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Edmonton Transit Service
The Edmonton Transit Service (ETS) (previously known as Edmonton Transit System) is the public transit service owned and operated by the City of Edmonton in Alberta, Canada. It operates Edmonton's bus and light rail systems. In 2024, the system had a ridership of 101,043,800, or about 340,800 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2025.
Edmonton Transit Service began operations on 30 October 1908 as the Edmonton Radial Railway (ERR), and alternatively as the Edmonton Radial Tramway. Also in 1908, ERR acquired the Strathcona Radial Tramway Company Limited, and also began servicing the villages of North Edmonton and Calder. The transit service's name was changed to Edmonton Transportation Service in July 1946, but just a year later it was re-named to Edmonton Transit System. The service was re-named to Edmonton Transit Service in 2016.
The Edmonton Radial Railway (ERR) began operations in 1908, both in the City of Edmonton and the neighbouring City of Strathcona, with four streetcars serving 21 kilometres (13 mi) of track. Over ten million riders used the system annually by 1912, and the city purchased 47 additional streetcars. The radial railway reached its peak in 1930, with six lines serving almost all parts of the city, and totaling 77 kilometres (48 mi) of track. The city purchased five modern streetcars in 1930, which featured innovations such as steel bodies and leather seats; these were the last streetcars that Edmonton purchased. The city significantly neglected its streetcar system during the Great Depression, and it suffered from poor maintenance and outdated streetcars. In the late 1930s, Edmonton began to replace streetcar lines with electric trolleybus routes, supplemented by gas and diesel buses, instead of buying new streetcars and repairing or replacing the tracks and overhead lines that had deteriorated during the Depression.
The transition to buses was slowed significantly during the Second World War, and Edmonton had to build additional trackage for its streetcars to meet the spike in transit usage during the war. It was also forced to reintroduce conductors on busy routes, to help operators with selling tickets and issuing transfers; conductors were originally phased out in the 1930s, when streetcars were converted from double-ended to single-ended operations. The Edmonton Radial Railway was renamed to Edmonton Transportation Service in 1946, to signify the decline of Edmonton's streetcar network; it was renamed again just one year later, to Edmonton Transit System.
After some initial postwar hiccups, which necessitated even more streetcar tracks being built as late as in 1946 in order to avoid service gaps, the transition to trolleybuses picked up steam. By 1949, only two streetcar routes remained in service: The Blue Route, and the Blue & White Route, which totaled 27 kilometres (17 mi) in length. In its final configuration, the service went between a turning loop at 109 Street and 84 Avenue, and another loop at 66 Street and 124 Avenue, via the High Level Bridge.
On 1 September 1951, Edmonton streetcar No. 1 – the first streetcar ordered by Edmonton – performed a ceremonial 'last run' across the High Level Bridge while carrying special dignitaries; over 1000 spectators lined its route. Early the next morning, the dignitaries rode streetcar #52 back to the ETS Cromdale shop, which marked the final time that a streetcar was operated by ETS.
All of Edmonton's streetcars, except for #1, were stripped of their valuable materials like steel and electric wiring, and the bodies were sold for scrap. The Edmonton Radial Railway Society (ERRS) has recovered and restored three former Edmonton streetcars, and has another six awaiting restoration. Aside from the three which it recovered and restored, it also operates Edmonton #1, which sat outside in a city yard for over ten years before being restored by volunteers – many of whom who later founded the ERRS.
Trolley bus service in Edmonton started on 24 September 1939, operating on route 5 from 101 Street/Jasper Avenue to 95 Street/111 Avenue. By the end of October of that year, service had started on another route running to 99 Street/Whyte Avenue via the Low Level Bridge. In Edmonton, trolley buses were often referred to simply as "trolleys".
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Edmonton Transit Service
The Edmonton Transit Service (ETS) (previously known as Edmonton Transit System) is the public transit service owned and operated by the City of Edmonton in Alberta, Canada. It operates Edmonton's bus and light rail systems. In 2024, the system had a ridership of 101,043,800, or about 340,800 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2025.
Edmonton Transit Service began operations on 30 October 1908 as the Edmonton Radial Railway (ERR), and alternatively as the Edmonton Radial Tramway. Also in 1908, ERR acquired the Strathcona Radial Tramway Company Limited, and also began servicing the villages of North Edmonton and Calder. The transit service's name was changed to Edmonton Transportation Service in July 1946, but just a year later it was re-named to Edmonton Transit System. The service was re-named to Edmonton Transit Service in 2016.
The Edmonton Radial Railway (ERR) began operations in 1908, both in the City of Edmonton and the neighbouring City of Strathcona, with four streetcars serving 21 kilometres (13 mi) of track. Over ten million riders used the system annually by 1912, and the city purchased 47 additional streetcars. The radial railway reached its peak in 1930, with six lines serving almost all parts of the city, and totaling 77 kilometres (48 mi) of track. The city purchased five modern streetcars in 1930, which featured innovations such as steel bodies and leather seats; these were the last streetcars that Edmonton purchased. The city significantly neglected its streetcar system during the Great Depression, and it suffered from poor maintenance and outdated streetcars. In the late 1930s, Edmonton began to replace streetcar lines with electric trolleybus routes, supplemented by gas and diesel buses, instead of buying new streetcars and repairing or replacing the tracks and overhead lines that had deteriorated during the Depression.
The transition to buses was slowed significantly during the Second World War, and Edmonton had to build additional trackage for its streetcars to meet the spike in transit usage during the war. It was also forced to reintroduce conductors on busy routes, to help operators with selling tickets and issuing transfers; conductors were originally phased out in the 1930s, when streetcars were converted from double-ended to single-ended operations. The Edmonton Radial Railway was renamed to Edmonton Transportation Service in 1946, to signify the decline of Edmonton's streetcar network; it was renamed again just one year later, to Edmonton Transit System.
After some initial postwar hiccups, which necessitated even more streetcar tracks being built as late as in 1946 in order to avoid service gaps, the transition to trolleybuses picked up steam. By 1949, only two streetcar routes remained in service: The Blue Route, and the Blue & White Route, which totaled 27 kilometres (17 mi) in length. In its final configuration, the service went between a turning loop at 109 Street and 84 Avenue, and another loop at 66 Street and 124 Avenue, via the High Level Bridge.
On 1 September 1951, Edmonton streetcar No. 1 – the first streetcar ordered by Edmonton – performed a ceremonial 'last run' across the High Level Bridge while carrying special dignitaries; over 1000 spectators lined its route. Early the next morning, the dignitaries rode streetcar #52 back to the ETS Cromdale shop, which marked the final time that a streetcar was operated by ETS.
All of Edmonton's streetcars, except for #1, were stripped of their valuable materials like steel and electric wiring, and the bodies were sold for scrap. The Edmonton Radial Railway Society (ERRS) has recovered and restored three former Edmonton streetcars, and has another six awaiting restoration. Aside from the three which it recovered and restored, it also operates Edmonton #1, which sat outside in a city yard for over ten years before being restored by volunteers – many of whom who later founded the ERRS.
Trolley bus service in Edmonton started on 24 September 1939, operating on route 5 from 101 Street/Jasper Avenue to 95 Street/111 Avenue. By the end of October of that year, service had started on another route running to 99 Street/Whyte Avenue via the Low Level Bridge. In Edmonton, trolley buses were often referred to simply as "trolleys".