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The Edmonton Transit Service (ETS) (previously known as Edmonton Transit System) is the public transit service owned and operated by the City of Edmonton in Alberta, Canada. It operates Edmonton's bus and light rail systems. In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of .


History

Edmonton Transit Service began operations on 30 October 1908, under the name ''
Edmonton Radial Railway The Edmonton Radial Railway (ERR) (also known as the Street Railway Department) was a streetcar service that operated in Edmonton, Alberta, from 1908 to 1951. It was Edmonton's first public transit service, and later evolved into Edmonton Transit ...
'' (ERR), and alternatively as the ''Edmonton Radial Tramway''. Also in 1908, ERR acquired the ''Strathcona Radial Tramway Company Limited,'' and also began servicing the villages of North Edmonton and Calder. The transit service's name was changed to ''Edmonton Transportation Service'' in July 1946, but just a year later it was re-named to ''Edmonton Transit System.'' The service was re-named to ''Edmonton Transit Service'' in 2016.


Former systems


Streetcars

The ''Edmonton Radial Railway'' (ERR) began operations in 1908, both in the City of Edmonton and the neighbouring
City of Strathcona Strathcona was a city in Alberta, Canada on the south side of the North Saskatchewan River. Originally founded in 1891, it amalgamated with the City of Edmonton in 1912. History Strathcona's recorded history began in the 1870s. Its first ...
, with four streetcars serving of track. Over ten million riders used the system annually by 1912, and the city purchased 47 additional streetcars. The radial railway reached its peak in 1930, with six lines serving almost all parts of the city, and totaling of track. The city purchased five modern streetcars in 1930, which featured innovations such as steel bodies and leather seats; these were the last streetcars that Edmonton purchased. The city significantly neglected its streetcar system during the Great Depression, and it suffered from poor maintenance and outdated streetcars. In the late 1930s, Edmonton began to replace streetcar lines with
electric trolleybus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or troll ...
routes, supplemented by gas and diesel buses, instead of buying new streetcars and repairing or replacing the tracks and overhead lines that had deteriorated during the Depression. The transition to buses was slowed significantly during the Second World War, and Edmonton had to build additional trackage for its streetcars to meet the spike in transit usage during the war. It was also forced to reintroduce conductors on busy routes, to help operators with selling tickets and issuing transfers; conductors were originally phased out in the 1930s, when streetcars were converted from double-ended to single-ended operations. The ''Edmonton Radial Railway'' was renamed to ''Edmonton Transportation Service'' in 1946, to signify the decline of Edmonton's streetcar network; it was renamed again just one year later, to ''Edmonton Transit System''. After some initial postwar hiccups, which necessitated even more streetcar tracks being built as late as in 1946 in order to avoid service gaps, the transition to trolleybuses picked up steam. By 1949, only two streetcar routes remained in service: The Blue Route, and the Blue & White Route, which totaled in length. In its final configuration, the service went between a turning loop at 109 St and 84 Ave, and another loop at 66 St and 124 Ave, via the High Level Bridge. On September 1, 1951, Edmonton streetcar #1 – the first streetcar ordered by Edmonton – performed a ceremonial 'last run' across the High Level Bridge while carrying special dignitaries; over 1000 spectators lined its route. Early the next morning, the dignitaries rode streetcar #52 back to the ETS Cromedale shop, which marked the final time that a streetcar was operated by ETS. All of Edmonton's streetcars, except for #1, were stripped of their valuable materials like steel and electric wiring, and the bodies were sold for scrap. The
Edmonton Radial Railway Society Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
(ERRS) has recovered and restored three former Edmonton streetcars, and has another six awaiting restoration. Aside from the three which it recovered and restored, it also operates Edmonton #1, which sat outside in a city yard for over ten years before being restored by volunteers – many of whom who later founded the ERRS.


