2 million more riders on Edmonton's LRT

Edmonton saw two million more riders take public transitbetween January and May of this year over the same period in 2009.

Transit officials attribute the almost seven per cent increase to the expansion of the LRT's south line, the opening of Southgate and Century Park stations and a campaignencouraging people to use transit rather than drive.

Charles Stolte, Edmonton's transit manager, said he expects ridership will continue to grow over the next three years as the cityinvests in new LRT lines and improves security and advertising.

"We were very excited about the ridership figures. Obviously there's been a lot of planning and there's been a lot of work that's gone on by new programs that we've initiated, as well as new services with the expansion of the LRT and additional service hours that we put in place on our buses," Stolte said.

City staff have recommended that three additional lines to NAIT, Mill Woods and the west end be completed by the end of 2016.