The Transit Riders' Union of Edmonton (TRUE) is a social action group formed in April 2007 to advocate the importance of efficient and cost-effective transit in Edmonton

Edmonton

Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...

, Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. Their goal is to provide a unified voice to express the concerns of citizens regarding the efficiency, affordability and accessibility of public transit. TRUE is a working group of the Alberta Public Interest Research Group

Alberta Public Interest Research Group

Alberta Public Interest Research Group is a student funded and run non-profit and nonpartisan organization based in Edmonton, AB, Canada. Their offices are located in HUB Mall at the University of Alberta...

 (APIRG). In recent years, it was noticed by many Edmontonians that the bus transit in their city was highly ineffective. This led some of its riders to create a facebook group called "Edmonton Has The Worst Transit On the Planet".

TRUE Transit Challenge

On November 19, 2007, TRUE challenged Edmonton City Council to give up their private vehicles and rely entirely on ETS for one week.

Councillors Don Iveson

Don Iveson

Don Iveson is a Canadian politician and a municipal councillor in Edmonton.-Early life:Don Iveson grew up in Edmonton's Parkallen neighbourhood, the only child of Margaret, an education professor at the University of Alberta, and Bob Iveson, a sculptor. As a child, Iveson loved books, both...

, Amarjeet Sohi

Amarjeet Sohi

Amarjeet Sohi is a Canadian politician, currently a member of the Edmonton City Council representing Ward 12....

, Ben Henderson

Ben Henderson (politician)

Ben Henderson is a member of the Edmonton City Council, currently representing Ward 8.He was a candidate in the 2001 municipal election and 2004 municipal election and gained his seat on City Council in the 2007 municipal election, following Michael Phair's retirement.He is married to Edmonton...

, and Dave Thiele

Dave Thiele

Dave Thiele is a Canadian politician. He was a member of the Edmonton City Council, representing Ward 6 alongside Amarjeet Sohi....

 accepted the challenge on the steps of City Hall, in front of assembled TRUE members and strong media presence.

On November 17, 2008, Brendan Van Alstine and TRUE launched the second annual Transit Challenge (November 17–23, 2008) on the front steps of City Hall. All Councillors who participated in 2007 took part in the 2008 challenge with the addition of Councillor Linda Sloan

Linda Sloan

Linda Sloan is a Canadian politician and current municipal councillor in Edmonton, Alberta.Sloan graduated from the Foothills Hospital School of Nursing in 1982 and began work as a registered nurse...

 and St. Albert MLA Ken Allred

Ken Allred

George Kenneth Allred is a politician in Alberta, Canada and member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, in which he sits as a member of the Progressive Conservative caucus. He is also a former municipal councillor in St...

.

Goals and Objectives

• Transit Friendly City – to decrease urban sprawl and other accessibility concerns

• Cost – to maintain current prices, subsidy for low & middle-income riders, as well as, future (downtown) patrons.

• Efficiency – to ensure user-friendly routes, scheduling, late-night transit and more ‘park and rides’

• Environment – to decrease the number of vehicles on the roadway and reduce harmful emissions.

• Safety – to ensure transit police are accountable and in touch with the needs and concerns of existing and potential ETS riders.

• Ridership – to support effective promotional material to encourage more usage.

See also

• Bus Riders Union (Vancouver)
  Bus Riders Union (Vancouver)
  The Bus Riders Union in Vancouver, British Columbia is a non-profit organization that advocates for better public transit services in Greater Vancouver. It has strongly criticized TransLink for such things as raising bus fares...
  
  
• TRU Winnipeg
  TRU Winnipeg
  The Transit Riders Union of Winnipeg was formed in July 2005, a year after Sam Katz's first term as Mayor of Winnipeg.-Background:On September 29th, 2004 the City Council of Winnipeg voted to abandon plans for a Bus Rapid Transit system for Winnipeg....