Winnipeg Transit
Encyclopedia
Winnipeg Transit is the public transit agency in Winnipeg
, Manitoba
, Canada
. It is a bus
-only operator.
The Winnipeg Street Railway operated a horse car operation from 1882 to 1894. It was rendered obsolete and acquired by the Winnipeg Electric Street Railway (1892, later Winnipeg Electric Railway and Winnipeg Electric Co.), which ran electric streetcars, regular bus
es from 1918, and electric trolley buses from 1938. The system was purchased by the City of Winnipeg in 1953 and was renamed the Greater Winnipeg Transit Commission. The Commission oversaw the end of streetcar services in 1955 and trolleybus services in 1970. The Commission was merged into the Metropolitan Corporation of Greater Winnipeg
from 1961 until 1972 when the amalgamated City of Winnipeg absorbed both entities under the current name of Winnipeg Transit.
Winnipeg Street Railway Company (WSR) under the direction of Toronto
businessman Albert William Austin. The WSR experimented with electric cars
in 1891, but the city gave the electric rights in 1892 to the competing Winnipeg Electric Street Railway Company (WESR), headed by William Mackenzie
and James Ross
of Montreal
. The width of Winnipeg's main streets allowed both companies to operate simultaneously. Austin's company lost 68 horses to a disastrous fire in 1893. He tried to fight for exclusive street railway rights in court, all the way to the Privy Council
in London, but after losing his case, he sold almost all of its assets to the WESR for $175,000 in 1894.
Horse car operations ended the next day, except for the Kennedy Street line, which city council required to operate for another six weeks. Austin kept the Elm Park
horse-car line to operate as a private venture; his company had opened the park in the 1890s to drum up business on the line during off-peak times. With the ending of a price war between the two companies, fares doubled, from 50 up to 25 tickets for a dollar, or 5¢ cash.
The WESR continued to expand its lines, its inventory of rolling stock, and its car barns. It bought the Manitoba Electric & Gas Light Company for $400,000 in 1898, changed line voltage from 250 to the standard 550 volts in 1899.
utilities in the city.
The Suburban Rapid Transit Company (SRT, 1902), operated west of Winnipeg along Portage Avenue, inaugurating a line as far as Charleswood in 1903. It initially leased cars and bought power from the WESR. It was bought up by the amalgamated WER in 1905, which finished expansion of its line to the village of Headingly by the end of the year.
The Winnipeg, Selkirk & Lake Winnipeg Railway, an interurban electric transit company incorporated in 1900, operated cars from the WESR's Main Street terminal to the town of Selkirk
, with a later spur line from West St Paul
to Stonewall
. Its stock was bought by the WESR in 1906, although it continued to operate as an independent company (to be spun off much later as Beaver Bus Lines).
Also in 1906, a hydroelectric plant was completed in Pinawa
, and streetcars started operating on Sundays, following a plebiscite.
The company did well during the economic boom of the early 1900s, and built a new headquarters in the eleven-storey Electric Railway Chambers building at Notre Dame Avenue and Albert Street in 1911–13. In 1914, the Public Utilities Commission ordered the WER to start collecting fares on a pay-as-you-enter system (PAYE), which required some rebuilding of cars.
From 1914–15, the WER would start to experience competition from jitney
s, privately-owned taxi cabs. The financial pressures of this competition, tensions with the Public Utilities Commission about route planning, complaints regarding the poor state of rolling stock all led to a crisis in 1918. Negotiations with the city led to a repealing of the jitney bylaw, some route changes, a program of rebuilding old trolley cars, and the first appearance of motor buses in Winnipeg. The company was also affected by the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919, a terrible explosion and fire at the Main Street car barn, after which some rolling stock was bought from the Twin City Rapid Transit Company of Minneapolis (most of the WER's stock been built by the company in Winnipeg, or by the Ottawa Car Company
).
In 1921 it also bought some Birney Safety Cars from Preston Car & Coach, which would start service in 1923 after delays caused by controversy over the safety of the one-man cars. Increasing competition with the automobile and the post-war economic slump forced the company to rebuild the rest of its own fleet as one-man cars.
On March 13, 1924, the Manitoba Legislature passed a bill changing the company's name to the Winnipeg Electric Company.
In January 1940, William Carter was named the new President of Winnipeg Electric Company.
