From January to September 2024, Edmonton Transit Service (ETS) ridership has grown by 14 per cent compared to 2023, which the city said continues one of the strongest post-pandemic ridership recoveries in the country.
On Tuesday, the city said ETS is on track to record nearly 60 million riders in 2024 — up from 53 million in 2023.
Broken down, bus ridership (which represents more than 70 per cent of overall transit ridership) is up 13.6 per cent and LRT is up 33 per cent.
“It’s not surprising if you’re somebody who takes public transit — if you ride the bus, if you ride the train,” said city councillor Michael Janz. “Whether it’s the outrageous costs of automobile insurance, cost of gas or just convenience, more and more people are choosing public transit.”
The city said bus ridership recovered to pre-pandemic levels in 2023 and has continued to grow each month in 2024.
LRT ridership on the Metro and Capital LRT Lines has also increased significantly in 2024, meeting pre-pandemic levels in the fall. The opening of the 13-kilometre Valley Line southeast from Mill Woods to downtown last fall contributed to further LRT ridership growth.
In the first six months of the line being open, it saw 85,000 additional monthly riders. Overall, the city said nearly two million trips have been taken on that LRT line between when it opened in November 2023 and this past August.
The city said 120,000 service hours were added to the transit network in 2023 and while such investments help ease the pressure on transit service, the gap between current service levels and the transit service standards continues to expand as the city’s population and neighbourhoods grow.
ETS launched its current bus network in April 2021 and the city said year-over-year monthly ridership has increased for 42 consecutive months.
Last month, the city said monthly ridership exceeded six million for the first time, in part due to students heading back to school and other riders returning to fall routines.
“We’re seeing a recovery that’s, I think, working really, really well — especially on peak routes and that’s a credit to our bus network redesign,” Janz said.
Overall, ridership has exceeded pre-pandemic levels by 12 per cent since the beginning of the year, the city said.
“We’ve been investing in the transit network and are proud to deliver equitable, accessible and convenient service that will continue to meet the needs of riders,” said Edmonton Transit Service branch manager Carrie Hotton-MacDonald.
“We’re working to make it easier for people to choose transit, and are excited to see this positive response. We’re thankful for our riders and the growth we’ve been experiencing.”
The city said Edmonton is one of five cities in Canada with a high-frequency transit grid, meaning it provides transit in the core at least every 15 minutes most times of day, seven days a week.
ETS has 120 regular bus routes, 50 school routes, three LRT lines (the Valley, Capital and Metro lines) an on-demand transit service and DATS.
Janz said more growth is needed in areas where people don’t take the bus or train because using their own vehicle is quicker and is less hassle.
“If we make transit the convenient choice, that means more service hours, more investment: keep building the trains, keep building the buses, keep adding the bus rapid transit. If we do that, we’re going to continue to see enormous growth in transit.”
The city said ETS continually analyzes data to ensure the system is efficient and effective. This includes making service adjustments five times each year, based on transit data, rider feedback, seasonal changes and ridership growth.