Users want transit routes restored

As end of fare freeze nears, riders question value of reduced service

Some Edmonton transit riders are calling for routes eliminated during the COVID-19 pandemic to be reinstated when fares return June 15.

Payment will once again be required for a trip on city buses after fares were frozen March 22, but reduced service with about 52 fewer routes and earlier end times will continue indefinitely.

Citing lower ridership and growing concerns over non-destination riders, the city moved to a Saturday service schedule with some enhancements in mid-march and further cut night LRT service and the four late-night OWL bus routes by about three hours a month later.

North-side resident Victoria Eke said she would like to see service return to normal operations if she needs to resume paying.

Her local bus route 163 is not being offered as part of the Saturday service, making her daily commute significantly longer.

“I just don’t think it’s worth spending nearly $100 a month to have to walk 40 minutes to get to the transit centre,” she said.

“I’m not going to be spending money on a bus pass that’s not going to help me get anywhere.”

The commute disruptions were so much for medical laboratory technologist Yashna Beesoon, she started driving to work at the University of Alberta Hospital after parking fees were paused.

Morning trips on her typical route 152 to Belvedere LRT Station start an hour and a half later under the Saturday schedule, too late for Beesoon to get to work on time.

“It is disappointing and disconcerting, I think, for a lot of people who don’t have a vehicle, for the fares to be back to normal, but the service is not back to normal,” she said.

“In many neighbourhoods, the buses on a Saturday schedule simply don’t run at the peak hours when people will be going to work. It’s caused a lot of hardship for a lot of people.”

Starting June 15, bus riders will again need to enter through the front door and present proof of payment to transit operators. Passes already purchased for March can be used for the rest of June, and April passes can be used through July. Late-night shuttles for health-care workers at six medical centres who have lost service will continue and also require payment.

The city has been losing about $10 million per month without transit fare revenues and also laid off about 450 transit operators at the end of April to reduce costs. Steve Bradshaw,

We have seen a slow but steady increase in ridership … We expect the service level to ramp up in parallel with ridership.

president of the local transit union, said he will be calling on the city to ramp up service in line with increasing ridership as the economy reopens and more people rely on transit to get to work.

“Every day when I come to work, I’m trying to get our members back on the job and back behind the wheel where they belong,” he said. “We have seen a slow but steady increase in ridership, overall it’s up. We expect the service level to ramp up in parallel with ridership.”

City spokesman Rowan Anderson confirmed an electronic payment option is being worked on, which can help avoid frequent touching of cash and ticket machines, but couldn’t provide an updated time frame. Pilot testing for the Smart Fare system had previously been scheduled for the fall.