Trolley bus system

Trolley bus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or troll ...
service in Edmonton started on 24 September 1939, operating on route 5 from 101 St/Jasper Ave to 95 St/111 Ave. By the end of October of that year, service had started on another route running to 99 St/Whyte Ave via the Low Level Bridge. In Edmonton, trolley buses were often referred to simply as "trolleys". The trolley bus system used a mixture of Ohio Brass and K&M Elastic (Swiss) suspension for holding up the
overhead wires An overhead line or overhead wire is an electrical cable that is used to transmit electrical energy to electric locomotives, trolleybuses or trams. It is known variously as: * Overhead catenary * Overhead contact system (OCS) * Overhead equipment ...
. The 47 vehicles remaining in use in 2008 were from an order of 100 manufactured in 1981-2 by Brown Boveri & Company (BBC), using bodies and chassis supplied to BBC by GM. On 18 June 2008, city council voted 7 to 6 in favour of phasing out the trolley system between 2009 and 2010. However, city council decided in April 2009 that trolley bus service would be discontinued earlier than had been planned, in order to reduce the city's expected $35 million deficit that year. The last day of regular service was 2 May 2009. In 2008, the city leased a
low-floor Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, vehicles, or environments so as to be usable by people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible development ensures both "direct access" (i. ...
model of trolley from
Coast Mountain Bus Company Coast Mountain Bus Company (CMBC) is the contract operator for bus transit services in Metro Vancouver and is a wholly owned subsidiary of the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority, known locally as TransLink, the entity resp ...
, Vancouver's bus operating company, for testing of possible benefits of low-floor trolleys over hybrid diesel buses. During its time in Edmonton the bus was numbered 6000, but was returned to its original #2242 when returned to Vancouver.


Service

ETS provides bus and light-rail transit services within the City of Edmonton limits, in addition to
Fort Saskatchewan Fort Saskatchewan is a city along the North Saskatchewan River in Alberta, Canada. It is northeast of Edmonton, the provincial capital. It is part of the Edmonton census metropolitan area and one of 24 municipalities that constitute the Edmon ...
,
Spruce Grove Spruce Grove is a city that is west of Edmonton, Alberta in Canada. The city is adjacent to the Town of Stony Plain and is surrounded by Parkland County. With a 2021 population of 37,645, Spruce Grove is the ninth-largest city in Alberta. ...
, and
Beaumont Beaumont may refer to: Places Canada * Beaumont, Alberta * Beaumont, Quebec England * Beaumont, Cumbria * Beaumont, Essex ** Beaumont Cut, a canal closed in the 1930s * Beaumont Street, Oxford France (communes) * Beaumont, Ardèche ...
. It also provides connections to St. Albert Transit (StAT), Fort Sask Transit, and
Strathcona County Transit Strathcona County Transit provides local, commuter, and school bus services to the community of Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada, which is east of Edmonton in Strathcona County. Transportation for elderly citizens and people with disabilities is p ...
. ETS provides service to the Edmonton International Airport, while Leduc Transit provides bus service to Leduc. ETS uses the timed-transfer system, where suburban feeder routes run to a transit centre, and passengers can then transfer to a base route/LRT to the city centre or the university. Some feeder routes provide direct express service to and from the city centre.


Routes


LRT

File:Edmonton Siemens-Duewag U2 Car 1002.jpg, Siemens/DÜWAG U-2 car at University Station File:ETS Car1039 SD160.jpg, Siemens SD-160 at South Campus/Fort Edmonton Park station File:Valley Line LRVs.jpg, Bombardier/Alstom Flexity Freedom LRVs undergoing testing on the Valley Line ETS operates a 20.5 km light rail system composed of eighteen stations in two lines. The
Capital Line The Edmonton LRT Capital Line is a light rail transit line running from northeast Edmonton to the south. Operated by the Edmonton Transit Service, the line provides access to Downtown Edmonton and the University of Alberta. The Capital Line cu ...
runs roughly north–south, between
Clareview station Clareview station is an Edmonton Light Rail Transit station in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It serves the Capital Line and is currently the northern terminus of the line. It is a ground-level station located near 42 Street and 139 Avenue, and is nam ...
in northeast Edmonton and the Century Park station on the south side, with a mix of tunnels and at-grade track. Six stations are underground, while the remaining nine are at-grade with surface road crossings. The
Metro Line The Metro Line is a light rail transit line on the Edmonton LRT system. The line operates from northwest Edmonton to south Edmonton, and was scheduled to have begun operation by spring 2014 but instead opened on September 6, 2015, at a reduced ...
shares track with the Capital Line in some sections, and services the central and north-central area of the city. The Metro Line is currently being extended to the community of Blatchford. ETS operates two different models of light rail vehicles (LRV): The Siemens
Duewag Düwag or Duewag, formerly Waggonfabrik Uerdingen, was a German manufacturer of rail vehicles. It was sold in 1999 to Siemens with the brand later retired. History Duewag was founded in March 1898 as Waggonfabrik Uerdingen in Uerdingen a ...
U-2, which started service when the original line opened in 1978, and the Siemens SD-160, which began operation in 2008. A third LRV model, the Bombardier/Alstom Flexity Freedom, is currently undergoing testing for operation on the upcoming Valley Line.


