Author: Edmonton Transit Riders
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Addressing the Transit Funding Gap in the City Budget
With City Council set to debate the Transit funding gap — including $20.4 million for the Ride Transit program and $5.6 million for general operations — as part of its Fall Supplemental Budget Adjustment, we wanted to share our perspective and recommendations on how make up this shortfall. We encourage anyone who cares about this…
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Nationwide Transit Advocates Rally for Reliable Service and Affordable Fares During Canada Transit Action Week
For Immediate Release: October 15, 2024 Edmonton Transit Riders Join National Efforts, October 15 – 20, 2024 EDMONTON, AB — On July 17, 2024, the federal government announced the Canada Public Transit Fund to improve public transit infrastructure. The Edmonton Transit Riders and advocates across Canada are uniting for the first ever Canada Transit Action Week to express their disappointment…
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You Deserve Better – Transit Service Needs in Edmonton
At Edmonton Transit Riders, we talk a lot about “the transit you deserve.” We wax poetic about a bus stop that’s within a 10 minute walk from your home, with buses that arrive every 30 minutes, and arrive on time. To a lot of Edmontonians, this sounds like a fairy tale. But we think this…
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Fare Gates Are Not the Evidence-Based, Fiscally Responsible Choice
At the December 12, 2023, City Council meeting, a motion was made directing Administration to provide a report outlining a detailed plan for a two-year trial for the use of fare gates at two transit facilities. This report will be presented at Council’s Urban Planning Committee meeting on September 17, 2024. After reviewing the report,…
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Balancing Ridership Impacts With Financial Pressures
August 28, 2024, the Ride Transit Program Funding Gap report goes to Executive Committee for information. In May of this year, Edmonton Transit Services (ETS) recommended to Council’s Executive Committee to raise fares for riders to address transit funding gaps. Carrie Hotton-Mcdonald, the branch manager of ETS said that “these budget challenges, increased costs for…
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Mass Transit: Implementing for 1.25 Million People
Report goes to Urban Planning Committee on August 27, 2024 for Information. Here’s our thoughts on the update. Want to learn more? Check out the materials from Administration below. Please note that the BRT routes depicted in the images included are not approved and require further analysis and design by ETS, so they may not…
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Protecting Core Services – Executive Committee August 2024
Today we reached out to City Councillors in advance of the August 14, 2024, Executive Committee meeting to share our concerns with Administration’s report that details some financial challenges facing our public transit system. Below is a copy of our correspondence. Dear Councillors, We are Edmonton Transit Riders, a local non-profit organization advocating for a…
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Canadian Public Transit Fund – Potential and Pitfalls
On July 17, 2024, the federal government released information on the Canadian Public Transit Fund (CPTF), which will disperse $3 billion per year for public and active transportation capital projects starting in 2026/27. While this fund demonstrates significant support for new capital projects (e.g., bus replacement, LRT extensions, bus garages), it does not provide ongoing…