Edmonton Bus Line (1890's)
Omnibus operation between Edmonton and the railway station at South Edmonton (later Strathcona). Service timed to coordinate with railway arrivals and
departures.
In 1901 other omnibus operators running scheduled service between Edmonton and
Strathcona were
D.E. Cameron and
N. Leclerc (Tingley p. 10).
Perhaps discontinued when the two communities were linked by the
Edmonton, Yukon & Pacific Railway Co. in 1902, but certainly the
market would have dried up when the street railway opened in 1908.
Edmonton Street Railway Company (No Operation)
Incorporated
1894 (Dom.) to operate street railway in Edmonton. Franchise secured
from the Town of Edmonton 1903. $10,000.00 performance bond forfeited
1905. (Dorman et al.)
Edmonton Radial Railway (30 October 1908 - 16 July 1946)
Municipal operation. Also cited in law as
Edmonton Radial Tramway.
Municipality authorized 1893 (NWT) to construct and/or operate tramways.
Authorized 1908 (Alta) to operate tramways in Edmonton and for 80 miles (128 km) in any
direction. This included operation to St. Paul, St. Albert,
Morinville, Lacombe, Namao, Athabasca Landing,
Fort Saskatchewan, and Daysland. (None of this was ever done).
Acquired 26 August 1908 the
Strathcona Radial Tramway Company Limited
(incorporated 08 October 1904, NWT) which held, from 30 September 1907,
an exclusive franchise to operate tramways in the City of Strathcona.
In addition to the cities of Edmonton and Strathcona, service was also extended
to the villages of North Edmonton and Calder.
ERR name changed to ETS 1946.
(Photo: NewDavesRailPix)
Edmonton Transportation System (16 July 1946 - 29 April 1947)
Municipal operation. Name changed again in 1947.
Edmonton Transit System (29 April 1947 - 14 November 2016) |
|
circa 1950s circa 1960s-1977 1977-1997 1997-present |
Service area population | 606,000 (1991) | Vehicle fleet | 713 buses, 98 trolleybuses, 37 LR cars (2000) |
Employees | 1744 (1991) |
Ridership | 68,493,582 (2009) | Data Sources: | CUTA 1991/2 CTHF/SSG 2000 CTF [Aug. 2010] (ridership) |
Edmonton Transit Service (14 November 2016 - present)
Organization's formal name changed from Edmonton Transit System to Edmonton Transit Service circa November 2016.
Secondary Systems
Edmonton, Yukon & Pacific Railway Company (1902 - 1929)
Between 1902 and 1929 the EY&P operated passenger trains between Strathcona and Edmonton. Schedule was 4 times/day in the 1920s.
Edmonton Incline Railway (20 May 1908 - circa 1913)
Incorporated 1907.
A funicular (incline railway) operating at the foot of First Street.
Closed when a more convenient river crossing opened.
Beverly Transportation (circa 1922)
Probably short-lived bus transportation between Edmonton and Beverly. Owner
Victor Lelland Kellough. Kellough is listed in the 1922 city directory as the proprietor of
Radial Bus & Taxi Service. (photo: YouTube).
[Forest Heights Bus Service] (circa 06 May 1937 - 1946?)
Bus service connecting the Forest Heights and Riverdale neighbourhoods
with downtown Edmonton. Owned by
John Carlson, and then
Wallace Storey.
Service received subsidy from the City of Edmonton.
Service sold by Storey to
Bus Universal Supply of Alberta Ltd. circa October 1938.
(research by Martin Parsons 2012).
[Beverly Bus Service] (1930s? - 1950?)
Serving the Town of Beverly.
Initial ownership either in the hands of
Diamond Bus Lines (sole proprietor
Nicholas Mazatiuk) according to City clerk (April 1937) or jointly held by
Sunburst Motor Coaches and
William A. Quick (October 1938).
Route and bus sold October 1938 to
Bus Universal Supply of Alberta Ltd.
(research by Martin Parsons 2012).
Checker Taxi Cab Company Ltd. (circa 1940 - circa 1946)
Authorized to operate a public bus service between downtown Edmonton and Blatchford Field (airport) for the duration of World War II plus six months. Established to
serve the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan facility.
(research by Martin Parsons 2012).
Beverly Bus Lines Ltd. (1951 or before - 31 December 1961)
Serving Beverly (Sullivan).
Town annexed by Edmonton 01 January 1962.
(Edmonton Journal Jan. 02, 1962, p. 21).
Diamond Bus Lines Ltd. (circa 1947 - 16 August 1964)
Serving Jasper Place.
Real estate advertising for Jasper Place mention bus service as early as
1940.
Town annexed by Edmonton 17 August 1964. (Sullivan)
(photos: William A. Luke, Peter Cox).
Edmonton Radial Railway Society (14 June 1997 - present (seasonal May to October)) |
Mechanized River Valley Access (09 December 2017 - present)
A funicular (incline railway) operating at the foot of 100 Street NW.
Service is fare free. Vehicle is unstaffed. Responsibility for day-to-day operation falls to the
City of Edmonton.
Research also found October 1938 correspondence with the City regarding a private bus service to operate on Fort Road between 118th Avenue and a point two blocks past the Transit Hotel on 66th Street (to 66th St./130th Ave. or Fort Rd./64th St.?). The C. Kruger Bus Line received permission from the Edmonton Radial Railway Superintendant to operate one bus, a 1933 Chevrolet with a 26 passenger body. It is unclear if this service was operated, or for how long. (Martin Parsons 2012).
Funicular | 20 May 1908 - circa 1913, 09 December 2017 - present |
Electric railway | 30 October 1908 - 01 September 1951> | Light rail transit | 23 April 1978* - present | Electric railway (heritage) | 14 June 1997 - present (seasonal May to October) | Motor bus | 1932 - present | Trolley coach | 24 September 1939 - 02 May 2009 |
The author is always interested in comments, corrections and further information. Please email to: dawwpg@shaw.ca This page last modified: Tuesday, 13-Dec-2022 12:04:04 CST