Four years after the City of Edmonton first revealed it was introducing a digital fare payment system, transit riders will now be able to use their own debit and credit cards.
“It’s here, finally,” said Carrie Hotton-MacDonald, branch manager of Edmonton Transit Service. “I know a lot of people have been waiting for this moment.”
The Edmonton Transit Service announced the Arc card account-based electronic fare payment system in the summer of 2021.
The Arc system went into effect in the fall of 2022, allowing people using public transit to pay their LRT or bus fare using the tap-on, tap-off electronic payment system.
However, it required users to purchase an Arc card for $6, and then load the card with money.
Now, transit riders can pay by tapping any of the following payment methods directly on an Arc validator:
• Mastercard (credit and debit)
• Visa (credit and debit)
• Interac Debit
• American Express
• Google Wallet
• Apple Pay
• Samsung Wallet
The city said the new fare options are available in all the surrounding municipalities also using Arc: Beaumont, Fort Saskatchewan, Spruce Grove, St. Albert and Strathcona County.
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“It’s really about building that convenient, easy-to-access Edmonton Transit System that can support a growing city and really connect people to the region,” Hotton-MacDonald said.
Internal and external testing began at the beginning of 2025 as part of the process of opening up the system. The city and surrounding communities also upgraded the system’s hardware, which has enhanced security.
The city said it took a while to implement more payment options to the Arc system because ETS took a regional approach and collaborated with the surrounding municipalities.
“We each have our own approaches to faring, so there was a more complex kind of fare structure to navigate in this implementation,” Hotton-MacDonald said.
Riders are not required to set up an account and can simply tap on and off without needing to load an Arc card or carry exact change.
“It breaks down barriers for new and occasional users who may have had trouble using our system or understanding our fare payment system before, who can now very easily get on a train or bus,” said Daniel Witte with the Edmonton Transit Riders non-profit organization.
He said how to pay for transit is one of the main things the transit advocacy group hears about from riders, who have long said more options would make their lives and commutes easier.
“It adds flexibility and security for regular riders of our transit system.”
The city said when riders use the same payment method every time, they will benefit from daily and monthly standard adult fare caps.
However, physical and digital versions of the same card are considered by the Arc system to be two different cards — and will have separate fare caps — so riders should pick one payment method and use it consistently.
Tapping to pay with a physical or digital credit or debit card will also be available to those with fare concessions or discounted fares — including seniors, youth and individuals experiencing low income — but will require them to apply the concession to their payment card via their online account.
“Making it a seamless process is incredibly important,” Witte said.
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People who have a U-Pass or school board pass must continue to use their Arc card for the duration of their school term.
Arc cards and tickets, as well as cash fares on buses, will continue to be accepted as valid fare payment.
“I think there’s always gonna be a segment of riders who like the convenience of having an automatic reloaded Arc card and they’ve set it up and they feel that that meets their needs,” Hotton-MacDonald said.
“There’s others who aren’t as comfortable using, let’s say, their phones or their cards directly when they’re doing e-commerce-related retail transactions.
“So I think there’s always gonna be a need, but we should see the number of people using the actual plastic Arc cards come down a bit.”
The cards can still be bought at Arc fare vending machines at transit centres and LRT stations, and at participating retailers.
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