Fonds RG-90 - City of Edmonton. Edmonton Transit System fonds

The idea of local public transportation began in 1893 when the North West Territories Council approved “An Ordinance to Empower the Municipality of the Town of Edmonton to Construct and Operate a Tramway”. However, public transit was not established until 1908, when the City of Edmonton purchased the Strathcona Radial Tramway Company, a private venture that was slated to start a local railway before being bought out through Bylaw. A second bylaw ratified the establishment of the Edmonton Radial Railway shortly thereafter – Bylaw 185.

From 1904 until 1971 this department had a number of names. Until 1946 it was called variously the Edmonton Radial Railway or the Street Railway Department. On July 16, 1946 the name was changed to the Edmonton Transportation System, to reflect the changing nature of the department, specifically the large number buses that now made up the fleet. On April 29, 1947 the name was shortened to the Edmonton Transit System.

The Edmonton Transit System merged with the Engineer’s Department in 1971 to form the Engineering and Transportation Department. This was in reaction to the provincial City Transportation Act, passed in 1970, which required cities to undertake transportation studies to ensure transportation needs were met. In 1976 the independent Transit Department was formed from the Transit Branch of the Engineering and Transportation Department. However, the independence was short lived, and on January 1, 1984 the Transit Department, the Engineering Department, and the Transportation Management Department merged to form the Transportation Department. The former Transit Department was now the Edmonton Transit Branch of the Transportation Department. The Transportation Department was reorganized and renamed the Transportation and Streets Department in 1997. On June 1, 2011 as part of a large-scale reorganization within the City, the Transportation and Streets Department was renamed Transportation Services. In 2016, this department was reorganized again to become the City Operations Department.