During the summer of 1948 a Public Utility Board inquiry took place questioning the depreciation costs claimed by WECo. and its predecessors on streetcar equipment. This led to a difference of $495,000, part of which WECo. overclaimed $363,504, overestimated $30,000 for snow removal costs, and didn't include a $99,000 "saving" on conversion to trolleybus
es.
The River Ave. bus route was extended and its name changed to Crescent in October 1949 after a six-month battle over the routing.
A referendum
was conducted in March 1953, where only the electorate in the city proper
were eligible to vote. It created the Greater Winnipeg Transit Commission because the Winnipeg Electric Company did not want to operate the transit system any longer.
Express bus service was introduced on the Portage route starting November 4, 1957. A 5-cent premium fare was charged to passengers.
In response to an expressway plan published in 1957 that was sponsored by the Downtown Winnipeg Association
, a city councillor sponsored the hiring of Norman D. Wilson
to design a subway plan for the greater Winnipeg area. This plan was published on April 11, 1959 as the Future Development of the Greater Winnipeg Transit System.
In October 1962 a report on transit was released which recommended scrapping the idea of a 'downtown bus terminal' for Winnipeg Transit. It also recommended a price reduction of 50 cents for monthly passes.
As part of the new Metro administration, a metropolitan development plan, which took several years to complete, was begun in 1962. The transportation component, the Winnipeg Area Transportation Study
, whose recommendations were published in January 1969, called for five freeways, a suburban beltway, and a 5.4-mile underground subway.
Bus fares were raised from 15 cents to 25 cents in April 1969.
In 1969 the main transit garage was moved from Assiniboine Avenue to a new location on Osborne St.
During the 1960s Metro Winnipeg Transit was phasing out the trolleybus
fleet. At one point Winnipeg City Council begged Metro to stop this phase out, but it continued nonetheless.
In August 1970 several River Heights residents opposed a jointly managed Unibus shuttle service for University of Manitoba students. Riding Unibus would save students from paying the regular adult fare, instead they would pay $20 for six months' use. However, residents were upset that the routes would depreciate housing where the buses traversed and that the service was only available to University students.
In the late 1970s Winnipeg Transit paid an outside design firm to create a new logo for the transit department, although it wasn't until two or three years later when bus stops begun to feature the new design.
In April 1982 the Works and Operations Committee awarded Mediacom, Inc. a contract to build and maintain 200 transit shelters with advertising for a period of 15 years.
During the week of September 23, 1982, Winnipeg Transit tested a GM
-built articulated bus
on the Portage and Pembina routes. The bus, numbered 900, was constructed from parts of a GM New Look with a Classic front end. It was destined to operate as part of the Mississauga Transit
fleet.
When Edmonton
and Calgary
completed the first phase of their light rail
(LRT) systems in the early 1980s, they found that they needed fewer diesel buses. They sold some of them to Winnipeg Transit, which in turn bought 10 double-rear-door Flyer models from Edmonton (380 series), and another 10 GM New Look buses from Calgary (290 series).
During the summer of 1985 all bus stops in Winnipeg were replaced with new ones bearing a telephone number that started with 235-. When a transit passenger called this number he/she would hear a computerized female voice give the current time, and the transit routes and times those routes passed through that particular stop. Telebus, which is based on software by Teleride Corporation, was officially launched in February 1986. Costs were shared 50-50 between the Province and City to pay the $1.3 million to set up the original system. However, in 1987 all bus stop decals were replaced with the 287- telephone exchange.
After Calgary Transit
's C-Train
LRT expanded into the Northeast in April 1985, 30 more New Flyer buses (600-630 series) were sold to Winnipeg and put into service in 1986.
After several years delay, the Graham Avenue Transit Mall was completed over a two-year period 1994-95 at a cost of $5.7 million.
The Winnipeg Free Press
conducted a downtown idea contest in 1994, which Jeff Lowe won with an idea for a rail-based streetcar to serve the downtown Winnipeg area. Subsequently this idea was added to the CentrePlan report, the CentrePlan formed a "downtown connector" committee, of which a representative from Winnipeg Transit participated. In 1999 the Downtown BIZ had put forward a request for a feasibility study on a streetcar connector for downtown. However this did not happen until 2002. The subsequent report, which was never released, was very soft on recommending any form of connector service.
It was announced in early 2007 that if 25 centimetres or more of snow were to fall, only seven mainline transit routes would operate. Since then, Winnipeg Transit has devised a more detailed winter snow plan that has three phases. In the first phase, the "Blue Snow Plan", most suburban and short-trip routes (including DART service) would not operate, and most other routes would operate on shortened or simplified routes. In the second phase, the "Red Snow Plan", transit service would be reduced to thirteen routes running along major arterial roads and serving downtown, major hospitals, and the airport. In the third phase, transit would cease to operate completely. Winnipeg Transit has not had to implement the snow plan as of September 2009.