Bus

A redesigned bus network that affected almost every Edmonton Transit bus route began on April 25, 2021. This redesigned bus network was originally scheduled to be implemented on August 30, 2020, but was postponed until April 25, 2021, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, to save approximately $3.7 million and defer tax increases for residents. The City of Edmonton began completely redesigning its bus route network in 2017, with the aim of making it run more efficiently. Two rounds of public consultations were held at various locations around the city, and online surveys collected feedback from riders. The public engagements identified that transit riders would rather have to walk further to get to higher frequency routes, opposed to more routes operating less frequently. The city released a final draft of the new bus system in 2018, which cut back on routes with low ridership, and increased frequency in high traffic areas. After the redesign, all routes were renumbered to make the system easier to navigate. New signage and materials was created to assist in wayfinding. No change to fares has been announced, but the Manager of ETS has stated that ETS could switch to a distance-based system, where fees are based on how far a rider travels.


Late Night Owl Service

Night service began on 6 September 2015, on routes 1, 4, 8, 9, and 512. Upon launch of the 2021 Bus network redesign, Owl routes are as follows: 2, 4, 8, 9, and 510X. These buses operate on 30-minute headways until approximately 3:30 or 4 AM. Morning service then resumes around 5:00 AM. 2-OWL acts as a late night replacement for northern sections of the Capital Line (operating after the LRT shuts down for the night) from Clareview to Downtown. 9-OWL acts as a late night replacement for southern sections of the Capital Line. Route 511 replaced 510X in September 2022, and acts as a late night replacement of the Valley Line.


Transit centres

Transit Centres in Edmonton serve as hubs which allow people to transfer bus routes or onto the LRT system. These hubs typically have a heated shelter, and have multiple bus bays to accommodate many buses at a time. * Abbottsfield Transit Centre * Belvedere Transit Centre* * Capilano Transit Centre *
Castle Downs Transit Centre Castle Downs is a residential area in the northwest portion of the City of Edmonton in Alberta, Canada. The area was originally to be called Athabasca Downs, but when the city rejected the name, the developer used their second choice: Castle Downs ...
* Century Park Transit Centre* * Clareview Transit Centre* *
Coliseum Transit Centre Coliseum station is an Edmonton Light Rail Transit station in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It serves the Capital Line. It is located at 78 Street and 118 Avenue, near Northlands Coliseum, and is built on an overpass above 118 Avenue (Alberta Avenue ...
* * Davies Transit Centre *
Eaux Claires Transit Centre Eaux Claires is a residential neighbourhood located in north east Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It is bounded on the north by 167 Avenue, on the west by 97 Street, and on the south by 153 Avenue. The east boundary runs along a line located between ...
*
Government Centre Transit Centre Government Centre station (formerly known as Grandin/Government Centre station) is an Edmonton Light Rail Transit station in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It serves both the Capital Line and the Metro Line. It is an underground station located ben ...
* * Heritage Valley Transit Centre * Jasper Place Transit Centre *
Kingsway/Royal Alex Transit Centre Kingsway/Royal Alex station is an Edmonton Light Rail Transit station in Edmonton, Alberta. It serves the Metro Line The Metro Line is a light rail transit line on the Edmonton LRT system. The line operates from northwest Edmonton to south Ed ...
* * Lakewood Transit Centre† * Leger Transit Centre * Lewis Farms Transit Centre * Meadowlark Transit Centre† * Meadows Transit Centre * Mill Woods Transit Centre *
Northgate Transit Centre Northmount is a neighbourhood in northwest Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It and the Evansdale neighbourhood to the north comprise Edmonton's Dickinsfield community. Northmount is bounded by the Griesbach neighbourhood across 97 Street to the we ...
* South Campus/Fort Edmonton Park Transit Centre* * Southgate Transit Centre* * Stadium Transit Centre* * University Transit Centre* * West Edmonton Mall Transit Centre * Westmount Transit Centre (* Transit Centre at LRT station)
(† As of April 25, 2021, does not have Transit Centre status)


