That said, businesses make investments upfront all the time and they often expect payouts that take much longer. They make enormous capital investments upfront. Presumably a very well-financed and large organization like Calgary Transit, backed by a city and ultimately a creature of the Province of Alberta, one of the wealthiest jurisdictions in the country, would have access to the capital to make that kind of investment, if it made business sense.
On May 1st, 2012. See this statement in context.