Youngsters are increasingly cashing in on tickets to ride LRT and buses, and a spokesperson for Edmonton Transit says social media could be fuelling interest.

From a Facebook page and Twitter profile to a dance soiree on the LRT, campaigns geared at youth are working, said Nathan Walters, strategic marketing supervisor with ETS.

“Our text-messaging service is also a very good indicator,” Walters said. “The Edmonton market is eating it up.”

The test pilot launched last January lets riders receive bus schedules on their phones.

So far, 72,000 unique users have accessed 3.1 million schedules, Walters said.

This year, a record 93 to 95 per cent of post-secondary students picked up their UPasses, said Gordon Dykstra, ETS supervisor of fare programs.

Environmental-science student Teri Hill, 20, waiting for the LRT on Sunday, said she’s found the pass worth what she pays via student fees.

Though she hasn’t accessed schedules by text, her friends frequently do, Hill said.

November saw the city’s first LRT dance party. And last fall, musician Colleen Brown shot her Happy Love Song video on a city bus. It can be viewed on YouTube.