Would you buy an Edmonton Transit T-shirt?
CBC
Would you buy an LRT mug or a hydrogen-bus hoodie? In the near future, Edmontonians could get their hands on some Edmonton Transit Service merchandise.
ETS branch manager Carrie Hotton-MacDonald says the organization is looking at an online store where public transit fans could purchase branded items.
"This is something that other transit properties do," Hotton-MacDonald told CBC Edmonton's Radio Active.
"People find it fun. It's a way to connect and show their pride over public transit."
Listen to the Radio Active interview here.
Hotton-MacDonald said the idea was initially pitched in early 2020.
"We had been talking about creative ways to broaden the approach for revenue and also consider more community engagement," she said.
Pandemic restrictions put a stall on the idea, but the conversation returned at city council. Late last year, the launch of the long-delayed Valley Line Southeast LRT became a big moment, signalling an excitement over transit service.
When Valley Line service began on Nov. 4, hundreds of Edmontonians showed up as early as 4 a.m. to be first in line to board. Some brought cake, ribbons and even a pair of comically large ribbon-cutting scissors to mark the first ride.
"We decided to have cake and do train," self-admitted transit enthusiast Troy Pavlek said in an interview.
Pavlek and co-organizer Mike Kunicki created the Valley Line launch party, which culminated in a trip to a Denny's on the south side.
It was "to make sure that Edmontonians understood how many people transit affects, and how many people celebrate quality transit options," said Kunicki.
Some transit agencies across Canada sell branded merchandise online, including TransLink in B.C., the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) and Metrolinx in Ontario, and Société de transport de Montréal, in Quebec.
Most agencies work with a third-party provider and receive a percentage of sales. SVS Marketing, a Toronto-based company, manages the online stores for the TTC and Metrolinx.
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