On November 16, 2007, the federal, provincial, and municipal governments announced the Transit Improvement Program, in which it includes upgrades and improvements to existing infrastructure for buses, such as transit priority signals, transit-only lanes, and new bus shelters. In addition to an order of 33 new regular 40-foot low-floor buses, Winnipeg Transit also ordered 20 new 60-foot articulated Diesel-Electric Hybrid buses
; the first bus was delivered by the end of 2007. The test of the first articulated bus was not successful, and that part of the order was cancelled.
In 2008, Winnipeg Transit added the "Next stop" program. "Next stop" announces the next bus stop in a computerized female voice, and shows the street name on a small display on the roof in the front of the bus. It also shows whether a stop has been requested by a passenger. The program was preceded by a phase where transit operators called out stops, which led to debate over whether this would distract drivers from the road.
As of 2009, Telebus operates through one telephone number - 287-7433 or BUS-RIDE. Users can access information about buses stopping at a specific bus stop by entering the five-digit code located on the sign for that stop. The first number of the stop designates the municipal area the stop is located in (1 for the old City of Winnipeg, 5 for St. Boniface and St. Vital, etc.).
over rail-based options such as subway or LRT
. Sam Katz
became the successor mayor in his place after a mini-election and began to make plans to cancel the BRT project. After several weeks of debate, mostly in the local newspapers, a vote at Council took place on September 29, 2004. The BRT project was canceled by a strong vote. Subsequent to that, Dallas Hansen wrote an op-ed column in the Free Press
saying that he discovered the Wilson subway plan for Winnipeg and had extolled its benefits to the city. However, in 2008, the City resurrected the BRT project, now called the Southwest Rapid Transit Corridor. Ground was broken on Phase I of the corridor in the summer of 2009. Phase I will run from downtown Winnipeg to roughly the intersection of Pembina Highway and Jubilee Avenue. The proposed Phase II will run from that intersection to Bison Avenue, near the University of Manitoba.
There are about 6,000 bus stops across Greater Winnipeg area, 800 bus shelters and 1,500 transit benches.
To facilitate use of the system, Winnipeg Transit's web site provides a service called Navigo which allows users to specify a starting location and destination (either by address, Winnipeg landmark, or intersection) and the desired time of arrival or departure (specified as "before" or "after"). It then produces all the available bus routes that meet the criteria, estimating how much time is spent walking to bus stops and waiting for buses, as well as how many transfers are required to arrive at the destination.
The following fleet roster is as of November 2011:
Most routes serving downtown have an official route name as well as number, and are usually named based upon their main streets they travel on. (The exceptions are the Routes 53 and 56, which connect downtown
with the northern section of St. Boniface). Some routes travel in two directions from downtown, each direction carrying the same number but different signage. Some routes' ultimate destinations also vary from trip to trip, and carry secondary signage to designate the specific sub-route. For instance, the route 16 Osborne (southbound) may have one of five different ultimate destinations depending on the time of day, day of the week, and intended route: two of these destinations (St. Vital Centre
and Kingston Row) are in St. Vital, two (Southdale Centre and Island Lakes) are in St. Boniface, and one (Plaza Drive) is in Fort Garry.
Express routes also have official route names and connect downtown with either the suburbs or the industrial areas. Suburban express routes normally operate inbound in the morning and outbound in the afternoon, weekdays only, while routes connecting downtown with industrial areas operate as required. The Route 80 Industrial Express runs seven days a week to serve customers who work in the Fort Garry Industrial Park.
Suburban routes do not enter the downtown core. They are scheduled according to customer demand; some only run during rush hour, while some run whenever transit is operating.
The three "Downtown Spirit" routes use smaller accessible buses and serve the city centre. Two connect Main Street, Broadway, the Exchange District
, and The Forks, one running clockwise, the other counter-clockwise; the other connects the University of Winnipeg
with the Graham Transit Mall and City Hall.
Many routes that do not have official names still may display signage. The Route 53 bus has no official name but buses on the route use the signage "Norwood".
