City hall jumps on the bus

Five councillors take up TRUE challenge to travel only by transit for a week

Published: November 18, 2008 5:29 a.m.

Last modified: November 18, 2008 1:31 a.m.

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Transit needs to be improved across the city, say five councillors who vowed to travel only by transit for the next week.

Coun. Dave Thiele, along with four other councillors, have agreed to use the service to get around the city for the next week under a new challenge by the Transit Riders Union of Edmonton (TRUE).

“I think this puts a profile on transit within our city, and anyone can use transit,” said Thiele. “They just have to plan around it when they use it.”

Councillors Don Iveson, Ben Henderson, Amarjeet Sohi and Linda Sloan are also taking part in the challenge.

Sohi, a former bus driver, told reporters that municipal leaders will have a better understanding in how to handle transit issues if they use the system.

TRUE made the challenge public in a forum at the City Centre Mall yesterday that will “coincide with the city’s budget deliberations, which afforded an opportunity to increase the transit budget and reconsider the proposed fare increase,” the group said on its website.

“Councillors will gain an appreciation for the strengths and weaknesses of Edmonton’s transit system, and will be able to base their future decisions on first-hand experience,” said the group in a statement.

Edmonton Transit is going through a period of transition as it prepares to open a new light rail extension to the south side and scrap its venerable fleet of trolley buses.

All of the city’s nearly 50 trolleys and overhead lines will be scrapped and replaced by hybrid diesel buses that city bureaucrats say will be more efficient, less expensive and better for the environment.

The decision will save the city $100 million in trolley maintenance costs over the next 18 years, city officials say. That money will be put toward operating the LRT and hybrid buses.