Frequently Asked Questions

• Arc is the Edmonton region’s electronic fare payment system. It includes an Arc card or a single-use Arc ticket to be tapped when entering and exiting buses and the LRT on seven neighbouring transit systems in Beaumont, Edmonton, Fort Saskatchewan, Leduc, Spruce Grove, St. Albert, and Strathcona County. With Arc, money is stored in a secure online account, not on the card. Arc makes your transit journey easy and more convenient by offering instantly available funds, balance protection and the choice to auto-reload funds.

Arc allows you to pay for transit when and how you use it. With Arc, you can:

• conveniently tap on and off buses and LRT without needing to carry exact change or paper tickets and passes;
• sign up, check their balance and add money to their Arc cards anytime, anywhere, including online, by phone or on site at transit centres;
• load as little as $4 - or as much as they need - to their Arc cards;
• pay for transit using credit and debit; and
• avoid paying upfront for a monthly pass, while also experiencing the best fare possible through regional price caps.

• The seven transit agencies in the Edmonton region participating in Arc include Beaumont, Edmonton, Fort Saskatchewan, Leduc, Spruce Grove, St. Albert, and Strathcona County.
• Arc will be available for Fort Saskatchewan riders on February 1, 2024.
• Although Leduc Transit is participating in Arc, it will be available in this region soon.

• Purchase and load money on an Arc card online, at an Arc fare vending machine, by calling the Arc call centre at 1-888-302-0001 or by visiting an in-person service centre or participating retailer. Click here for the most up-to-date list of locations.
  • If you have an Arc card, you must add money on the card before you use it.
• If you do not wish to purchase an Arc card, you can purchase a single-use Arc ticket at an Arc fare vending machine to allow you to travel for a specific time period for either 90 minutes or 24 hours.
  • Arc tickets are valid only for the time period they are purchased for and cannot be reloaded with money.
• Once you have your Arc fare product and it is loaded with money, you can start to tap your Arc card or ticket on a validator upon entering a bus or LRT station and then tap off on the validator again when leaving the bus or LRT station.

• If you forget to tap off, the system will automatically charge you a Missing Tap fare which is the same price as the flat rate fare for the route you are travelling on. If you travel on a local bus route and forget to tap off, you will be charged the local flat rate fare. If you travel on a commuter bus and forget to tap off, then you will be charged the commuter flat rate fare. 
• You may end up paying more if you forget to tap off while travelling locally on a commuter bus. For example, if you board a St. Albert bus in Edmonton and travel to another stop in Edmonton but forget to tap off, you will then be charged the St. Albert commuter services fare of $4.25 instead of the Edmonton flat rate fare of $2.75.

• If you forget to tap on, you could be issued a fare evasion fine.
• If you forget to tap off, the system won't have the necessary information to calculate your Flat Rate fare and will instead charge you a Missing Tap fare. This fare could be more expensive than the Flat Rate fare.

Here is the Arc Information Guide for Seniors which contains detailed information about Arc for senior transit riders. Seniors, their family members and caregivers are encouraged to download and save this document on their computers or print the document and use it as they need it to help transition to Arc.

• There are three key benefits of having an Arc account. With an Arc account:
  • Your card balance is protected in case your card is lost or stolen. You can block your card and transfer the balance to a replacement card.
  • You can set up an auto-reload option with your payment information to have funds automatically added to your card when your balance runs below $10. You can top up your card balance with an amount of your choice.
  • You can apply for a concession fare for your fare group, for example, Seniors, Student, Young Adult or Youth.

• Yes. Your Arc account information is safe and secure. Rigorous testing has been conducted to ensure all information is encrypted and stored in accordance with the highest standards as laid out in the privacy statement.

You are not required to register your Arc card or create an Arc account. If you travel with an unregistered Arc card your identity is not linked with your card or trip information. However, registering your Arc card and creating an account ensures your card balance is protected in case your card is lost, stolen, or damaged.

If you are eligible for a concession fare, for example, Seniors, Students, Young Adults or Youth, then you will be required to register your Arc card and create an Arc account before you can apply for your concession fare.

• Yes, you can link multiple cards to one account. For each linked card, you determine how much money you would like to add and the payment method you wish to associate with it.

• No. The money stored in your account will never expire.

• As an anonymous Arc user, you will still contribute towards the Standard Adult fare daily and monthly caps.
• If you are eligible for concession fare, such as Seniors, Students, Young Adults or Youth, you will not be able to apply for your concession fare and have access to the fare caps for your fare group until you register your Arc card and create an Arc account.

• The account number is located on the back of your Arc Card and is highlighted with a bracket that says "Account Number".

• To change your email address, please call the Arc call centre. Please note that you will have to provide your PIN number to verify your account/identity.

• Arc cards are convenient, reloadable transit fare cards that you can use to pay your fares by tapping on and off buses and LRT across the Edmonton region.

• There are multiple ways to get an Arc card:
  • Online at myArc.ca
  • At an Arc fare vending machine located at select transit centres and LRT stations
  • At regional in-person service centres
  • At a participating retailer
  • Over the phone by calling the Arc call centre at 1-888-302-0001
• Information about participating retailers selling Arc cards will be posted on myArc.ca as it becomes available.

