a day ago
Back-to-school bus service starts Aug. 31
Edmonton Transit Service's (ETS) fall service begins Aug. 31 as students head back to school.
Various bus routes, including school special routes, will see service adjustments to reflect heightened ridership patterns.
There will be three new school routes that will start on Sept. 2:
Route 611 will serve Cardinal Léger Junior High from the Lago Lindo and Klarvatten neighbourhoods from the Eaux Claires Transit Centre
Route 628 will serve Steele Heights school and will operate through the Cy Baker and McConachie neighbourhoods
Route 638 will provide service to J. Percy Page and Holy Trinity High Schools and will run through Aurora, Orchards, Summerside and Ellerslie neighbourhoods
Adjustments have been made to several routes to better link neighbourhoods with their designated schools based on enrollment numbers:
Route 612 will be rerouted through the Mayliewan, Ozerna, Matt Berry and Hollick-Kenyon neighbourhoods and will no longer stop at 95 Street and 132 Avenue
Route 614 will now run through Griesbach, Beaumaris, Lorelei and Baturyn. It will continue to serve O'Leary, St. Cecilia, Killarney and Queen Elizabeth schools. ETS notes that riders who travel along 97 Street to Queen Elizabeth and Killarney schools are encouraged to take Route 130X
Route 620 will now end in the Brintnell neighbourhood instead of travelling to Clareview Transit Centre. This will allow the bus to better serve Matt Berry, Hollick Kenyon and Brintnell
Route 626 will be slightly rerouted to better serve McConachie and Cy Becker neighbourhoods due to growing ridership demand. Riders in Matt Berry travelling to O'Leary and St. Cecilia schools are encouraged to take route 612
Routes 630 and 631 have been rerouted to better serve Ottewell Road
Routes 623 and 675 have been cancelled due to low ridership.
Those who took Route 623 around Londonderry and M.E. LaZerte can access Routes 54, 107, 113, 114, 620, 621 and 626. Route 114 can also be used by former 623 riders along 82 Street.
On Demand service may be an option for those who took Route 675 travelling to S. Bruce Smith School.
On Demand transit in Riverdale will start one hour earlier at 6 a.m. on weekdays starting Aug. 31.
In late September, riders in Glenora will have temporary access to On Demand service along 102 Avenue due to the Wellington Bridge closure. Those living on the west side of the bridge will have 142 Street as their hub while those on the east side will have 124 Street. ETS will provide further details come September.
Transit service will be reduced on holidays in alignment with public, Catholic and post-secondary school calendars.
Other service changes include:
Route 4: Short trips between University and Bonnie Doon will no longer use 79 Street, resulting in the closure on bus stop #2299. Riders can board at stop #2196 on 83 Street and 90 Avenue southbound
Route 106: Due to traffic congestion at 97 Street at 137 Avenue, this route will be permanently rerouted between Belvedere Transit Centre and Northgate Transit Centre, operating along 90 Street and 135 Avenue rather than 97 Street and 132 Avenue
Routes 114/123: Both of these routes will be combined into Route 114. The current routing between Clareview Transit Centre and Northgate Transit Centre will remain the same. From Northgate Transit Centre to Coliseum Transit Centre, the combined route will operate along 97 Street, 132 Avenue, 90 Street, 130 Avenue and 82 Street before continuing on to Coliseum Transit Centre
Route 111: This route will operate clockwise on major roads around Kingsway Mall and will no longer directly access the mall parking lot. The route will also be extended from Stadium Transit Centre to Concordia University
Route 501: The frequency of this route will be adjusted to reduce layover time at transit centres
Several construction projects will continue to cause transit detours through the fall. Details on detours can be found here.
ETS encourages riders to plan their trips ahead of time by using the trip planner or Google Maps. Note that service changes won't show up unless the date chosen to ride is after Aug. 31.