The DART routes serve communities in south Winnipeg. Three DART routes replace regular transit service to neighbourhoods (Riel/Plaza Drive, St. Norbert, and Southdale/Island Lakes) during times when demand for transit service is insufficient to justify running a regular bus route, while one DART route provides daytime service to residents of the northern section of St. Boniface.
Winnipeg Transit operates accessible buses on most routes. Non-accessible buses are commonly used only during peak hours or on major routes that end at the University of Manitoba
(Routes 60 and 75, especially).
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
, Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It is a bus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
-only operator.
The Winnipeg Street Railway operated a horse car operation from 1882 to 1894. It was rendered obsolete and acquired by the Winnipeg Electric Street Railway (1892, later Winnipeg Electric Railway and Winnipeg Electric Co.), which ran electric streetcars, regular bus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
es from 1918, and electric trolley buses from 1938. The system was purchased by the City of Winnipeg in 1953 and was renamed the Greater Winnipeg Transit Commission. The Commission oversaw the end of streetcar services in 1955 and trolleybus services in 1970. The Commission was merged into the Metropolitan Corporation of Greater Winnipeg
Metropolitan Corporation of Greater Winnipeg
In 1960, the Metropolitan Corporation of Greater Winnipeg was created as a separate layer of municipal government in the metropolitan area of Winnipeg, Manitoba...
from 1961 until 1972 when the amalgamated City of Winnipeg absorbed both entities under the current name of Winnipeg Transit.
1882-1899
Public transit in Winnipeg began in 1882 with the horse-drawnHorsecar
A horsecar or horse-drawn tram is an animal-powered streetcar or tram.These early forms of public transport developed out of industrial haulage routes that had long been in existence, and from the omnibus routes that first ran on public streets in the 1820s, using the newly improved iron or steel...
Winnipeg Street Railway Company (WSR) under the direction of Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
businessman Albert William Austin. The WSR experimented with electric cars
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
in 1891, but the city gave the electric rights in 1892 to the competing Winnipeg Electric Street Railway Company (WESR), headed by William Mackenzie
William Mackenzie
William Mackenzie may refer to:* William Mackenzie , Scottish ophthalmologist* William Mackenzie , British civil engineering contractor...
and James Ross
James Ross (Canadian businessman)
James L. Ross , was a Scottish-born Canadian civil engineer and businessman, who developed his fortune in railway construction.-Early life:...
of Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
. The width of Winnipeg's main streets allowed both companies to operate simultaneously. Austin's company lost 68 horses to a disastrous fire in 1893. He tried to fight for exclusive street railway rights in court, all the way to the Privy Council
Privy council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...
in London, but after losing his case, he sold almost all of its assets to the WESR for $175,000 in 1894.
Horse car operations ended the next day, except for the Kennedy Street line, which city council required to operate for another six weeks. Austin kept the Elm Park
Elm Park, Winnipeg
Elm Park is a neighbourhood in the city of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is located in the northern section of the district of St. Vital, and is bounded by the Red River on the north, St. Mary's Road on the east, Fermor Avenue on the south, and Dunkirk Drive on the west...
horse-car line to operate as a private venture; his company had opened the park in the 1890s to drum up business on the line during off-peak times. With the ending of a price war between the two companies, fares doubled, from 50 up to 25 tickets for a dollar, or 5¢ cash.
The WESR continued to expand its lines, its inventory of rolling stock, and its car barns. It bought the Manitoba Electric & Gas Light Company for $400,000 in 1898, changed line voltage from 250 to the standard 550 volts in 1899.
1900-1924
The Winnipeg General Power Company was incorporated by officers of the WESR in 1902, and amalgamated with railway company in 1904. The combined company adopted a new name, the Winnipeg Electric Railway Company (WER), and now controlled all street railway, electric power, and gasNatural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
utilities in the city.
The Suburban Rapid Transit Company (SRT, 1902), operated west of Winnipeg along Portage Avenue, inaugurating a line as far as Charleswood in 1903. It initially leased cars and bought power from the WESR. It was bought up by the amalgamated WER in 1905, which finished expansion of its line to the village of Headingly by the end of the year.
The Winnipeg, Selkirk & Lake Winnipeg Railway, an interurban electric transit company incorporated in 1900, operated cars from the WESR's Main Street terminal to the town of Selkirk
Selkirk, Manitoba
Selkirk is a city in the western Canadian province of Manitoba, located about 22 km northeast of the provincial capital Winnipeg on the Red River, near . As of the 2006 census, Selkirk had a population of 9,515....