• Arc cards have a $6 non-refundable and non-transferable administrative fee, which covers the cost of manufacturing the physical card.
• If you purchase your Arc card at an Arc fare vending machine, retail location or in-person service centre, you will also be required to add a minimum of $4 value to your card towards your first ride. After this total initial $10 cost, riders can add any amount to their account.

• You can check the account balance of your Arc card online at myArc.ca, by calling the Arc call centre at 1-888-302-0001, by tapping an Arc fare vending machine or by visiting an in-person service centre.

• You can add money to your Arc card on myArc.ca, by calling the Arc call centre (1-888-302-0001), at an Arc fare vending machine or at an in-person service centre.

• After you add a minimum of $4 on your Arc account, your Arc card is ready to use immediately.

• You can add anywhere between $4 and $500 onto your Arc card.

• No. You will need to set up an account and register your Arc card. This will ensure your card balance is protected in the event your card is lost, stolen or damaged.
• You can also create an account and register your card by calling the Arc call centre at 1-888-302-0001 or visiting an in-person service centre.

• No. Arc cards have computer chips embedded in them. Punching a hole in the card will damage the chip, and your card will no longer work when you tap the fare validators. Please use a sleeve or pouch to hold the card if you wish to use a lanyard.

• You need to have a minimum balance of $0.99 in your account to use Arc.
• If you have less than $0.99 in your account, you will get a warning advising you that you do not have enough funds to travel and you will need to add more funds before boarding.

• A negative balance will show up in your account if you paid for a trip that cost more than the value left in your account.
• You will be allowed to have a $-4.60 balance, which will be corrected the next time you add money to your account.
• If you have only $4.00 in your account, you will get a warning advising you to add money when you tap on a validator.

• Red or yellow warnings let riders know their account is running low on funds. If the validator shows a red X, it means you have less than $0.99 remaining in your account and the system cannot process your fare.
• The validator is responsible for confirming riders have sufficient funds to board. When your card is tapped, the validator checks for available funds and determines if your fare cap is reached. If there is less than $0.99 in your account and you have not reached your fare cap, the validator will flash red. You will need to increase your balance to above $0.99 to board a bus or LRT.

• An Arc ticket acts like a temporary Arc card and is used in the same way. You can purchase single-use Arc tickets from Arc fare vending machines, and, depending on the pass you purchase, they are valid for unlimited trips within 90 minutes for local or commuter service or 24 hours, or a daily pass, for local or commuter services from the moment you do your first tap. Just like with Arc cards, you must tap on and off buses and LRT using your Arc ticket.

• You can purchase Arc tickets that are valid for 90 minutes or 24 hours starting the moment you tap on the bus or LRT.

• You can check the time left on your Arc ticket by tapping your ticket on an Arc fare vending machine, calling the Arc call centre at 1-888-302-0001, or by visiting an in-person service centre.

• Arc tickets can be purchased at Arc fare vending machines and in-person service centres.

• You can request a refund online and via the Arc call centre. However, you will be required to go to an in-person service centre to receive your cash or credit refund in person and your Arc account will be closed.

• If your card has been lost, stolen, or damaged, please submit a request online, by calling the Arc call centre at 1-888-302-0001 or visiting an in-person service centre to have the card blocked and to request a replacement.

• The Standard Adult fare profile represents the general ridership with no eligibility requirements or discounted fare prices.
• Riders who do not create an Arc card and wish to remain anonymous will be placed in the Standard Adult fare group.
• The Standard Adult fare ridership is 25 years of age and over in Edmonton and 19 years of age and over across the participating transit agencies.

• The Senior fare profile represents seniors, ages 65+ who pay for transit using regular senior paper tickets, monthly or regular annual (Edmonton residents only) transit passes or cash fare.
• For fare information, check out the flat rates page and the fare cap page, or visit your local transit agency website.

• Arc is being rolled out in phases to all fare groups. Arc is currently available for Standard Adult, Seniors, Youth, Young Adult and Student fare groups. Subsidized fare groups will be coming soon. We strongly encourage you to wait to use Arc until it is available to your subsidized fare group.

• School boards will be rolling out Arc to their students during the school year. Check with your school for updates on when Arc will be available for you.

• For youth and student monthly fare cap information, see the fare capping page.

• For instructions on how to apply for a concession fare, go to the How to Use Arc page and the How to Apply for a Concession Fare heading.

• To confirm you are paying the correct fare for your fare type, follow the steps below.
1. Log into your Arc account.
2. Select "My Account" from the top menu.
3. Scroll to the bottom of the page to Apply for Concession.
4. Select your Arc card and click continue.
5. See current concession application.

• If you are under the age of 13, you will need a parent or legal guardian to sign you up for Arc.

• “Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG)” means you pay for one trip at a time instead of upfront like you would with a monthly pass or a book of bus tickets. When applied together with fare capping, you pay for each trip as you take it, up to the fare cap for the daily or monthly maximum amount. These caps are equal to what you would currently pay for your daily fare or monthly pass.

• Once you log into your account, go to the My Account page and save a payment method. Then you can click on the My Arc page and select the Arc card to which you'd like to enable auto-reload. After you select the card, you can click on the 'Activate Auto-Reload' link and fill out the required fields.

• For each trip you take, your fare is deducted from your Arc card's balance. The fare taken from the balance contributes to a fare cap, which is a maximum amount you pay for the day (Edmonton-only) or month (all regions). Once you hit the maximum amount, you will ride the rest of the day or month for free. The fare cap ensures you get the best fare possible with Arc.