Bus fleet

ETS operates an entire fleet of accessible low floor buses, which have been progressively introduced into the system since 1993. These include the 858
New Flyer New Flyer is a Canadian multinational bus manufacturer, specializing in the production of transit buses. New Flyer is owned by the NFI Group, a holding company for several bus manufacturers. New Flyer has several manufacturing facilities in Ca ...
D40LF/D40LFR/XD40, 33 New Flyer D60LFR/XD60
articulated An articulated vehicle is a vehicle which has a permanent or semi-permanent pivot joint in its construction, allowing it to turn more sharply. There are many kinds, from heavy equipment to buses, trams and trains. Steam locomotives were somet ...
models, 40 40-foot
Proterra ZX5 The Proterra ZX5 is a battery electric bus that is built by American electric vehicle company, Proterra. Introduced in 2020, the bus is Proterra's primary product, and is the third generation of battery electric bus built by the company. Hist ...
models, and 49
Grande West Vicinity Motor Corp. (formerly Grande West Transportation Group) is a Canadian bus manufacturer headquartered in Aldergrove, British Columbia, Canada. History In 2008, BC Transit and Ottawa's OC Transpo issued a Requested for Proposal (RFP) for ...
Vicinity B30A models.


Hybrid and electric buses

The City of Edmonton embarked on an eight-month evaluation of 13 clean-diesel and hybrid buses (and a new
trolley bus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or troll ...
) in 2008. Edmonton Transit's first two diesel electric hybrid buses went into service in December 2006. The unique design and colour scheme of the two Orion low floor buses have been chosen to enable them to 'stand out' from the rest of the ETS fleet. The buses were part of an extensive test of hybrid technology that Edmonton Transit and the
University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherf ...
conducted over a year. Bus reliability, performance, maintenance costs,
fuel efficiency Fuel efficiency is a form of thermal efficiency, meaning the ratio of effort to result of a process that converts chemical potential energy contained in a carrier (fuel) into kinetic energy or work. Overall fuel efficiency may vary per device, w ...
, noise generation and environmental impact were monitored and evaluated in all
weather Weather is the state of the atmosphere, describing for example the degree to which it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. On Earth, most weather phenomena occur in the lowest layer of the planet's atmosphere, the t ...
and road conditions. As well, customers were surveyed about their travel experience. Ultimately, the Hybrid buses only recorded fuel savings of 10-20% (in contrast to the 35% touted in the internal ads). In addition, the ISE-New Flyer hybrids (6003 and 6004) were out of service so much that they could not be included in the evaluation. As of fall 2009, only the two Orion hybrids were in service. New Flyer/ISE hybrids 6003 and 6004 have since been converted to diesel buses as of 2011. New Flyer/Allison 6002 was revamped with new features and technology to become the ETS Platinum Bus, also referred to as the "Painted Lady". In Spring 2014, ETS unveiled a full electric bus for a four-month pilot program through October 2014. The buses were referred to as "ETS Stealth Buses" and were on lease from Build Your Dreams (BYD) Co. Ltd. The buses did not have a fare box, but instead were accepting customer surveys about electric buses as fare. Even without fare capacity the buses were placed on several different routes around the city to give many Edmontonians the ability to experience the new exhaust-less bus. These test buses were not winterized. In 2019, Edmonton received funding to purchase 50 Proterra ZX5 40' E2 MAX
electric buses Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...
, but this has since been reduced to 40 electric buses – one of the largest purchases of electric buses in Canadian history. The first 21 buses started service in August 2020, with the second batch of 19 buses being scheduled to arrive in the fall of 2020. The buses are charged from overhead charging units to save floor space in the bus garages, and it is the first transit service in North America to use such infrastructure for its buses. ETS conducted winter-testing of this bus model in 2015, and found that these buses could handle most of their routes. The buses are housed at the Centennial Garage and the Kathleen Andrews transit garage; the latter being the main hub for Edmonton's electric buses. In 2021, Edmonton reached an agreement with the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) which called for CIB to invest C$14.4 million (US$11.89 million) to purchase 20 additional electric buses under the ZEB (Zero Emission Bus) Federal Program. In 2022, Edmonton Transit and Strathcona Transit obtained one hydrogen-electric hybrid bus for each of the two transit systems as part of a pilot project, unveiling the new buses during the Electric and Hydrogen Vehicle Expo in Edmonton, Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022. The pilot project is part of the Alberta Zero Emission Hydrogen Transit (AZEHT) project of Emissions Reduction Alberta.


