Arc card: balance, reloading and how it works
Check your balance, add money, put it on your phone — and work out whether you need one at all.
What Arc is
Arc is the regional reloadable tap card for Edmonton transit — the LRT and ETS buses, plus a growing list of regional partner services. It is not a paper ticket: it is an account you tap into, with your stored value held safely in a secure online account rather than on the card itself.
The first thing worth saying is that you may not need an Arc card at all. Tapping a contactless bank card or your phone on the reader costs exactly the same $3.00 and requires nothing to be bought, registered or topped up. An Arc card is worth having if you want the daily and monthly fare caps to apply, if you qualify for a concession fare, or if you want one card that several people can tap.
- Fare
- $3.00 per ride, same as tapping a bank card
- Where
- The Edmonton Service Centre, Arc retail vendors, or online at myarc.ca
- Reload
- myarc.ca, the Arc app, by phone 1-888-302-0001, the Service Centre or a vendor — minimum load $4
- Balance
- myarc.ca, the Arc app, a vending machine, 1-888-302-0001, or at the reader as you tap
- Expiry
- Stored value never expires; the balance is held in a secure online account, so registering protects it if the card is lost
How to check your Arc card balance
On myarc.ca
Log in to your Arc account and the balance is on the dashboard, along with your fare-cap progress for the day and the month. Register the card first with the number on the back — it is also what protects your balance if the card is ever lost.
In the Arc app
The quickest way once you have the app. Open it and the balance is on the front screen. Free on iOS and Android.
At a vending machine
Tap the card on a fare vending machine and the balance shows on screen. No account needed — these are at LRT stations and the Edmonton Service Centre.
By phone
Call Arc support on 1-888-302-0001 and the automated line can read out your balance, or an agent can help with your account.
At the reader
When you tap to board, the reader shows your remaining balance. Not a way to plan ahead, but it is the check most people actually use.
How to reload an Arc card
| Where | Pay with | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| myarc.ca | Credit or debit | Instant once the card is registered; you can also set up auto-load |
| Arc app | Credit or debit | Instant, and shows your fare-cap progress as you go |
| By phone | Credit or debit | Arc support on 1-888-302-0001 |
| Edmonton Service Centre | Cash, credit or debit | In person, and where you can also buy the card and sort out concessions |
| Arc retail vendors | Cash, credit or debit | Participating shops around the city — the option that takes cash |
Where to get an Arc card
You can pick up an Arc card:
- At the Edmonton Service Centre — the in-person option, and where staff can help with concession registration and your first load.
- At an Arc retail vendor — participating shops around Edmonton; they take cash as well as cards.
- Online at myarc.ca — but it has to be posted to you, so this is no use if you are already here and want to ride today.
Register the card at myarc.ca and your balance is protected if the card is lost — because the stored value lives in your online account, not on the plastic, a registered card can be replaced without losing a cent. An unregistered card, like cash, is gone if you lose it.
Just visiting? You may not need an Arc card at all. Tap the contactless bank card already in your pocket on the reader and go — it is the same $3.00 fare, with nothing to buy or reload.
Putting Arc on your phone
There are a couple of ways to ride with your phone, and they are worth telling apart:
- The Arc app — manage your account, check the balance, reload, and see your fare-cap progress. Free on iOS and Android, and the easiest way to keep an eye on a registered card.
- Just tap the contactless bank card or phone you already carry — no app, nothing to set up, the same $3.00 fare. You give up fare capping and concession fares, but for a short visit that rarely matters.
If you live here and ride often, an Arc card in the app is the one to have — it is what unlocks the daily and monthly caps.
Arc questions
Log in at myarc.ca or open the Arc app — both show your balance and your fare-cap progress. You can also tap the card at a vending machine, call Arc support on 1-888-302-0001, or just watch the reader when you tap to board, which displays your remaining balance.
On myarc.ca, in the Arc app, by phone on 1-888-302-0001, at the Edmonton Service Centre, or at an Arc retail vendor. Online and in the app take credit or debit; the Service Centre and vendors also take cash. The minimum reload is $4, and you can set up auto-load so the card tops itself up when it runs low.
You pay for the card plus whatever value you load on it, with a minimum first load of $4. Rides are $3.00 each — the same as tapping a bank card — and the stored value never expires.
Probably not. Tap the contactless bank card or phone you already have on the reader: same $3.00 fare, nothing to buy, no line. Get an Arc card if you want the daily and monthly fare caps to apply, if you qualify for a concession fare, or if you want one card to pay for several people.
Yes, if you are loading real money onto it. Registering at myarc.ca ties the balance to your account rather than the plastic, so a lost or damaged card can be replaced without losing the value on it. Registration is also what enables concession fares.
For paying, yes: tap the card once for each person and it deducts a fare each time. Fare caps, though, are tracked per card and per account, so the caps only benefit the registered cardholder.
No — stored value never expires. It sits in your secure online account until you use it, which is one of the nicer things about the system: money you load does not quietly disappear.