Banff Residents

Banff residents receive a Smart Card they must present upon boarding a Roam bus. Each resident gets their own Smart Card that they cannot share with others. A Smart Card is a plastic, reusable card. Banff Resident Smart Cards are separate from other Smart Cards used for Roam Transit fares. Upon boarding, users can tap their Smart Card for a fare free ride. The Fare Free Banff Resident Smart Card is valid for 6 months, and can be extended following the steps mentioned further below.

Sulphur Mountain (Route 1), Tunnel Mountain (Route 2), as well as seasonal routes Cave & Basin (Route 4) and Lake Minnewanka (Route 6)

Banff residents interested in obtaining a fare-free Smart Card can apply online (see application form above) or in person at the Banff Visitors Centre, situated at 224 Banff Avenue. A $5.00 deposit is required for each Smart Card, payable after your pass is approved, when you pickup your card. Please await confirmation of your application verification before collecting your fare-free Smart Card, as verification may take up to three business days. Residents must present documents providing proof of residency displaying their physical address. Examples of accepted proof of residency documents are listed above.

Fare free applicants have the choice to “Add another family member” upon their own application for a fare free pass. Guardians can use this to add children (Youth 13-18) to the program and only have to supply their name, age group and relationship to the applicant. Children 12 and under are free to travel on Roam and do not require a Resident Pass.

If your partner is the primary housing agreement or bill holder, they can apply for your fare free pass for you along with their application. Similar to how guardians can apply for a child’s fare free pass, your partner will have the choice to “Add another family member” upon their own application.

At this time, the Canmore/Banff Regional (Route 3) service is cross-funded by both the Town of Canmore and Town of Banff. As it is a regional route that services both areas, it is unfortunately not considered a local route to either town.

If your fare free pass is lost and you wish to replace it, you will be required to show us current proof of residency, photo ID and pay an additional $5 card deposit fee for the new card. Please come to the Visitors Centre, located at 224 Banff Avenue, along with your documents to replace your lost card.

No, your fare free pass is assigned to you and registered under your name.

Take good care of your Smart Card, and please don’t alter your Smart Card by punching a hole in it or applying stickers to it, as doing so can render the card unreadable. Deposit returns/refunds can only be applied to functioning cards. (See our Smart Card policy)

The Fare Free Banff Resident Smart Card is valid for 6 months, and can be extended 1 month ahead of the expiry date. It is not necessary to reapply for the pass. All you need to do is visit our Customer Service Desk with your bus pass, a recent proof of residency (see list of accepted documents above) and photo ID. The pass will be extended on the spot, if the requirements are met.

To apply, please download a copy of the Employer Housing Agreement Form and have your staff accommodation manager sign and confirm that you reside in a staff accommodation located in the Town of Banff.

To extend your pass if your staff accommodation address remains the same as when you applied for the bus pass, you can present a payslip indicating a deduction for “housing,” “rent,” or “accommodation” as proof of residency. However, if your payslip does not display this information, or if you’ve changed addresses or now reside in a different staff accommodation from the one initially registered, you must obtain another form filled out by your employer to serve as proof of residency. You can download the form here.