder lines that run through the industrial parks in the eastern half of the city. One of the rail structures in Calgary is the CPR Alyth Yard, where many of these feeder lines connect to the main lines.

The City of Calgary also maintains a network of paved multi use pathways (for bicycling, roller skating and jogging). The dedicated pathway network in Calgary is among the most expansive in North America and spans There are also about of signed on street bicycle routes. The pathways connect many of the city's parks, river valley, residential neighbourhoods, and downtown. Calgarians make year round use of these paths for walking, running, and cycling to various destinations. In June 2013, massive flooding destroyed much of the pathway system (including many pedestrian bridges) along the Elbow and Bow rivers. Most repairs are complete. Calgary's system of elevated walkways or skyways downtown (known as the +15 system) is the most extensive in the world. These walkways not only serve to connect buildings, but also contain restaurants, shops, and services (most notably incorporating large parts of The Core Shopping Centre). The system is long.