St. Albert transit riders will soon be able to use a card-based payment method to ride the bus in the city.
In line with Edmonton, St. Albert Transit will be rolling out a new card-based payment method — Arc cards — for transit fare on Monday, Nov. 21.
The program, which has been piloted in the region's post-secondary students since the fall of 2021, features a re-loadable card that transit riders can use to pay fares by tapping the card when boarding a bus, or LRT in Edmonton.
Although the program will begin on Monday, St. Albert city spokesperson Marci Ng told The Gazette that paper bus passes and tickets will continue to be accepted for the foreseeable future. As well, "cash will be accepted and will likely remain indefinitely,” Ng said.
To help launch the new system, city employees will be handing out free Arc cards at the Nakî Transit Centre on Monday morning while supplies last, Ng said.
If transit users aren't able to obtain a card from city staff on Monday at the Nakî Transit Centre, Ng said free cards will be available at St. Albert Place and the Liggett Place Transit Facility, again until supplies last.
"These will be provided on a first come, first served basis.”
Arc cards will also be available for purchase for $6.00 at the Husky gas station located at 10 Inglewood Dr., and at the Reddi Mart at 76 Grosvenor Blvd. Ng added that more retail locations to purchase the cards will be announced soon.
Once transit users obtain an Arc card, they will need to make an account on myArc.ca in order to add money to the card. Another option to add money to the card is to visit the Arc vending machine at the Nakî Transit Centre, which is the only one of it's kind in St. Albert, Ng said.
Transit users still need to make an account on myArc.ca before loading funds to a card at the vending machine.
"In-person Arc transactions can be conducted at the St. Albert Place customer service desk or at the Liggett Place Transit Facility (235 Carnegie Drive),” Ng said.
The minimum amount transit users can add to their Arc cards is $4.00, and there is no maximum amount. The cards also don't expire.