Smart bus

A new feature on ETS, Smart buses have since July 2013, seen operating on several routes, the trial routes were 111 which went from West Edmonton Mall to Downtown and 128 which went from Castle Downs to University, This system respectively used 45 buses. As of November 2014, there were 22 routes equipped. Real time bus arrival information on personal computers and mobile data is branded together as ETS LIVE and a mobile app, ETS Live to Go, has been released. The buses equipped possess automatic audio visual stop announcers of the next bus stop described by its nearest intersection, a computer aided dispatch which informs the control centre where a bus is, as well as monitor incidents. Mobile data terminals inform the drivers as to if they are late or not. The buses equipped have internal covert cameras to monitor safety. City council has approved funding for Smartbus deployment on all bus routes as of 2019 and 2020. All buses in the ETS fleet were fully equipped with Smart bus technology by September 4, 2016; earlier than initially planned.


Fares


General fares

The table below lists fares as of 1 February 2020. ETS currently only accepts cash for fare payments made on buses and at LRT stations. Children 12 and under ride free with a fare paying adult (otherwise they must have a valid youth fare). Day passes provide unlimited travel for up to five people (maximum 2 adults over 24). ETS provides several discounts for students and the disadvantaged: *Low income seniors can get a free annual pass. *Qualified low-income adults can purchase a bus pass for $34–48.50. * Public school and
Catholic school Catholic schools are pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered under the aegis or in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest religious, non-governmental school syst ...
students can purchase monthly passes from their schools at a subsidized rate. * Post-secondary students at approved post-secondary institutions may purchase a monthly pass at a discounted rate. *Since 1 September 2007, ETS has partnered with the
University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherf ...
, NorQuest College, Northern Alberta Institute of Technology and MacEwan University to provide students with a Universal Transit Pass (U-Pass), allowing unlimited access to Fort Sask Transit, St Albert Transit,
Strathcona County Transit Strathcona County Transit provides local, commuter, and school bus services to the community of Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada, which is east of Edmonton in Strathcona County. Transportation for elderly citizens and people with disabilities is p ...
and ETS bus and light rail systems for a single (four month) school term. As of 2013, University of Alberta students pay $145 after a $25 subsidy from the University of Alberta while NorQuest College, NAIT and MacEwan University students pay the full $170


Commuter and regional service fares

Some routes have different fare structures due to the distance they cover or because they enter different municipalities outside of Edmonton.


Spruce Grove

Fares effective 1 January 2022 for commuter routes 560, 561, and 565 to
Spruce Grove Spruce Grove is a city that is west of Edmonton, Alberta in Canada. The city is adjacent to the Town of Stony Plain and is surrounded by Parkland County. With a 2021 population of 37,645, Spruce Grove is the ninth-largest city in Alberta. ...
, Acheson, and Stony Plain: No additional fare for U-Pass holders.


