The city of Edmonton’s 2015 Donate-A-Ride campaign reached a record-breaking milestone, raising $242,685. The money will be used to provide 101,136 Edmonton Transit System (ETS) tickets to passengers in need.
“Thanks to the generosity of donors from across our community, Edmontonians who need to get to a job interview, a medical appointment, or other essential services will be able to enjoy a quality of life many of us take for granted,” said campaign chair Councillor Dave Loken. “Access to public transportation is vital to Edmonton’s prosperity, and Donate-A-Ride continues to be a great way to make ETS more available to everyone.”
The tickets will be distributed through 73 local social services agencies throughout Edmonton.
The city kicked off the 2015 Donate-A-Ride campaign last November with the goal of surpassing the $200,000 raised in 2014 that resulted in more than 85,000 ETS tickets for people in need. The city is donating 56,060 tickets to the 2015 campaign.
Donate-A-Ride is a charitable initiative that the city started in 1996. It is spearheaded by Loken and Councillor Bryan Anderson. Donations are used to purchase transit tickets, which are then provided to eligible social service agencies to distribute to low-income Edmontonians in need of basic transportation to connect to employment, educational and social services.