February 10, 2023
Edmonton bus ridership reached 100 per cent of 2019 pre-pandemic levels in January, making Edmonton Transit Service (ETS) one of the first large transit systems to reach this milestone. Throughout the first month of 2023, ridership averaged approximately 1.2 million rides per week.
In 2020, at the height of the pandemic, bus ridership had dipped to 30 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, at about 350,000 rides per week. In January 2022, ridership was approximately 700,000 rides per week, representing 62 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.
“I’m very proud that Edmonton is among the country’s leaders in bus ridership recovery. This is an important achievement and sets us on a strong path towards full ridership recovery. It reinforces that transit is an important part of enabling mobility in the region. Thank you to riders for choosing transit to connect with their communities and workplaces, as well as to ETS staff for their continued hard work and dedication” said Carrie Hotton-MacDonald, Branch Manager of Edmonton Transit Service. “Although there may be ridership fluctuations in the months ahead, these figures are very encouraging.”
A series of factors have contributed to the gradual but consistent increase in bus ridership over the past three years. Edmonton transit continued to provide full service levels throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, while also implementing various enhancements to make transit more accessible, convenient and reliable for Edmontonians. In March 2021, the City implemented the Bus Network Redesign, which added On Demand Transit service and created a high frequency corridor for bus service. In November 2022, Arc – Edmonton region’s fare payment system – was launched to the Standard Adult fare group, in addition to U-Pass students who had been using the system since August 2021, helping to make taking and paying for transit more convenient.
Based on current ridership data, paratransit service and LRT ridership have also seen consistent upward trends.
“We still have work ahead of us. We’re going to continue to implement changes to make transit more convenient, reliable and safe for Edmontonians,” said Hotton-MacDonald. “This year we will be making a number of service improvements to help build on this momentum.”
Improvements that will be phased in throughout 2023 include:
- Adding 500 additional weekly off-peak bus service hours to address shifting demand for more service outside of peak morning and afternoon hours.
- Expanding Arc to include more rider fare groups, including youth, seniors and individuals participating in low-income transit programs.
- Hiring additional Transit Peace Officers to further improve safety and security in transit spaces.
- Increasing On Demand Transit service, which will reduce wait times, improve hours of service for seniors and serve more neighbourhoods.
ETS is committed to delivering service that connects Edmontonians to people, places, communities and events across the city. Increased transit ridership will help us achieve broader City Plan goals by helping build a sense of community and belonging among Edmontonians, enhance community safety and wellbeing, preserve our environment and contribute to a vibrant downtown.
