Several public transportation users aired frustrations Wednesday about Calgary Transit’s decision to operate at reduced service levels, in recognition of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Even though Sept. 30 has been recognized as a federal holiday for five years, many Calgarians still worked Wednesday, and many transit-users experienced lengthy waits for buses or jam-packed CTrain cars on their commutes to work.

The reduced transit service levels generated various complaints from users on the Calgary subreddit — an online message board with more than 300,000 regular users.

“Why treat today like a general holiday for the transit schedules when 90 per cent of the city is working like any other day?” wrote one user.

A Calgary Transit spokesperson said that while National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is federally recognized, it is not considered a mandatory statutory holiday in Alberta.

“As a result, we know that many businesses remain open and many Calgarians still travel to work and other activities,” they said in an email.

To reflect travel patterns, they said Calgary Transit runs buses and CTrains on a modified Saturday level of service rather than the Sunday level of service that is typically in effect on statutory holidays.

The Saturday level of service is used as a base and then frequency is increased where demand is expected to be highest, they said.

“Each year, we review ridership data and patterns, customer feedback, and operational requirements, which helps us allocate resources as best as we can,” the spokesperson wrote.

In order to give passengers the opportunity to adjust their trips on Sept. 30, they said the reduced level of service for Sept. 30 was advertised ahead of time, beginning the week prior. Calgary Transit used digital displays throughout the transit network, as well as social media, holiday service announcements, Calgary Transti’s website and the Transit app to get the message out.

“We understand that some customers were frustrated by the holiday level of service,” the spokesperson said.

“Because National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is a newer holiday with unique travel patterns, we continue to monitor demand and make refinements to the schedule as needed.”

A representative from Calgary Transit Riders, a group that advocates for better public transit in the city, said reduced service levels on statutory holidays are a common gripe among transit users.

Alex Williams, who chairs the advocacy group, said he wasn’t personally impacted by reduced transit frequency Wednesday, but heard complaints from other transit users.

“This is a frustration that comes up a lot whenever there’s a holiday and whenever those hours change,” he said in an interview.

“The person who might use the bus at 6 a.m. might have to wait until 10 a.m. for their bus to be available, in which case they have to just find a different way to get around. It’s actually pretty disruptive to their commuting pattern.”

While stat holidays in general can be frustrating for transit passengers who still need to get around, there’s an even greater “incongruity” that emerges every year on Sept. 30, Williams added, as the Alberta government recognizes the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation as an optional general holiday, rather than a mandatory stat.

That puts it in the same category as Boxing Day, Heritage Day (the first Monday in August) and Easter Monday.

Alberta observes nine mandatory statutory holidays, on which most employees are either entitled to time off with pay, or they receive additional pay for working.

Mandatory stats in Alberta include New Year’s Day, Family Day, Good Friday, Victoria Day, Canada Day, Labour Day, Thanksgiving Monday, Remembrance Day and Christmas Day.

The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation was first held in 2021, after it was introduced via federal Bill C-5, to pay tribute to the survivors and victims of Indian residential schools.

The creation of a statutory holiday was one of the 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls to action. The federal government decided the holiday would fall on Sept. 30, a date that was already known as Orange Shirt Day.

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