News - June 2013

The Every Day Way to get to Eskimos Home Games

June 14 is the first home game for the Edmonton Eskimos, and our very popular Green and Go program is back this year, giving Eskimo fans the ability to use their game day tickets to travel free on ETS to and from home games.

Riding on LRT or regular ETS service,  your game starts until two hours after it ends.  It’s also your ticket to ride on ETS Football Park & Ride service.

The Green and Go program is a collaboration between the City of Edmonton and the Edmonton Eskimos to reduce football parking pressure in the surrounding neighbourhoods, reduce traffic congestion, and improve pedestrian safety around Commonwealth Stadium.  

Enjoy the game, and remember to keep your ticket stub for your return trip.

ETS Safe Driver Awards  

Congratulations to the 1083 ETS operators who achieved a Safe Driving Award for 2012! 

ETS Operators deal with the challenges of growing ridership and increased congestion on our roads every day. It is no small feat to maintain the outstanding driving records they have set.

A special salute is in order for those operators who have achieved a remarkable 30 years and more of safe driving awards throughout their careers! Congratulations to:

38 years

• James Hansen Sr.

36 years

• Roderick Westlin.

35 years

• Ronald Hrabec, Greg Schultz, John Tait, Maurice Wolshlager.

34 years

• Stanley Hartzel, John Kostelny, Douglas Leeds, Carmine Mazzuca, William McDonald, Barry Smith, Robert Lynn Strachan, Joe White, and Kenneth Wright.

32 years

• Wayne Auger, Dave Boxall, Ken Brotherston, Garry Cattoni, Allan Cox, Scott Douglas Ryan, Len Scherger and Larry Waselenchuk.

31 years

• Ian Adams, Philippe Arpin, John Braidwood, Fiore Bruno, Bruce Cadieux, Cesar Daus, Kevin Devlin, Ricky Hipperson, Donald Hitsman, Birgit Hoeger, Clifford Ible, Hugo Jensen, Gerald Klassen, Mitchel Kowal, Daniel Linder,  Glen Sargent, David Tiedemann, and Hussein Velji.

30 years 

• Luisito Angeles, Robert Churchill, William Day, Brian Deakin, Robert Gillard, John Lukash, Richard Ould, Sardool Parmar, Andy Schwehr, George Sprenger and Kumar Weerasooriya. 

LRT Service Disruptions

ETS is preparing for a number of LRT system upgrades during summer and fall of 2013 that will affect service to our customers. Some upgrades are required for routine operation, maintenance and safety while others are required for the connection to the Metro Line (North LRT to NAIT) that is scheduled to begin operation in spring 2014.

The rail replacement project is finished, however guard rails along the northbound track are scheduled for installation on weekends in early June. Installation will require single tracking through the construction area.

The level crossings at 66 Street and 82 Street are scheduled to be replaced June 22 and 23.  Bus replacement service between Clareview and Central stations will be provided for the weekend.  

As well, the project to replace the warning tile on the Bay/Enterprise Square Station platform continues this month.

Mind the Gap at Stadium Station

The reconstruction of Stadium LRT Station platform is underway, and this is a reminder for customers to ‘mind the gap’ when boarding trains.

Customers boarding trains using the temporary wooden platforms need to be aware that the curvature of the track along the temporary platform extensions has resulted in larger than doors. 

We suggest that customers using mobility aids board the trains via the middle cars to avoid any issues with access.

Summer Service Changes

During July and August when schools are closed for summer vacation and many Edmontonians take time away from work, we usually experience a reduction in transit ridership.

Starting June 30, we’ll be making changes to our service to make it more compatible with customer demand.  Seasonal changes include removing school service for students and reducing the number of buses used for the weekday morning and afternoon commute.

These seasonal changes will be in effect until the end of August.  Normal service resumes in September.

A brief reminder that there will be a number of service disruptions along the LRT system this summer as we prepare for the connection to the Metro Line (North LRT to NAIT) scheduled to begin operation in spring 2014.

Check the ETS Trip Planner or call BusLink at 780-496-1600 or call 311 for complete route and schedule details. If you’re calling from outside Edmonton, phone 780-442-5311.

ETS Receives National Award

ETS was pleased to accept a national award at the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA) 2013 Annual Conference at the end of May.

The ETS S'no Fun to Fall – Slips and Falls Prevention Initiative received the 2013 CUTA National Award in the Safety and Security category. This award recognizes transit organizations for their commitment to enhancing the safety and security of transit employees and/or customers through the development and implementation of effective safety and/or security programs.

This non-traditional approach was a fun and engaging way to educate/inform employees about slips, trips and falls. It included posters, brochures, coupons for slip-resistant footwear, and a contest that had supervisory staff 'sole checking' employee footwear. 

We’re very pleased to have our efforts recognized by our peers on a national level.

For more information:

Contact Customer Services

Facebook	http://www.facebook.com/takeETS