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Edmonton Transit will ask city council for permission to explore partnerships with Uber or other taxi and ride-sharing companies as part of its shift to develop express routes in the suburbs.

In other North American cities, subsidizing Uber rides has proven cheaper than building park-and-ride lots or running half-empty buses. Edmonton’s transit strategy isn’t going to council until June, but transit officials already say this partnership pitch will be part of it.

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“It’s back to the old dial-a-ride idea,” said transit strategist Sarah Feldman, looking for creative ways to get people from their home to an express bus stop since the move would involve scaling back on community buses. “We’re not sure what the business case would be or their interest. so we need to start having those conversations.”

Uber already has partnerships in several U.S. cities.

In Summit, N.J., the city subsidized Uber rides to make them the same cost as parking at the train station to avoid building a new $10-million park-and-ride in the central core.