Calgary to Banff, Canmore bus testing holiday service

Instead of white-knuckling it on a powder day, or spending a few hours behind the wheel for a Canmore orBanff National Park day trip, there's a chance tohop on a bus from Calgary to the Rockiesthis winter.

Typically, On-it Regional Transit operates in the Bow Valley for the busy summer season, and wraps up each fall. But after record-breaking ridership, officials wanted to test out a few trips from Calgary to the mountains for the holiday season.

Tickets to ride have gone on sale for the dates of Dec. 23, 26 to 31, and Jan.1.

This is somethingJonathan Weal, director of business development at SouthlandTransportation and On-it, said was requested by their customer base.

"We want to make sure that people are able to visit Banff[while leaving]their cars behind, travel safely and in comfort, andhelp the environment," Weal said.

"We thought over Christmas and New Year was a greattime to try it out."

While winter isn't peak season for Banff National Park, Visitor Experience Manager Daniella Rubeling said they have seen a steady rise in numbers. In some cases, parking lots get busy enough that Parks Canada needs to assign extra staffto manage drivers. She said Lake Minnewanka is especially popular with Calgarians. And, if there's a particularly nice wild ice-skating day, or an aurora on the horizon, people make the trip out.

"We do see steady visitation over the holidays and have for years and certainlyvisitation in our winter months has been increasing," Rubeling said.

"This is one of the ways that we can work with our partners to help support people getting here in a way that's hassle-free and in a way that keeps some of the cars out of our parking lots."

Parks Canada will be keeping an eye on this experiment, to see how the public responds to the bus offer from Calgary. Rubeling said they are always looking for ways to establish new services that could help people keep personal vehicles home, and build those habits so that driving to the National Park isn't a default.

"Havingsome winter service allows that to become part of the norm," she said.

"Part of the culture of visiting Banff National Park is taking transit in some way, shape or form to get here, and to get around."