Calgary Stampede kicks off July 9th; Checker Cab has full fleet on the road

“Stampede is like Christmas, New Years and St. Patrick’s Day rolled into a ten-day party. We’ve been picking up at the Stampede for 45 years,,” says Kurt Enders, President of Calgary’s Checker Transportation Group (Checker Cabs).  ” It is important we get people home safely. Our entire fleet will be out and ready to pick up the party-goers, day and night.”

The 2021 Calgary Stampede kicks off July 9th and runs until July 18th.

While Americans may holler “Yee-haw!”, Calgarians say “Yahoo!” when celebrating the Calgary Stampede. This is one of the messages Checker Cabs sends out to its 1,200 drivers to make sure they know how to greet customers during the Stampede, which has been considered the “Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth” since 1886.

The Calgary Stampede is a non-stop party for attendees; that means long days and working nights for the taxi drivers committed to ensuring every partier returns to home or hotel safely.   During a normal year, the Stampede  attracts over a million people; while the event has been scaled down after more than a year of Covid-19, it is expected to be one of the best as Calgary and visitors are more than ready for a party.

While the Stampede organizers note that changes will be in effect for 2021, none of these new policies are expected to dampen the party atmosphere:

• Masks are encouraged and respected, but not required for guests.
• Hand sanitization stations located throughout Stampede Park for guest use.
• The Park layout accounts for 25% more space and wider corridors for guests to maintain a safe distance.
• Controlled traffic and reduced overall capacity of about half of our busiest day. Re-entry will not be available this year and stamps will not be issued at exit to manage capacity.
• Online advanced purchase of Park Admission is encouraged and walk up entry will be available based on Park capacity.
• Digital queuing system: there will be a  virtual line at popular attractions. Attendees can scan the QR code located outside each venue and found on wayfinding signage throughout Park, join the digital queue and get notified via text.

More details and answers to frequently asked questions can be found on the 2021 Calgary Stampede website here.