, with a later spur line from West St Paul
West St. Paul, Manitoba
West St. Paul is a rural municipality in Manitoba, Canada. It lies adjacent to the north side of Winnipeg, and directly west of the Red River. It is part of the Winnipeg Capital Region, and had a population of 4,357 as of the 2006 census...
to Stonewall
Stonewall, Manitoba
Stonewall is a town in the Canadian province of Manitoba with a population of 4,376 as of the 2006 census. The town is situated approximately north of Winnipeg on PTH 67. It is known for its limestone quarries. The local festival is the Quarry Days which is usually held over three days in August...
. Its stock was bought by the WESR in 1906, although it continued to operate as an independent company (to be spun off much later as Beaver Bus Lines).
Also in 1906, a hydroelectric plant was completed in Pinawa
Pinawa, Manitoba
Pinawa is a small Canadian community of about 1500 residents located in southeastern Manitoba, 110 kilometres north-east of Winnipeg. The town is situated on the Canadian Shield within the western boundary of Whiteshell Provincial Park, which lies near the Manitoba-Ontario provincial boundary...
, and streetcars started operating on Sundays, following a plebiscite.
The company did well during the economic boom of the early 1900s, and built a new headquarters in the eleven-storey Electric Railway Chambers building at Notre Dame Avenue and Albert Street in 1911–13. In 1914, the Public Utilities Commission ordered the WER to start collecting fares on a pay-as-you-enter system (PAYE), which required some rebuilding of cars.
From 1914–15, the WER would start to experience competition from jitney
Share taxi
A share taxi is a mode of transport that falls between taxis and conventional buses. These informal vehicles for hire are found throughout the world. They are smaller than buses, and usually take passengers on a fixed or semi-fixed route without timetables, usually leaving when all seats are filled...
s, privately-owned taxi cabs. The financial pressures of this competition, tensions with the Public Utilities Commission about route planning, complaints regarding the poor state of rolling stock all led to a crisis in 1918. Negotiations with the city led to a repealing of the jitney bylaw, some route changes, a program of rebuilding old trolley cars, and the first appearance of motor buses in Winnipeg. The company was also affected by the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919, a terrible explosion and fire at the Main Street car barn, after which some rolling stock was bought from the Twin City Rapid Transit Company of Minneapolis (most of the WER's stock been built by the company in Winnipeg, or by the Ottawa Car Company
Ottawa Car Company
Ottawa Car Company was a builder of streetcars for the Canadian market and was founded in Ottawa, Ontario, in 1891. The plant was located at Kent and Slater Streets, a short distance from Parliament Hill...
).
In 1921 it also bought some Birney Safety Cars from Preston Car & Coach, which would start service in 1923 after delays caused by controversy over the safety of the one-man cars. Increasing competition with the automobile and the post-war economic slump forced the company to rebuild the rest of its own fleet as one-man cars.
On March 13, 1924, the Manitoba Legislature passed a bill changing the company's name to the Winnipeg Electric Company.
1924–1953
- Winnipeg Electric Company (WECo.)
In January 1940, William Carter was named the new President of Winnipeg Electric Company.
During the summer of 1948 a Public Utility Board inquiry took place questioning the depreciation costs claimed by WECo. and its predecessors on streetcar equipment. This led to a difference of $495,000, part of which WECo. overclaimed $363,504, overestimated $30,000 for snow removal costs, and didn't include a $99,000 "saving" on conversion to trolleybus
Trolleybus
A trolleybus is an electric bus that draws its electricity from overhead wires using spring-loaded trolley poles. Two wires and poles are required to complete the electrical circuit...
es.
The River Ave. bus route was extended and its name changed to Crescent in October 1949 after a six-month battle over the routing.
1953–1960
- Greater Winnipeg Transit Commission (GWTC)
A referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
was conducted in March 1953, where only the electorate in the city proper
City proper
City proper is defined as a "locality with legally fixed boundaries and an administratively recognized urban status that is usually characterized by some form of local government", or the area within the corporate limits. This definition has been consistently used since the United Nations...
were eligible to vote. It created the Greater Winnipeg Transit Commission because the Winnipeg Electric Company did not want to operate the transit system any longer.
Express bus service was introduced on the Portage route starting November 4, 1957. A 5-cent premium fare was charged to passengers.
In response to an expressway plan published in 1957 that was sponsored by the Downtown Winnipeg Association
Downtown Winnipeg
Downtown Winnipeg is centred around Portage Avenue and Main Street, and is bounded by the Assiniboine River on the south, Colony and Balmoral Streets on the west, Notre Dame Avenue, Princess Street, and Logan Avenue on the north, and the Red River on the east. It includes the Exchange District,...