Fort Saskatchewan

Fares effective 1 January 2021 for commuter route 580 to
Fort Saskatchewan Fort Saskatchewan is a city along the North Saskatchewan River in Alberta, Canada. It is northeast of Edmonton, the provincial capital. It is part of the Edmonton census metropolitan area and one of 24 municipalities that constitute the Edmon ...
: U-Pass holders pay no additional fare. Low income riders qualify for additional discounts under the "Everyone Rides Program".


Beaumont

Fares effective 1 October 2017 for route 540 to
Beaumont Beaumont may refer to: Places Canada * Beaumont, Alberta * Beaumont, Quebec England * Beaumont, Cumbria * Beaumont, Essex ** Beaumont Cut, a canal closed in the 1930s * Beaumont Street, Oxford France (communes) * Beaumont, Ardèche ...
: Children under 12 ride free (with an accompanying fare-paying passenger). Beaumont tickets, passes and transfers cannot be used on regular ETS services. The U-Pass is not accepted on route 540, however the option is being considered for the future.


Edmonton International Airport

Fares for route 747 to the Edmonton International Airport, effective 14 May 2018: *One way trip: $5 or two adult ETS tickets *Monthly pass (with no transferability to regular ETS service): $90 No additional fare for holders of a UPass, Leduc Commuter-Plus pass, or Leduc route 10 to route 747 transfer One way fare reduced back to $5 on 1 May 2018 (after it rose to $10 on 1 February 2018), when an increase in joint funding from the City of Leduc, Leduc County, and the Edmonton International Airport was agreed upon.


Sherwood Park

Some Strathcona County Transit tickets/passes/transfers are valid on ETS and vice versa. These are the details effective 1 February 2018: *Sherwood Park Commuter tickets/passes/transfers are valid for use on ETS **These are special tickets/passes/transfers purchased for or obtained from Sherwood Park commuter routes *ETS tickets are valid on Sherwood Park commuter services for an additional $2 and on sherwood park local services for an additional $1 **Tickets for use solely on route 747 are not valid on SCT *ETS monthly passes (excluding the seniors pass and courtesy pass) and day passes are valid on all Sherwood Park services for an additional $1 **Passes for use solely on route 747 are not valid on SCT


St. Albert

Some ETS tickets/passes/transfers are valid on StAT and vice versa: *ETS monthly passes (excluding the seniors pass and courtesy pass) are valid on all St. Albert services for an additional $1 *ETS tickets and transfers are valid on commuter St. Albert services for an additional $2 **Only valid on commuter routes between Edmonton & St. Albert *StAT commuter tickets/passes/transfers are valid on ETS (local versions are not valid)


Security

In May 2007, Edmonton Transit Security were appointed Peace Officers under the Alberta Peace Officer Act. Transit Peace Officers can issue tickets for Provincial Statutes and Edmonton bylaws on Transit property. Transit Peace Officers actively promote order maintenance, disorder prevention and voluntary compliance with social norms surrounding acceptable transit use. Transit Peace Officers use
Ford Taurus The Ford Taurus is an automobile that was manufactured by the Ford Motor Company in the United States from the 1986 to 2019 model years. Introduced in late 1985 for the 1986 model year, six generations were produced over 34 years; a brief hiat ...
police interceptors and Dodge Charger interceptors as their primary transportation, but are also seen riding the LRT enforcing
bylaws A by-law (bye-law, by(e)law, by(e) law), or as it is most commonly known in the United States bylaws, is a set of rules or law established by an organization or community so as to regulate itself, as allowed or provided for by some higher authorit ...
. They patrol in uniform on ETS vehicles and property which include buses, LRT and transit stations 24 hours/day, 7 days/week. The Transit Peace Officer Bike Patrol is also active during suitable weather conditions from spring until fall. The Bike Patrol can access certain areas better than a vehicle, such as bike paths along LRT tracks or areas congested by traffic and/or special events. Transit Peace Officers are authorized to enforce municipal bylaws and have powers and authority under several provincial acts. In November 2018 Edmonton Transit added 24/7, onsite contract security guards to augment and assist the Peace Officers and Edmonton Police. The main focus of the contract security guards are to focus on high visibility patrols and observing and reporting security issues for the Transit Peace Officers or Edmonton police to attend. The contract security guards interact with the public and work closely with Transit Peace Officers and Edmonton police. In September 2021 the Transit Peace Officer group initiated a two-year pilot program called the Community Outreach Transit Team (COTT). It is a partnership between the City of Edmonton and the Bent Arrow Traditional Healing Society with the intention to aid those in need of social, medical, or financial assistance.


