DATS News
Disabled Adult Transit Service
January 2017
Winter Safety
Snow Shoveling
Services
 Lifestyle Helping Hands
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Seniors Association: 780450-2113 (south of river,
west of 104 Ave)
Westend Seniors Activity
Centre: 780-483-1209
(west)
SAGE (Seniors Association
of Greater Edmonton):
780-701-9011 (city-wide)
Seniors Caring about
Seniors: 780-465-0311
(south of the river)
SEESA (South East
Edmonton Seniors
Association):780-4681985 (south east)
Jewish Family Services
(city-wide): 780-454-1194
Community Leagues
Edmonton winters can be challenging for everyone. One day it can
be clear and 5 C, and the next will have a blizzard and -30 C.
DATS is dedicated to safely getting you from point A to point B
regardless of the weather, but it isn’t always easy. Here are a
number of tips that you can do to make riding DATS in the coldest
winter months easier and safer.
At Home
 Clear your paths of ice and snow - including ramps, sidewalks,
driveways and other surfaces. If a clear or safe path is not
available, DATS will be unable to provide service until it is clear.
If you require assistance, please see the list on the left of this
page.
 In order for the DATS lift to lower safely, a width of 2.14 metres
or 7 feet must be clear of snow.
 Turn the lights on for our Operators (in the early morning or the
evening).
Riding DATS
 Cancel any unneeded trips in advance - this will help us deliver
service elsewhere.
 Allow time for travel delays due to traffic/snow. When heavy
snow days are expected, same day (on demand) trips are
suspended.
 Dress for the weather.
 DATS trips can take up to 90 minutes. Use the washroom before
your trip and remember to bring along any medication you may
need.
Message from the Acting Director
DATS had a very busy and productive
2016.
Not only did we maintain an on-time
performance rate of 97%, we also
broke the daily record for trips three
times:
 November 16 - 3,818 trips
 October 19 - 3,804 trips
 February 24 - 3,799 trips
With your assistance we reviewed booking policies, we reorganized our teams to better serve you, and we held our
first Open House in two years. This year we also
announced that DATS clients will be eligible for the new
Low Income Transit Pass that will be implemented in
September, 2017. This represents a major step forward
in reducing barriers and increasing travel options for
those that require DATS service.
Community Events
Fundraiser for SBHANA
SBHANA (the Spina Bifida and
Hydrocephalus Association of
Northern Alberta) is currently
raising much-needed funds
until January 15, 2017, via a
cookbook sale by Mirella
Sacco.
“Mirella Cooks” is inspired by
hard-to-find, classic, Italian
recipes.
A portion of the funds raised
from the ebook “Mirella
Cooks” will be donated to
SBHANA.
Our team strives for continuous improvement, and we are
looking forward to 2017 as another milestone year for
DATS.
Contact [email protected]
or 780-451-6921 for more
information on how to get your
copy today.
I would like to take this time to thank you, our clients,
caregivers, friends and family, for helping us deliver such
a vital service to Edmonton. Your patience and
understanding through many changes this past year has
been exceptional. It is a true honor to be included as part
of the DATS family.
Ice on Whyte 2017
January 26-29, February 2-5
Thank you and Happy New Year!
Paul Schmold, Acting Director of DATS
End of Steel Park hosts the 14th
annual Ice on Whyte festival
over two weekends this year.
Celebrate Canada 150 while
exploring ice carving
masterpieces.
More community events on page 6
ETS needs your help!
DATS Notes
Pick-up Window:
May 2009 - Amarjit S.
We need your help! Edmonton Transit, like Star Trek, has
a continuing mission - to constantly improve and enhance
our system to make using public transit easier, safer, and
more accessible. As a result, we often try out new
customer tools, vehicle features, facility enhancements,
and technologies, to see if they're a good fit for our
passengers and ETS. We rely on the feedback and
suggestions of our customers to ensure we're getting
relevant and valuable information to help us make
decisions on potential improvements.
We're currently trying out a new automatic door opening
technology for touch-less access. Unlike our current
sliding doors at transit centres and LRT stations, which
require customer to push a large button to open the
doors, the system we're trying out will open the doors
when the customer waves their hand in proximity to the
electronic plate that will control the doors. This will help
customers with disabilities, who have their hands full with
mobility aids or bags, and who have a hard time exerting
enough pressure to activate the door button.
When you book a trip, the
DATS Client Service agent will
give you a 30 minute pick-up
window. Please:
 Be at the exterior set of
accessible doors at the
beginning of your pick-up
window.
 Allow for up to 90 minutes
of travel to get to your
destination.
On-time service and client ride
time can be affected by DATS
operators waiting for clients
who are not ready when the
vehicle arrives.
