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ETS Bus and General Transit Improvements

Long ago, 2015 or so, I suggested that WEM & Southgate should be paying for extra service on route 4 for Boxing Day (8am-1pm) and Saturday/Sunday midday (1pm-7pm) (7.5 min frequency). I also was annoyed that ETS was adding service to route 4 while route 2 was annoyingly overloaded and unreliable weekday early evenings and Sunday midday with no willingness to increase from 30 minutes.

In the old network, those extra 4 trips used to run to South Campus instead of University, so it was blatantly obvious that intent was to facilitate access via LRT at South Campus. With the redesign, those trips were extended to University on Saturday and extra Sunday midday service was eliminated.

Too bad WEM & Southgate are probably unwilling to openly sponsor transit service.
 
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Highest Q3 numbers we've had in APTA since 2019
 
Kosy123 said:
View attachment 700186
Highest Q3 numbers we've had in APTA since 2019
Click to expand...

These numbers are very positive and a source of pride right now at ETS. Just everyone don't freak out too much when Q4 numbers are released and it shows a huge decline. The three weeks of school strike had ridership down 25% on the buses. LRT is not as affected but Q4 numbers will be brutal.
 
dkazzed said:
Interesting that aside from Bow Valley, York Transit, and GO Transit, everyone is down Sep 25 compared to Sep 24, and half are down Year to Sept 25 vs Year to Sept 24 (Edmonton is up)
Click to expand...
I mean my bad take theories are:
- Edmonton's population growth contributing to ridership growth (this one's obvious)
- More infill around LRT helping a bit? The amount around Valley Line SE is subtle but expansive.
- CoE actually investing more in transit having an effect?
- Super unfounded but transit safety perception hit us earlier than other transit systems, so we're getting earlier recovery than other transit systems?
- Downtown recovery and RTO. Probably going to get a boost in February as well, but as downtown grows, LRT ridership grows.
- Post secondary institutional strength contributing to LRT ridership numbers
- Driving becoming a pain. Overheard multiple people finding it anxious to drive and switching to public transport for bad weather conditions and bad drivers.
 
Blizzard said:
These numbers are very positive and a source of pride right now at ETS. Just everyone don't freak out too much when Q4 numbers are released and it shows a huge decline. The three weeks of school strike had ridership down 25% on the buses. LRT is not as affected but Q4 numbers will be brutal.
Click to expand...
If open payment launches on December 8 as intended, hopefully that'll help boost the numbers a bit more. If someone needs to head a few blocks down Whyte, go to an event, or are from out of town, being able to tap something they already have with no extra thought or effort needed, ETS will be that much more competitive with other options (including walking).
 
CplKlinger said:
If open payment launches on December 8 as intended, hopefully that'll help boost the numbers a bit more. If someone needs to head a few blocks down Whyte, go to an event, or are from out of town, being able to tap something they already have with no extra thought or effort needed, ETS will be that much more competitive with other options (including walking).
Click to expand...
Is open payment going to be based on regular $3.50 fares? Just realized that might give a big boost to fare revenue when that happens.
 
Kosy123 said:
Is open payment going to be based on regular $3.50 fares? Just realized that might give a big boost to fare revenue when that happens.
Click to expand...
I was under the impression that anyone using a card of any type (Arc Card, debit card, credit card) would be paying $3.00 while anyone using cash or purchasing an Arc Ticket from a vending machine would be paying $3.75. This is to encourage everyone to either just have an Arc Card or tap with debit or credit.

Here's a memo I came across: "Customers utilizing Tap to Pay can still benefit from fare concessions and daily and monthly fare caps, if they consistently use the same payment method. The physical and digital versions of the same card are two different payment methods. Multiple riders travelling together will each require a unique methods of payment. Customers are not required to register their cards, unless they are applying for a fare concession (student, senior, etc.). ETS paper tickets are accepted as valid payment until the end of 2025."
 
Tapping debit/credit on most transit systems is the same as cash fare. But Edmonton made the best decision of going to fare capping rather than paying up front and loading monthly passes, so they could surprise us in a good way (or bad way and tack on a $1.25 convenience fee)
 
Kosy123 said:
I mean my bad take theories are:
- Edmonton's population growth contributing to ridership growth (this one's obvious)
- More infill around LRT helping a bit? The amount around Valley Line SE is subtle but expansive.
- CoE actually investing more in transit having an effect?
- Super unfounded but transit safety perception hit us earlier than other transit systems, so we're getting earlier recovery than other transit systems?
- Downtown recovery and RTO. Probably going to get a boost in February as well, but as downtown grows, LRT ridership grows.
- Post secondary institutional strength contributing to LRT ridership numbers
- Driving becoming a pain. Overheard multiple people finding it anxious to drive and switching to public transport for bad weather conditions and bad drivers.
Click to expand...
Crosstown routes are doing well.
IMG_3955.jpeg
 
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