Transportation

In Transit Newsletter - August 2009

The Everyday Way to Ride Back to School

ETS has a major outreach program in place to provide service and program information for the start of the new school year for students at NAIT, MacEwan and University of Alberta.

ETS staff will be at the U of A, MacEwan and NAIT campuses in early September. Check www.takeETS.com for details of our back to school activities.

The Fall 09 U-Pass will be available for students at MacEwan and U of A during the registration process.

Student school monthly passes for elementary, junior high and high school students are valid for travel every day of the week. Students can buy their passes at the schools they attend.

Fall service changes start August 30.

Take ETS to the Fringe

The Fringe Theatre Festival is staging a Revolution this year from August 13 to 23, and you can join them by traveling on ETS.

Catch a free ride home from the Fringe site after 6pm every day. Show your Fringe program or Fringe-Friendly sticker to your ETS operator and you can ride home for free from bus stops on 82 Avenue between 99 and 109 Street. Transfers to connecting buses are also free when leaving Fringe.

For more information, call 311, check the ETS Trip Planner or http://www.fringetheatreadventures.ca/.

LRT Service Disruption

ETS is upgrading the signal system between Corona and South Campus LRT stations from Friday, August 7 to Sunday, August 9.

There will be no LRT service between Corona and South Campus stations in the evenings from 7pm until the end of service each day. Trains will continue to provide regular service between Corona and Clareview Stations.

Bus contingency service will operate between South Campus and Churchill stations while the LRT is shut down.

For more information, call 311 or look for posters in the LRT stations for service details.

Civic Holiday Service

All ETS routes will operate on their regular Sunday service schedules on the Civic Holiday, Monday, August 3.

Transit information is available by calling 311. The ETS Customer Services Centre including Lost & Found will be closed.

Check the ETS Trip Planner or call BusLink at 780-496-1600 for service information.

ETS to Servus Heritage Festival

ETS is offering Park & Ride service to the Servus Heritage Festival from nine sites this year, providing service on all three days of the Festival. Service hours on Saturday, August 1 are from 11:30am to 10pm. Sunday, August 2 and Monday, August 3 hours are 9:30am to 10pm.

We have continuous Park & Ride service from Bus Stop #1939 (116 St/Jasper Ave southbound), Davies Lot (61 Ave/86 St eastbound), Calder Lot (124 St/124 Ave), University Windsor Car Park (116 St/92 Ave), Burns City Lot (70 St/121 Ave), Holiday Inn (44A St/76 Ave), University Shuttle (114 St/89 Ave), MacEwan Lot (111 St/104 Ave) and NAIT Parkade (118 Ave/107 St). University Windsor Car Park, NAIT and MacEwan charge for parking.

Five popular neighbourhood shuttle routes provide continuous service on a 10 minute frequency to the Festival site.

In the west end, the Callingwood/Lessard route loops through the two neighbourhoods, stopping at all regular bus stops and then travels express from 170 Street to the Festival site. The West Edmonton shuttle loops through West Edmonton and Meadowlark neighbourhoods and travels express to Hawrelak Park.

Shuttle routes travel through the southwest neighbourhoods of Riverbend, Twin Brooks and Yellowbird stopping at all regular bus stops, and then run express service directly to the Festival site.

We’re charging regular ETS cash fares and accepting ETS monthly passes, transfers, tickets, day passes and annual senior passes.

Our Family Fare, using an ETS Day Pass, lets you take your family (one adult and up to four children 12 years and under) to and from the Heritage Festival for only $7.50.

Check the ETS Trip Planner, call 311 or call BusLink at 780-496-1600 for service information.

New Art at Southgate

Two 20 foot tall legs in striped stockings and clogs are difficult to miss, especially when they’re located in the middle of Southgate Transit Centre.

“Immense Mode” is a brick and glass mosaic sculpture that was chosen through a juried selection process to be the public art component of the new transit centre.

This whimsical ‘ode to the commuter’ is a significant accomplishment in craft practice. Artists Dawn Detarando and Brian McArthur have used thousands of hand-fired bricks to create the sculpture. It’s also a significant engineering accomplishment. Each leg weighs 21,000 lbs and both PCL Construction and Stantec Consulting have been involved to ensure the structural stability of the art.

And, when you consider that it competes with the general busyness of the area plus the newly renovated Southgate Mall for attention - size counts.

Take ETS to Edmonton Folk Music Festival

ETS has been contracted to provide Park & Ride service to this year’s Edmonton Folk Music Festival, August 6 - 9.

Buses pickup and drop off at the south east corner of the University of Alberta Butterdome (87 Ave/114 St westbound). Parking at the University is $4.20 per day when you tell the attendant you’re going to the Folk Festival.

Buses run continuously on a 30 minute schedule on Wednesday from 5pm to 11:30pm, on Thursday from 3:30pm to 11:30 pm, on Friday from 3:30pm to 1am, on Saturday from 8:30am to 1am, and on Sunday from 8:30am to 11:30pm.

Fares are cash only. One way fare for an adult is $2.50, children ages 6 - 15 pay $1 and children under 5 traveling with a fare paying adult ride free. ETS passes, tickets and transfers are not valid for payment.

For service information see www.efmf.ab.ca.