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Edmonton Transit System

 
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Edmonton Transit System
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Founded 1908
Headquarters Edmonton, Alberta
Locale PO Box 2610, Stn. Main Edmonton, AB
Service area Edmonton, Alberta
Service type Public Transit
Stops 6,458
Fleet 874 buses
Daily ridership 157,000
Operator City of Edmonton
Web site Official site

The Edmonton Transit System, also called ETS, is the public transit service owned and operated by the city of Edmonton, Alberta. It operates Edmonton's bus and light rail systems.

Contents

Service

High Level Rail Bridge with lower LRT bridge and train crossing

ETS provides service on buses and light-rail transit within the City of Edmonton limits, in addition to Fort Saskatchewan, Spruce Grove (currently on a trial basis), and the Edmonton Garrison at Namao. It also provides connections to suburban transit services operated by the City of St. Albert and County of Strathcona. Another trial service to Beaumont in 2003-2004 was discontinued due to low ridership.

The vast majority of buses in the ETS fleet are accessible low floor buses, which have been progressively introduced into the system since 1993. These include the 40-foot New Flyer D40LF, and the 60-foot D60LF articulated models.

ETS uses the timed-transfer system, where suburban feeder routes run to a transit centre, and passengers can then transfer to a base route to the city centre or the university. During peak hours, some feeder routes provide direct express service to and from the city centre.

Night Service

 This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (November 2008)

As of 2009, ETS currently terminates service on all bus routes and the LRT by approximately 1:30 am on weekdays and midnight on weekends (though many routes cease running significantly earlier than this). In January 2008 the Transit Riders' Union of Edmonton, led by prominent local activist Brendan Van Alstine as well as Lorenzo Pagnotta, Brian Gould, and Bryan Saunders managed to draw significant public and media attention to the dire need for extended late night transit service, ideally having transit operate 24 hours a day. The push was so successful that Transportation Manager Bob Boutilier conceded during the debate that it was not an issue of 'if' the city would provide 24 hour transit, but an issue of 'when'. The 24 hour service debate arose once again in June 2008 as part of an ETS service review where it was deferred to budget. It remains unclear at this time whether the city plans to extend transit hours later into the night, though several groups including the Transit Riders' Union of Edmonton and the Old Strathcona Business Association are continuing to push the issue.

List of Transit Centres

Kingsway Transit Centre
Bus on Route 51

* LRT Station

Routes

See also: List of bus routes in Edmonton

ETS numbers its bus routes based on the community they serve, with numbers 1-29 being base routes. For example, routes 60-79 serve Mill Woods, while routes 160-179 serve Castle Downs. There are some exceptions, routes 39, 59, 96, and 138, due to a shortage of numbers in the area in which they operate. Outside of rush hours all routes, except for the trolley routes, are serviced by accessible low floor buses.[citation needed]

Trolley System

Trolley bus service in Edmonton started on September 24, 1939, operating on route 5 from 101 St/Jasper Ave to 95 St/111 Ave. By the end of October, trolley service had started on another route running to 99 St/Whyte Ave via the Low Level Bridge.

Edmonton's trolley bus system used a mixture of Ohio Brass and K&M Elastic (Swiss) suspension for holding up the overhead.

On June 18, 2008, city council voted 7 to 6 in favour of phasing out the trolley system in 2009 and 2010.[1] However, city council announced in April 2009 that the trolley bus system will be retired earlier than expected in order to reduce the city's expected $35 million deficit in 2009.[2] The last day of regular service was on May 2, 2009.[3]

Vehicles

ETS Electric Bus

Edmonton Transit operated 49 zero emission electric trolley buses manufactured in 1981-2 by Brown Boveri and GMC on routes 3, 5, 7, 9, 120, 133, and 135. Routes 3, 5 and 7 are heavily-travelled mainline routes:

  • Route 3 runs from Jasper Place transit centre to the Cromdale neighbourhood through the North West Industrial area along 118 Ave to 124 St, then along 107 Ave through downtown and up 97 St.
  • Route 5 connects Westmount Centre with Coliseum LRT Station along the main commercial streets of 124 St, Jasper Ave, 95 St (Via Italia) and Alberta (118) Ave.
  • Route 7 begins at Jasper Place, serves residential and commercial areas along 107 Ave, then continues to the communities of McKernan and Belgravia.
  • Route 9 trolley service from NAIT to downtown supplements the diesel service on that route from Southgate to Northgate.
  • Route 120 running from Jasper Place to Stadium along 102 Ave and Jasper Ave provides extra weekday and Saturday service along parts of routes 1 and 2.
  • Route 133 provides extra service during peak hours along route 7 from Jasper Place to Old Strathcona (Whyte Ave), and then continues into the Parkallen neighbourhood.
  • Route 135 provides supplementary peak and midday service on route 5 between downtown and Westmount.

A low floor model of trolley was rented from Coast Mountain Bus Company, Vancouver's bus operating company, in 2008 for testing of the benefit 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.[4]

LRT

An Edmonton LRT train at Health Sciences Station.
Further information: Edmonton Light Rail Transit

ETS operates a 15.2 km light rail route with thirteen stations, also known as LRT Route 201, between northeast Edmonton and the University of Alberta's south campus with a mix of tunnels and at-grade track. Currently, six stations are underground, while the remaining seven are at-grade. The train shown to the right is made in Germany by Siemens/DÜWAG. The same type of vehicle have operated on several underground lines in Frankfurt am Main since 1968 as type U-2. ETS has 37 Siemens SD-160 on order from Siemens. The delivery date is 2008-2009 and the new cars are to be used as part of the expansion of the LRT to south Edmonton. In 2009, two new stations opened on the southside, with another two opening in 2010.

