FlixBus pilot project connects Edmonton and Camrose
The six-week pilot project will allow riders to travel between Edmonton and Camrose, with stops at the U of A North Campus and Augustana Campus.
SuppliedUntil November 6, University of Alberta students will have access to free transportation between Edmonton and Camrose. FlixBus recently launched a new route connecting the two cities, with stops at both North Campus and Augustana Campus.
During the six-week pilot program, U of A students can access free bus ticket offers through the U of A Students’ Union (UASU) Perks app. Members of the greater community can purchase tickets for $15. The route also stops at the Southgate Transit Centre, downtown Edmonton, and Duggan Mall in Camrose.
Advocacy efforts calling for public transportation between Edmonton and Camrose have been ongoing ever since transport company Greyhound pulled its services from Western Canada in 2018.
Finding a solution to the lack of public transportation between the two cities has been a recurring platform point during UASU elections. This goal was included in the UASU’s 2024-25 executive goals, under Vice-president (student life) Renson Alva’s portfolio.
“We’ve been writing letters to the government, bringing it up at every elections forum, talking to the city, province. But nothing really happened,” Alva said. “I just thought, why don’t we do this ourselves as leaders?”
He said he reached out to FlixBus because the company was expanding across Canada.
“We showed them the need for this. We were able to prove to them that the data exists,” Alva added. According to a statement in a UASU press release by head of communications at Flix North America, Karina Frayter, the “new route not only makes it easier for students to commute between campuses but also provides reliable intercity travel for the wider Edmonton and Camrose communities.”
Alva added that with this new route, riders can connect to the Edmonton Transit Service (ETS) to further travel. He said this can make getting to the Edmonton International Airport (EIA) more accessible.
Ridership data will be taken and analyzed over the course of the pilot project, Alva said. According to Alva, student ridership during the pilot project will inform decisions when it comes to subsidizing student bus tickets or not.
“There’s all sorts of ways this could pan out. It all depends upon ridership data.”
