City of Edmonton to launch Arc fare payment system for youth and students Sept. 25

The city of Edmonton, Alberta, will be expanding Arc, the Edmonton region’s electronic fare payment system, to youth and student riders.

Starting Sept. 25, Edmonton riders 24 and under, riders ages 18 and under in other parts of the region and student riders who are not part of the U-Pass or school board transit programs can sign up for youth and student Arc fare profiles and begin using Arc. The youth and student fare groups join U-Pass and standard adult riders who have been using Arc since August 2021 and November 2022, respectively.

With Arc, riders can:

• Conveniently tap on and off buses and light-rail transit without having to carry exact change or paper tickets and passes
• Sign up, check their balance and add money to their Arc accounts anytime, anywhere, including online, by phone or on site at transit centers
• Load as little as $4—or as much as they need— to their Arc accounts
• Load money on their accounts using credit, debit or cash
• Avoid paying upfront for a monthly pass t regional price caps

Arc is also being rolled out to youth participating in school board transit programs in a phased approach throughout the 2023-2024 school year.

“We’re thrilled to offer Arc to youth and students more broadly. Youth are one of our largest and most active ridership groups and Arc will provide them with more convenient and flexible access to transit service,” said Carrie Hotton-MacDonald, branch manager of Edmonton Transit Service (ETS). "Arc has a number of key benefits, including the ability to pay-as-you-go, fare capping, and loading money to an account with credit, debit or cash, which will make it easier for youth riders to get to the places they need to go.”

“The City of St. Albert is pleased to be a part of this important regional initiative and to see its continued expansion to include another key passenger group,” said Service Delivery Manager of St. Albert Transit Will Steblyk.“We look forward to bringing additional riders on board in the near future.”

While youth and student riders can start using Arc on September 25, riders who already have a September monthly transit pass are advised to wait to start tapping on and off the system until October 1 to receive the full benefit of the monthly fare cap. The monthly fare caps are the same price as existing monthly transit passes. Once riders reach the monthly fare cap, they can ride transit for free for the rest of that month.

Starting the week of Sept. 25, staff and outreach teams from the participating transit agencies will be handing out complimentary Arc cards while supplies last to youth and student riders at various transit centers and light-rail transit stations across the Edmonton region. Complimentary Arc cards for the fare group will also be available at select recreation centers and in-person service centers across the region. For riders’ convenience, pick-up locations and the outreach team schedules will be shared on the participating transit agencies’ social channels and/or websites.

“Strathcona County is excited to see the regional Arc project expand to our tech-savvy youth and students throughout the Edmonton region,” said Wade Coombs, director of transit, Strathcona County. “Youth are the future of our transit system and this technology provides a more affordable and convenient transit experience for one of our larger passenger groups.”