Facilities

* Centennial Garage – bus facility: historic fleet storage; opened 24 April 2010 * D.L. MacDonald Yard – LRT storage and repair facility; opened 1983 * Ferrier Garage – bus facility; formerly trolley bus barn * Gerry Wright Operations and Maintenance Facility – LRT storage and repair facility * Kathleen Andrews Garage – bus facility; opened 9 February 2020 * Mitchell Garage – bus facility; formerly trolley bus barn; opened 7 April 1981 * Paterson Garage – bus garage; bus disposal facility * Percy Wickman Garage – Disabled Adult Transit Service (DATS) facility


Former

* Strathcona Garage – former bus/trolley bus garage (1951–1986); now home to
Old Strathcona Old Strathcona is a historic district in south-central Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Once the commercial core of the separate city of Strathcona, the area is now home to many of Edmonton's arts and entertainment facilities, as well as a local s ...
Farmer's Market and
Edmonton Radial Railway Society Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
's
High Level Bridge Streetcar The High Level Bridge Streetcar is a historic streetcar ride over the High Level Bridge in Edmonton, Alberta. It travels from the Strathcona Streetcar Barn & Museum, just north of the Strathcona Farmers Market, in Old Strathcona, to Jasper Pla ...
storage. * Cromdale Garage – bus facility and former
Edmonton Radial Railway The Edmonton Radial Railway (ERR) (also known as the Street Railway Department) was a streetcar service that operated in Edmonton, Alberta, from 1908 to 1951. It was Edmonton's first public transit service, and later evolved into Edmonton Transit ...
trolley bus/streetcar barn; torn down in 2014. * Westwood Garage – bus garage; opened 1961 and closed on 8 February 2020.


Plans


Edmonton Metropolitan Transit Services Commission

The city of Edmonton began exploring the development of a regional transit services commission in 2017. In February 2020, Edmonton city council voted to join twelve other municipalities to investigate the potential for a regional transit services commission (RTSC). Edmonton and eight other regional municipalities, including Fort Saskatchewan, Leduc, Spruce Grove, and St. Albert, formally submitted an application to the provincial government to establish the Edmonton Metropolitan Transit Services Commission in June 2020. Their proposal had to be altered after four municipalities, including Leduc County and Strathcona County, withdrew from the project. The formation of the EMTSC was approved by the Alberta government on 28 January 2021. A board of elected representatives from each member community is conducting the initial setup of the commission, and working with the commission's inaugural CEO to develop its operational and planning capabilities. The EMTSC will begin service in early 2023. Edmonton's local transit services and LRT network will not be transferred to the commission at first, due to their size and operational costs. The commission's board will re-consider the inclusion of Edmonton's LRT network five years after the commission is formally stood up.


Arc card

Edmonton first approved funding for a SmartFare program in 2015. Fort Saskatchewan, St. Albert, and Strathcona County are among the other communities which are also participating in this system. Smart fare was set to launch in early 2021, but its rollout was delayed by the closure of the Canada-United States border during the COVID-19 pandemic. On 8 June 2021, it was announced that the SmartFare payment system would be branded as Arc. Post secondary students became the first riders to use Arc when their institutions began issuing cards in fall 2021. A pilot test including 500 adult fare-paying users began on 1 January 2022, and the results were reviewed in March 2022, but access to Arc was not expanded at that time. Arc was rolled out to adult fare-paying riders on November 21, 2022. Subsidized fare groups, including seniors, youth, junior high and senior high students, customers who purchase low-income passes, DATS riders, and users of regional paratransit services, will receive access to Arc in 2023. Fare vending machines which sell Arc cards and Arc tickets, and allow users to load money to their accounts, are located at major locations in the region, including all
Edmonton LRT Edmonton Light Rail Transit, commonly referred to as the LRT, is a light rail system in Edmonton, Alberta. Part of the Edmonton Transit Service (ETS), the system has 18 stations on two lines and of track. As of 2018, it is number seven on the ...
stations, some transit centers, and the Edmonton International Airport. The machines accept cash, debit, and credit cards. Riders can also purchase Arc cards and add money to their account balances online. Each rider's balance is stored on their account, rather than on the Arc cards or Arc tickets themselves, meaning that if an Arc card is lost or stolen, its balance can be transferred to a new card if the owner had registered their account. Arc cards include daily and monthly fare-capping; frequent riders who reach a fare threshold will ride for the remainder of that period for free of charge. Arc tickets work similarly to Arc cards, but are be one-time use only, and are sold in 90-minute and 24-hour increments. Riders can still pay their fare with cash, paper passes and tickets, but paper tickets and passes will eventually be phased out; cash will always be a payment option.


