Smart Bus Project

Current State

As of April 2016, over 304 buses are equipped with Smart Bus technology.

Twenty-five bus routes currently use Smart Buses. They are routes 1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 23, 30, 33, 35, 36, 37, 39, 47, 57, 70, 72, 78, 79, 89, 111, 112, 123, 125, 126, 128, 130, 152, 154, 361 and 512. 

Accessing Real-Time Information

Smart Bus real-time tracking information is delivered through a suite of tools known as ETS Live®. This includes a website: ETSLive.edmonton.ca, which is accessible by desktop, portable, tablet or smart phone. There are also two ETS Live® departure boards at the University of Alberta (removed for repairs) and West Edmonton Mall Transit Centres that deliver real-time departures for Smart Bus routes and scheduled departure times for all other routes operating out of these locations.

Transit customers can also access the ETS Live® Email and Ride service by putting their stop number in an email subject line and sending it to ETSLive@edmonton.ca. A response is returned within a few seconds with real-time departures for Smart Bus routes and scheduled times for all other routes passing the stop requested.

A free mobile app, ETS Live® To Go, can be downloaded for Apple devices from the iTunes store and for Android devices from the Google Play store. Users of Windows or BlackBerry smartphones can access similar functionality by using their mobile phone browser to access ETS Live® Bus Finder.

ETS Live® GTFS-realtime can be found in the City of Edmonton's Open Data Catalogue. This data is available for developers to provide real-time updates about our system.

Future State

With City Council approval of Smart Bus funding, ETS is developing a plan to retrofit all remaining buses in its fleet with Smart Bus technology. Details and timelines will be shared as they become known.

Project History

A smart bus is a bus equipped with a combination of modern electronics that allows the bus to send, receive and broadcast digital information. With the addition of enhanced information and communication technology, information can be provided to customers in real-time, and improvements to accessibility, safety, and collection of data (such as passenger counts) that assists transit planners when designing service are made possible.

Smart Bus allows us to improve public transit reliability. With a fleet of buses approaching 1,000 (currently 932), it’s no longer possible to manage incidents such as service delays and disruptions using two-way radios. The Transit Control Centre needs technology tools such as automatic vehicle location (AVL) and computer-aided dispatch (CAD) to keep service running on time.

Smart Bus allows us to improve public transit predictability. Citizens take about 400,000 trips on ETS on a typical weekday and with over 7,300 stops, new technology is needed to keep riders informed about the status of their bus in real-time.

Smart Bus allows us to improve public transit accessibility and safety. Automated stop announcements (ASA), now required by law in several jurisdictions, let passengers know which stop is coming up and provide assistance to persons with disabilities so they can function more independently. Enhanced security features such as automatic vehicle location and live look-in capability for camera-equipped buses, allows Transit Control to respond to emergency issues quickly and effectively.

Furthermore, the onboard technology on Smart Buses contains the necessary telecommunications and information technology infrastructure to handle the upcoming City Council-approved electronic fare payment system, known as Smart Fare.

In January 2011, City Council approved $3.4 million to implement a Smart Bus project within Edmonton Transit. An additional $350,000 was added through a supplemental budget adjustment for a total of $3.75 million.

Through the first phase of the Smart Bus project, 45 buses were equipped with Smart Bus technology.
In 2013, nine new buses were purchased. All new buses purchased by Edmonton Transit now come equipped with Smart Bus technology.

In 2014, another 250 buses were retrofitted with the technology through funding from the Council-approved Smart Fare project.

In December 2014, City Council approved a further $10.15 million to equip an additional 500 ETS buses with Smart Bus technology.

Progress Reports

2013 - 2014

2012

For More Information

Contact ETS Customer Service Centre

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