Calgary is a car-friendly city and most Calgarians drive, but the downtown core is genuinely walkable and the public transit system covers the main areas visitors care about.
CTrain is the light rail network and the fastest way to move across downtown. The two lines — Red (northeast–southwest) and Blue (northwest–south) — intersect at City Hall and share a stretch through the downtown core where travel is completely free. The free zone runs roughly from 10 Street SW to City Hall station, which covers Stephen Avenue, the Olympic Plaza area, and most of downtown. Outside the free zone, a single-trip fare covers unlimited transfers within 90 minutes.
Buses extend the network into the suburbs and inner-city neighbourhoods. The same fare and transfer rules apply. The system is reliable but Calgary is a spread-out city, so bus journeys to anywhere beyond the inner suburbs can be slow.
Walking works well for downtown. The +15 enclosed walkway network connects most downtown buildings above street level — useful when it's cold, though the street level is perfectly pleasant in other seasons. Stephen Avenue, the main pedestrian strip, runs east–west through the centre.
Cycling is well-served along the Bow River pathway system, a network of paved trails that runs along both banks of the Bow and connects to Nose Creek, Fish Creek, and dozens of kilometres of off-road paths. The city has a public bike-share scheme (Lime) with docking stations across the inner city. Cycling on roads is reasonably safe downtown but Calgary's suburban arterials are not cyclist-friendly.
Rideshare (Uber and Lyft both operate in Calgary) is the practical choice for anywhere the CTrain doesn't reach, particularly in the evenings when bus frequency drops.