Earlier this month, Edmonton Transit Riders was thrilled to get a sneak peek at the 2024-2025 ETS Annual Service Plan at a Launch event hosted by Councillor Michael Janz and ETS. This great event brought together a room full of people passionate about our transit system, gave us an opportunity to connect, and offered some insights into the upcoming plans for transit in Edmonton in 2025 and beyond. The full presentation can be found on Councillor Janz’s YouTube channel.
The Annual Service Plan is a document that highlights the direction, priorities, projects and services for the year ahead, while also highlighting achievements from the past year, and can be found on the City of Edmonton website. During the launch event, we heard about some exciting key details about the Service Plan. Some of these details included the addition of 1,000 weekly service hours, the introduction of the new route 729 to replace On Demand service in the Keswick and Glenridding Ravine area, increased frequency for route 747, and various route adjustments and improvements to meet changing travel demands.
The service plan outlines four service objectives: Reliable, Convenient, Safe, and Accessible and Inclusive. These objectives are tracked against benchmarks for the upcoming year. These are all core principles for Edmonton Transit Riders. Here are some of the highlights in each of these categories regarding the changes made in 2024 and the upcoming changes you can expect for 2025.
CONVENIENCE – transit that is rider-friendly and accessible
Following the addition of 70,000 service hours to the bus network in February 2024, 50,000 new annual service hours are being implemented, supported by 20 new buses enabled by the temporary Kennedale Satellite Garage. The lack of garage space is a major hurdle for adding additional service hours – garages are currently at full capacity, with the Southeast Transit Garage still under construction.
Arc remains a focus of convenience following the finalization of the transition of all fare products from paper to electronic in 2024. While current satisfaction with Arc is only at 70% compared to the 80% target, the implementation of Arc Open Payment, set to launch in 2025, will allow riders to pay fare by tapping physical or digital credit or debit cards on validators, further improving convenience for casual riders.
Special events support is also a key factor in perceptions of convenience for riders – after serving two major concerts at Commonwealth stadium in 2024, with more events slated for summer 2025, a $1.50 surcharge will be added to major events which will allow tickets for some events to be used as fare payment.
RELIABILITY – transit that is consistent, on time, and with minimal disruptions
Service adjustments are performed consistently in order to improve capacity and reduce delays. In 2024, this included deploying articulated buses on Routes 8 and 500X to increase capacity, and adding On Demand service to areas that demonstrated a need. One route was also chosen to be converted from On Demand to Conventional bus service – this will be repeated this year with the addition of Route 729 in Keswick and Glenridding Ravine.
Increased frequency, extended service hours, and improvements to reliability are also slated for the upcoming year to address rider satisfaction with on-time performance in an attempt to close the gap from 76% satisfaction with ETS reliability to the target 80%.
Broad changes include increases to evening and weekend service on various routes, earlier starts and later ends to service on various routes, and rerouting as necessary to increase on-time performance. Some route redesigns include Route 111 extending into Alberta Avenue and Chinatown, and route changes around the Mill Woods area to reduce travel time. Finally, the 747 Airport Shuttle is increasing frequency during midday, so service will run at 30 minute intervals from 6am to 8pm, seven days a week.
A full listing of changes can be found in the Annual Service Plan, as well as on the Service Changes page as they take effect.
Transit Priority Measures and Bus Rapid Transit are also in the design phase – this includes signal re-timing, queue jumps, parking restrictions, intersection improvements, and transit lane additions. The earliest implementation will occur in the first quarter of 2025 with traffic signal related measures for the 97 Street and 118 Avenue corridors, with the remaining measures coming into place in 2025 and 2026.
In the long term, garage and maintenance facility expansion, and fleet growth and renewal will be needed to further increase service levels. The construction of the Southeast Transit Garage, LRT train replacement, Capital Line South extension and maintenance facility construction, and Valley Line West construction increase capacity and allow additional service hours to be implemented.
SAFETY – transit that promotes psychological and physical well-being
Safety and perceptions of safety have been ongoing challenges for ETS, and many other transit services, since the pandemic. While ETS continues to add surveillance cameras and additional Transit Peace Officers, implement additional cleaning services, and promote rider engagement, the actual rider perception of safety indicates only 61% of riders indicated they felt safe throughout their last transit trip. Additional measures to improve safety are ongoing, with cellular access in LRT tunnels scheduled to be operational in 2026, and additional measures to improve safety continue to be discussed.
ACCESSIBILITY AND INCLUSIVITY – transit that allows for equitable and dignified access to transportation
Major focuses for 2024 included the partnership with Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) to improve accessibility for riders with sight loss, as well as a rider respect marketing campaign across the network. Snow and Ice Clearing (SNIC) service levels were updated in 2024, ensuring cleared routes for buses after a large snowfall. Travel training programs and outreach also continued to be provided by ETS for various demographics. ETS will continue to work to implement the Corporate Accessibility Action Plan and conduct demographic research to further support targeted rider groups. There will also be a second indigenous artist bus wrap slated to be unveiled in 2025. Satisfaction with both DATS performance and accommodation scored on target with their service level goals, as well as satisfaction with the fare affordability for low income transit passes.
FUTURE SERVICE – what we’d like to see next
Edmonton Transit Riders supports the benchmark service objectives outlined in this service plan, and will continue to work with ETS and advocate to Council and Administration to ensure these goals can be worked towards in meaningful ways. Commitment to meeting service standards regarding route coverage, service intervals, maximum occupancy, and reliability remains crucial. While some of the barriers to meeting these service standards lie in the lack of storage and maintenance facility space, others will hopefully be addressed by addressing congestion causing delays through the implementation of priority measures.