Where do you come in? We'd like you to head down to
Century Park Transit Centre and LRT Station at 111 Street
(north of 23 Avenue), and try out the new door openers.
They are installed at the south and west street level
entrances of the transit centre building used to get to the
LRT pedway and station. Try them out and then send your
feedback to [email protected]
Thanks for helping us help you!
DATS News, January 2017
Holiday Booking Schedule
DATS Notes
Fragrances:
DATS is a shared ride
service, so please avoid
using scented products.
Door to Door Service:
DATS requires all operators
to escort clients between the
vehicle and the first set of
accessible doors. If your
operator does not provide
door to door service, call us
at (780) 496-4567 (option
4) and let us know!
Fax Forms:
DATS has the following
forms that can be faxed.
These are great for agencies,
group homes, programs, etc.
that have lots of clients but
also work well for
individuals.
 Booking Request Form
 Group Booking Request
Form
 Subscription Booking
Request Form
Call Customer Care at 780496-4570 (option 2) and we
will fax or e-mail the forms
out – the DATS fax number
is: (780) 496-1008.
New Year's Day:
DATS operates on a holiday schedule (Client Service Centre is closed)
on Sunday, January 1, 2017 (New Year's Day).
Note: due to experience in past years where a large number of noshows occurred on subscription bookings during the holiday period,
all subscription bookings are cancelled from December 24, 2016 to
January 2, 2017 inclusively. If you still require your regular
subscription booking during this time, call 780-496-4567 (option 2).
New Year’s Eve Service:
DATS is extending our hours of service on Saturday, December 31
(New Year's Eve) with the last pick-up of the day at 2:00am. In
conjunction with ETS's Community Program, service on New Year's Eve
from 6:00pm until closing is free!
Family Day:
DATS operates on a holiday schedule (Client Service Centre is closed)
on Monday, February 20, 2017 (Family Day). The vehicles will run as
usual.
Note: all subscription bookings are CANCELLED on Monday, February
20, 2017. If you still require your regular subscription booking during
this time, call 780-496-4567 (option 2).
DATS Christmas Light Tours
Once again, DATS delivered our very own version of this successful
ETS program this year from December 12-18. Volunteer drivers
and hosts (made up of DATS team
members and their family members)
helped to deliver fourteen, 90-minute
tours. Many DATS registrants were able
to take a tour and enjoy the seasonal
lights of Edmonton, including Candy
Cane Lane, the Legislature grounds, City
Hall and Churchill Square. All fares
collected through the tours go towards
'Donate-A-Ride', a fundraising program
designed to provide transit tickets to
Edmontonians in need.
Volunteers Laurie De Blieck
and Chris Kolber
January 2017
Sunday
1
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
2
3
4
5
6
7
HOLIDAY
No Trip
Booking
Regular booking
schedule
resumes
Subscription
trips cancelled
Subscription
trips cancelled
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
E-mail / Website
[email protected]
www.takeETS.com/DATS
DATS Client Services
780-496-4567
February 2017
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
1
Thursday
2
Friday
3
Saturday
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
Can book for:
Feb 18 (till
noon)
Feb 19, 20,
21
Can book for:
Feb 19, 20,
21, 22 (till
noon)
24
25
19
Can book for:
Feb 20, 21,
22, 23 (till
noon)
26
20
HOLIDAY
No Trip
Booking
Subscription
trips cancelled
27
21
22
23
Regular
booking
schedule
resumes
28
DATS News, January 2017
Community Events (continued from page 2)
Deep Freeze: A
Byzantine Winter Festival
January 14, 15 - Alberta
Avenue (118 Ave)
The 10th annual festival
celebrates Ukranian, French,
Indigenous and Acadian communities to gather in the
magic and beauty of winter.
Flying Canoë Volant
February 3 and 4, 2017
Cité Francophone and Mill
Creek Ravine
DATS Notes
DATS Calls:
All calls to the Client Service
Centre are recorded and
monitored for quality
assurance and training
purposes.
Lost and Found:
Named after the Flying Canoe legend of FrenchCanadian, First Nations and Métis traditions, the French
quarters of Edmonton come alive for a weekend in
February with live music, children’s activities, art and
snow carvings.
Take all your belongings with
you when exiting the vehicle.
All personal articles should be
labelled, as this helps you to
recover your belongings.
Please call ETS Lost and Found
at 780-496-1622 to ask about
any lost items on DATS or
other ETS vehicles.
Ice Castles
DATS Fare Notes:
Until February 11, 2017
Hawrelak Park
Back by popular demand, an
acre-sized wonderland created using only ice and water,
Ice Castles returns to Hawrelak park during January and
February, weather permitting.
