The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in 38 million fewer transit trips in 2020 compared with 2019, a year-over-year decrease of 44.3%.
Edmonton transit reports ridership of 48,275,563 in 2020, down from 86,715,541 in 2019. Ridership fell to its lowest point in April 2020 with a 69.1% year-over-year decrease. May 2020 saw the fewest number of trips at 1.98 million.
The city says ridership is typically seasonal in Edmonton, with ridership highest between September and April when schools are in session and temperatures are colder.
Fare revenue in 2020 declined $66 million or 57% compared to 2019, though not all fare categories were affected equally. Sales of adult monthly passes declined 60.2% while sales of senior monthly passes declined just 27.1%. The city says this "indicates a level of reliance on transit for many of these riders." Fare collection was temporarily suspended between March 20, 2020 and June 15, 2020.
Historical ridership statistics are available on the ETS website.