Hybrid Bus

Further information: Hybrid Technology

The City of Edmonton has embarked on an eight-month evaluation of 13 clean-diesel and hybrid buses, and a new trolley. Edmonton Transit's first two diesel electric hybrid buses went into service in December 2006.[5] 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 are part of an extensive test of hybrid technology that Edmonton Transit and the University of Alberta will be conducting over the next year. Bus reliability, performance, maintenance costs, fuel efficiency, noise generation and environmental impact will be monitored and evaluated in all weather and road conditions. As well, customers will be 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.[6]

Fares

Current fares as of March 26, 2009:[7]

General

Youth (6-17) Adult (18-64) Senior (64+)
Cash $2.50 $2.50 $2.50
10 Ticket Pack $18.50 $21.00 $18.50
Day Pass $7.50 $7.50 $7.50
Monthly Pass N/A $74.25 $12.00
Annual Pass N/A N/A $111.25

Conditional Fares

ETS provides several discounts for students and the disadvantaged.

  • Low income seniors can pay $48.00 for an annual pass instead of the listed $111.25.
  • Public school students can purchase monthly passes from their schools at a subsidized rate ranging from $24.00 to $43.00 depending on grade and location.
  • Catholic school students can purchase monthly passes ranging from $24.00 to $37.00.
  • Families (1 adult and up to four children age 12 and under) are entitled to travel on ETS all day with the use of a valid day pass.
  • Post-secondary students at approved post-secondary institutions may purchase a monthly pass at the discounted rate of $67.50.
  • ETS has partnered with the University of Alberta and Grant MacEwan College to provide students with a Universal Transit Pass (U-Pass), allowing unlimited access to both the bus and light rail systems for a single (four month) school term. University students pay $78.75 after a $15.75 subsidy from the University while Grant MacEwan students pay the full $94.50. The U-Pass came into effect September 1, 2007.

Fleet

The list is of current and past vehicles:

Trolley Buses

  • Associated Equipment Co/English Electric Co 663T Trolley Bus (Units 101-103:1939-1951)
  • Leyland 663T Trolley Bus (Units 104-109:1939-1951)
  • Mack Truck Co. CR Trolley Bus (Units 110-112:1942-1962)
  • Pullman Standard Trolley Bus (Units 113-128:1944-1965)
  • American Car and Foundry Brill TC44 Trolley Bus (Units 129&130:1945-1965)
  • Canada Car and Foundry Brill T44 Trolley Bus (Units 121-191,203-212:1947-1978, Units 203-212 were purchased second hand from Vancouver in 1962, and units 121-130 were purchased second hand from Regina in 1966)
  • Canada Car and Foundry Brill T48A Trolley Bus (Units 192-202:1952-1978)
  • Flyer Industries E800 Trolley Bus (Units 213-249:1974-1987, all sold to Mexico City)
  • Brown Boveri Co. HR150G Trolley Bus (Units 100-199:1981-present. Units 109 and 110 were sold to Dayton, Ohio in 1994. Units 103, 105, 106, 107, 116, 117, 118, 134, 141, 142, 153, 154, 169, 171, 176, 187, 191 and 196 were scrapped in 2005-2007. Units 111, 121, 124, 128, 129, 131, 133, 135, 138, 140, 148, 152, 155, 179, 183, 193, 195 and 198 have been refurbished. Current active units are 102, 111, 121, 124, 125, 126, 128, 129, 130, 131, 133, 135, 138, 140, 143, 144, 145, 146, 148, 149, 150, 152, 155, 156, 160, 161, 163, 168, 170, 172, 177, 179, 180, 181, 183, 189, 192, 193, 195 and 198) - 40 leased to the Toronto Transit Commission

Diesel Buses

Handicapped/disabled access denotes wheelchair accessibility

Future plans

Southern extension

A new 7.8 km Southern extension[8] is in the building stage. The South LRT will extend from the recently opened Health Sciences Station to Century Park, a transit-oriented development on the site of the former Heritage Mall that will eventually include housing for thousands of residents.

Other stations include McKernan-Belgravia, South Campus, and Southgate. The McKernan/Belgravia and South Campus stations are scheduled to open in late April 2009, with the remaining two southernmost stations scheduled to come online one year later, in 2010. The ultimate extension will cost about $600 million. The segment from Health Sciences Station to Century Park will be at-grade with underpasses beneath major roads,as well as using a dedicated bridgeway over a major freeway.

Other plans

A 3 km LRT route from the Churchill Station in downtown Edmonton to the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology has recently been approved and is expected to break ground in 2009.[9] Also there are plans to bring the LRT to Lewis Estates and West Edmonton Mall, but there are three different plans. One is going through Oliver and then to 149 St. The other is going from the Health Sciences Station to West Edmonton Mall along 87 Avenue. The final is the LRT running along Fox Drive to Whitemud Drive then to West Edmonton.

See also

References

  1. ^ Trolleys toast
  2. ^ Council sharpens axe
  3. ^ City of Edmonton - Last Day of Trolley Operations
  4. ^ Edmonton Tests new Low Floor Trolley Bus
  5. ^ ETS - Hybrid Buses
  6. ^ ETS - Hybrid Buses
  7. ^ ETS Types of Fares and Passes
  8. ^ City of Edmonton
  9. ^ City of Edmonton - Downtown to NAIT LRT Study

External links


This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

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Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Edmonton Transit System".  Read more

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