Silver Skate Festival
February 10 - 20, 2017
Hawrelak Park
Also in Hawrelak park this
February, the Silver Skate
Festival returns for ten days of skating, snowshoeing
cross-country skiing and more. Celebrating its 26th
year, the festival comes alive at night with fire sculptures
and live entertainment.
DATS Operators do not carry
change, so it may be easier to
use a DATS pass or ETS adult
tickets. DATS passes allow
unlimited rides. ETS adult
tickets are a great option for
occasional travel - they are
convenient to use and are a
great value. If you do plan to
pay cash fare, have the correct
amount. Passes and tickets are
available at sales locations
across the city. Look for the
ETS logo at local retailers and
banks.
ETS Customer Training
ETS Customer Tools
Priority Boarding and Seating
Did you know that there are
some great customer tools to
help make using Edmonton
Transit easier and more
convenient?
Edmonton Transit encourages customers with mobility challenges to
board and disembark first, and asks all customers to be respectful
and supportive of those customers who might need a bit more time
to get on or off the bus or train. This ensures that overall boarding
happens much faster and more smoothly, meaning everyone gets
to their destination more quickly.
Mobility Cards assist customers
in communicating to drivers if
they need extra assistance in
boarding the bus. Showing the
“K” side of the card to the driver
lets them know to kneel or lower
the bus, while showing the “R”
side requests the “ramp”.
Bus Hailer Kits assist passengers
with visual or cognitive
disabilities to more easily
identify the correct bus at the
bus stop. The kit (a plastic sleeve
with three slots in it), uses
numbered cards in the slots to
signal to drivers which bus route
they are waiting for.
Customer Communication
Cards are for those passengers
who have difficulty verbally
expressing their transit trip
needs because of a cognitive or
physical disability. Pre-printed
on post-it note-style pads, the
messages convey information to
the bus driver about the
disability and including their trip
destination information. This
provides for discreet and
concise information exchange
for both the customer and the
bus driver.
Our buses and the LRT trains have designated priority seating areas
for those customers who have difficulty getting around, who are
using mobility aids (such as wheelchairs, walkers, scooters, canes,
crutches or assistance animals, or who are travelling with children
in strollers). Priority seating includes the aisle-facing seats and first
two rows of forward-facing seats on our regular and articulated
buses, behind the bus driver and next to the doorway on
community buses, and on aisle-facing seats adjacent to accessible
doorways on the LRT. All priority seating is available on a firstcome, first-served basis, but those of our customers with lowest
mobility have highest priority for these seats.
Passengers sitting in Priority Seating should be prepared to move to
another seat, whenever possible, should a customer board who
needs that seating area. In some instances, passengers in priority
seating may be asked to move temporarily, to provide extra room
for a customer boarding with a mobility aid, until they are settled in
their seat.
Priority seating is identified by Priority Seating decals on the vehicle
windows and walls adjacent to the seating area.
All of these tools are available free of charge – call the Mobility
Choices information line at 780-496-3000, or email us at:
[email protected]
DATS News, January 2017
DATS News, January 2017
Contact DATS
Published by DATS, six times annually
Circulation 6,500.
DATS Client Service Centre
780-496-4567
To cancel a trip or to check on a
late ride: Press 1
To book or change a trip: Press 2
To register for DATS: Press 3
To submit a commendation,
concern or any other inquiry:
Press 4
Please direct
comments/submissions to:
DATS, Wickman Garage
5610-86 Street
Edmonton, Alberta T6E 2X3
Phone: (780) 496-4567
Fax: (780) 496-1008
Edmonton Transit Service:
www.takeETS.com
E-mail: [email protected]
Editor
Jason Magee
Contributors this Issue:
Margaret Dorey, Colleen Reed,
Glenda Roberts, Paul Schmold,
Caroline Wenzel, Anita Wright
Nextalk
780-944-5555
Lost & Found
780-496-1622
E-mail / Website
[email protected]
takeETS.com/DATS
E-mail Newsletters
Would you like to receive a copy of
the DATS Newsletter by e-mail? Just
send an e-mail to:
[email protected] - please put
“DATS Newsletter” in the subject line.
Or call us at 780-496-4567.
Return undeliverable Canadian address to:
City Operations
Suite 500, Scotia Place
10060 - Jasper Avenue
Edmonton, Alberta T5J 3R8
DATS Client Service Centre
Full Service Hours:
(trip booking, registration,
commendations & concerns)
Monday to Friday:
7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday:
7:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon
DATS Client Service Centre
Outside of Regular Hours:
(trip cancels, checking late ride)
Monday to Thursday:
5:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.
Friday:
5:00 a.m. to midnight
Saturday:
6:00 a.m. to midnight
Sunday and holidays:
6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.