Edmonton’s bus fleet is made up of almost 1000 buses, these make up the core of our transit service, and keep our City moving. The problem is, by 2030, two thirds of our bus fleet will be over 12 years old (the age at which 81% of North American buses are retired).

ETS will have to retire over 160 buses by 2030, and if they aren’t replaced, that service will be removed from our system. In a recent report, service reductions as a result of retiring fleet could cut Edmonton’s bus service by over 13% if replacement doesn’t keep up. Including significant cuts to DATS service and removal of Community routes which typically serve seniors and mid-day trips.

We absolutely cannot let this happen. If Council does not aggressively pursue bus fleet renewal this 4-year budget, even moderate renewal funding will only be kicking the can further down the road, and letting the problem get bigger as even more buses reach retirement age.

By prioritizing bus renewal this budget cycle, we make our transit system more reliable, less expensive to maintain, and make it easier to grow our fleet and service in the future.

We made an email tool that lets you immediately contact City Council, and let them know that you want to see them invest in bus fleet renewal this budget cycle

Bus fleet renewal is coming to Urban Planning Committee on Tuesday May 12th. If you want another way to share your support, consider signing up to speak to Council.

You can write your own message, or copy and paste the example we have right here

Subject: Please prioritize bus fleet renewal this budget

Hello Council,

My name is [INSERT NAME HERE] and I am reaching out today to ask that you prioritize bus fleet renewal during the capital budget discussions happening later this year by supporting the Targeted Renewal Scenario outlined in the May 12th Bus Fleet Renewal Needs report.

This isn’t just about new buses. over 160 buses will have to be retired over the next 4 years. This will force us to massively cut service.

A healthy and modern bus fleet isn’t a nice to have. It saves us money on maintenance, keeps buses from breaking down on the side of the road and stranding passengers, and helps us avoid major service reductions that we could be faced with when large swaths of buses retire. Limitations on our bus fleet have been holding the potential of our transit system back for years, now is the perfect opportunity to set ourselves up for success, and give riders a more reliable transit experience.

We can’t afford to compromise on this one. If Council only chooses to tread water on bus renewal this budget cycle, the problem will only grow bigger as more and more buses come up for retirement, and the average age of our fleet continues to grow.

I hope to see you support bus fleet renewal and avoid massive transit service cuts this budget cycle.

Thank you