Airdrie Transit

Airdrie started local transit service in 1980 with a fleet of used buses, including 30' and 40' New Looks, and of all things, ex Winnipeg Mitsubishi buses. Commuter service was provided by private companies, first by Satellite Commuter which provided a degree of local service until 1980 when the City started their operations, at which point they operated a strictly commuter service. Cardinal Coach Lines started their own commuter service, taking over the Satellite Commuter operation in 1981. Cardinal would continue providing commuter service, later under the First brand name after purchasing Cardinal, until 2010 when in discontinued service in light of the revamped Airdrie Transit providing commuter service.
We don't have a lot specific dates for local Airdrie Transit service. The broad timeline seems to be that there was the initial local operation using used transit buses. In time, this was replaced by service contracted to Cardinal Coach Lines which seems at it's minimum was a Dial-A-Bus operation. This would return to a fixed route service with cutaways supplied by First, before transitioning to City owned buses, but still contracted out. Today, it is a mix of local fixed route and On Demand.

This page will cover all of the prior local operations, including Access Bus, as well as the private commuter operations.

Thumbnail	Bus #	Year	Make / Model	Date	Description
Commuter Operations
	105	1976?	Blue Bird/ All Canadian FE	July 24, 1981	Former Satellite Commuter #105 is seen sitting in Cardinal Coach Line yard. It is presumed the bus is one of the units Satellite used on their commuter service to Airdrie, which was sold to Cardinal in 1981 after being competitors.
	283	1976	Blue Bird/ Chevrolet C60	July 24, 1981	Cardinal #283 signed up for the Airdrie Commuter at a Cardinal Coach Line yard.
	614	1973	MC-7 ex Greyhound 407	June 2001	Cardinal #614 turning north onto Centre Street from 5 Ave.
	2487	2000	Blue Bird Q-Bus ex Metropolitan Transit Services (MN)	February 26, 2010	First #2487 is an example of the buses now used on the Airdrie Commuter before the start of the municipally operated commuter service.
Local Transit 1980's
	401	1979	Flyer D900	1998/1999	401, Ex-501, is Ex-Calgary Transit 502, shown photographed at Contractors Equipment Supermarket in Winnipeg, Manitoba as it sits for sale.
	401	1979	Flyer D900	1998/1999	401, Ex-501, is Ex-Calgary Transit 502, shown photographed at Contractors Equipment Supermarket in Winnipeg, Manitoba as it sits for sale.
Local Operations Late 1990's-mid 2000's.
	1179	1995	Ford/ Thomas Minotour	January 18, 2003	Cardinal 1179 (Ex-Calgary Transit 1977) in the North yard while it waits to be used for Airdrie Transit.
	1179	1995	Ford/ Thomas Minotour	March 2005	This unknown Ex-Calgary Transit Community Shuttle is shown in the Airdrie Transit livery in storage at one of the Cardinal Coach Lines yards in Calgary.
	1298	1996	Ford	June 28, 2005	1298 is shown heading eastbound on 9th Avenue at Centre Street South in Calgary in the Airdrie Transit livery.
Local Operations mid-late 2000's
	V287	2002	Ford E-450/ Goshen GC II ex OC Transpo	September 19, 2010	#V287 in the First yard.
	V287	2002	Ford E-450/ Goshen GC II ex OC Transpo	September 19, 2010	#V287 in the First yard.
	2315 Transit	2003	Ford E-450/ Corbeil	September 19, 2010	#2315 in the First yard.
	2315 Transit	2003	Ford E-450/ Corbeil	September 19, 2010	#2315 in the First yard.
	2316 Access	2003	Ford E-450/ Corbeil	October 4, 2010	#2316 parked in the Co-op parking lot.
	2325 Transit	2003	Ford E-450/ Corbeil	September 19, 2010	#2325 in the First yard.
	2450 Access	2003	Ford E-450/ Thomas Minotour	July 10, 2009	#2450 at the Airdrie Superstore.
	2450 Access	2003	Ford E-450/ Thomas Minotour	September 19, 2010	#2450 in the First yard.

This page last updated on April 16, 2025

Back