Edmonton planners are hoping the province will help fund an initiative that would make taking public transit less cumbersome, with riders able to use one refillable card instead of having to buy tickets or bus passes.
The Smart Card received approval from a city committee Tuesday, allowing city planners to take the next step.
If implemented, riders would have to swipe their cards at some sort of reader before boarding buses or the LRT.
Stephen Mandel is in favour of the new system because he says it would eliminate the need for users to count out change or decided between tickets or a monthly bus pass.
"I think with a Smart Card you can open up new avenues. So you can put on there ten single fares at $3 a piece and then if you use it 15 times, it goes down to cheaper," said the Mayor. "So you can really create a card that's very dynamic."
Edmonton Transit officials say the fully digital system would also mean more efficiency because it would allow them to track passenger volumes in real time, seeing which routes need increased or decreased service.
"The data we can get, the convenience we can give to customers, the flexibility," said spokesperson Patricia Waisman of the benefits she sees. "You can do all sorts of novel things that would be so exciting and I think would attract customers to want to use transit."
When the initiative was first introduced three years ago, the estimated cost of switching over the entire system was pegged at $22.5 million. It's expected that figure has gone up.
The Mayor tells CTV News he hopes to see money set by the time budget deliberations are sorted by the end of this year.
With Files from Bill Fortier