Metro LRT

Construction on phase one of the Metro Line extension, which includes a permanent NAIT station and station for the Blatchford community on the old City Centre Airport property, started in mid-2020. NAIT station current is located north of Princess Elizabeth Avenue, on the south side of the institute's swimming pool and hockey arena (S) wing.


Valley Line

The Valley Line will run for from
Mill Woods Mill Woods is a residential area in the city of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Located in southeast Edmonton, Mill Woods is bounded by Whitemud Drive ( Highway 14) to the north, 91 Street to the west, 34 Street to the east, and Anthony Henda ...
through downtown Edmonton to Lewis Farms, with 25 stops. The 11-station segment from Mill Woods to 102 Street in downtown, known as "Valley Line Southeast", will be constructed first, beginning in 2016 and finishing by 2021. Construction for phase two of the project, dubbed "Valley Line West", is expected to start in 2021. Preparation work for the second phase, including property surveys, utility relocation, and land acquisition, is already underway. Unlike the existing LRT, the Valley Line will run primarily at grade in the centre median of city streets, connecting to the Capital and Metro lines at Churchill station. The line will cost $1.8 billion, with $800 million coming from the City of Edmonton, $600 million from
Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Terri ...
, and $400 million from the federal government. A public–private partnership was established between the City of Edmonton and a private contractor to build and operate the east portion of the line.


Long-range LRT plans

City council in the past has looked at creating long range transportation plans that include the LRT reaching St. Albert to the northwest, Lewis Estates in the west (with West Edmonton Mall en route), the Edmonton International Airport and Leduc to the south,
Mill Woods Mill Woods is a residential area in the city of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Located in southeast Edmonton, Mill Woods is bounded by Whitemud Drive ( Highway 14) to the north, 91 Street to the west, 34 Street to the east, and Anthony Henda ...
in the southeast, and
Fort Saskatchewan Fort Saskatchewan is a city along the North Saskatchewan River in Alberta, Canada. It is northeast of Edmonton, the provincial capital. It is part of the Edmonton census metropolitan area and one of 24 municipalities that constitute the Edmon ...
to the northeast.


See also

*
List of rapid transit systems These lists of rapid transit systems are sorted by the type of system: * List of tram and light rail transit systems * List of town tramway systems * Medium-capacity rail transport system * List of premetro systems * List of metro systems * List o ...
* Edmonton Metropolitan Transit Services Commission *
Edmonton Radial Railway The Edmonton Radial Railway (ERR) (also known as the Street Railway Department) was a streetcar service that operated in Edmonton, Alberta, from 1908 to 1951. It was Edmonton's first public transit service, and later evolved into Edmonton Transit ...
*
Edmonton Radial Railway Society Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
* Fort Sask Transit * Leduc Transit * St. Albert Transit *
Strathcona County Transit Strathcona County Transit provides local, commuter, and school bus services to the community of Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada, which is east of Edmonton in Strathcona County. Transportation for elderly citizens and people with disabilities is p ...
* Edmonton Airports


References


External links

*
ETS Photo GalleriesEdmonton LRT Projects
{{Authority control 1908 establishments in Alberta Transport companies established in 1908