, a city councillor sponsored the hiring of Norman D. Wilson
Norman D. Wilson
Norman Douglas Wilson was a Toronto-based transportation engineer who designed the Toronto subway, and created a design of a subway for Winnipeg in the late 1950s.-References:*...
to design a subway plan for the greater Winnipeg area. This plan was published on April 11, 1959 as the Future Development of the Greater Winnipeg Transit System.
1960–1971
- Metro Winnipeg Transit
In October 1962 a report on transit was released which recommended scrapping the idea of a 'downtown bus terminal' for Winnipeg Transit. It also recommended a price reduction of 50 cents for monthly passes.
As part of the new Metro administration, a metropolitan development plan, which took several years to complete, was begun in 1962. The transportation component, the Winnipeg Area Transportation Study
Winnipeg Area Transportation Study
The Winnipeg Area Transportation Study, or W.A.T.S. as it is commonly known, is a regional transportation plan created during the administration of the Metropolitan Corporation of Greater Winnipeg.-Study Period:...
, whose recommendations were published in January 1969, called for five freeways, a suburban beltway, and a 5.4-mile underground subway.
Bus fares were raised from 15 cents to 25 cents in April 1969.
In 1969 the main transit garage was moved from Assiniboine Avenue to a new location on Osborne St.
During the 1960s Metro Winnipeg Transit was phasing out the trolleybus
Trolleybus
A trolleybus is an electric bus that draws its electricity from overhead wires using spring-loaded trolley poles. Two wires and poles are required to complete the electrical circuit...
fleet. At one point Winnipeg City Council begged Metro to stop this phase out, but it continued nonetheless.
In August 1970 several River Heights residents opposed a jointly managed Unibus shuttle service for University of Manitoba students. Riding Unibus would save students from paying the regular adult fare, instead they would pay $20 for six months' use. However, residents were upset that the routes would depreciate housing where the buses traversed and that the service was only available to University students.
1972–current
- Winnipeg Transit
In the late 1970s Winnipeg Transit paid an outside design firm to create a new logo for the transit department, although it wasn't until two or three years later when bus stops begun to feature the new design.
In April 1982 the Works and Operations Committee awarded Mediacom, Inc. a contract to build and maintain 200 transit shelters with advertising for a period of 15 years.
During the week of September 23, 1982, Winnipeg Transit tested a GM
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
-built articulated bus
Articulated bus
An articulated bus is an articulated vehicle used in public transportation. It is usually a single-deck design, and comprises two rigid sections linked by a pivoting joint...
on the Portage and Pembina routes. The bus, numbered 900, was constructed from parts of a GM New Look with a Classic front end. It was destined to operate as part of the Mississauga Transit
Mississauga Transit
MiWay , is a public transport agency serving Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. The city's Transportation and Works department is in charge of its operation....
fleet.
When Edmonton
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
and Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
completed the first phase of their light rail
Light rail
Light rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...
(LRT) systems in the early 1980s, they found that they needed fewer diesel buses. They sold some of them to Winnipeg Transit, which in turn bought 10 double-rear-door Flyer models from Edmonton (380 series), and another 10 GM New Look buses from Calgary (290 series).
During the summer of 1985 all bus stops in Winnipeg were replaced with new ones bearing a telephone number that started with 235-. When a transit passenger called this number he/she would hear a computerized female voice give the current time, and the transit routes and times those routes passed through that particular stop. Telebus, which is based on software by Teleride Corporation, was officially launched in February 1986. Costs were shared 50-50 between the Province and City to pay the $1.3 million to set up the original system. However, in 1987 all bus stop decals were replaced with the 287- telephone exchange.
After Calgary Transit
Calgary Transit
Calgary Transit is the public transit service which is owned and operated by the city of Calgary, Alberta. In 2008, an estimated 95.3 million passengers boarded approximately 960 Calgary Transit vehicles , which thus provided 2.31 million hours of service .-History:What would eventually become...
's C-Train
C-Train
C-Train is the light rail transit system in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It has been in operation since May 25, 1981. The system is operated by Calgary Transit, a department of the Calgary municipal government.-Operations:...
LRT expanded into the Northeast in April 1985, 30 more New Flyer buses (600-630 series) were sold to Winnipeg and put into service in 1986.
After several years delay, the Graham Avenue Transit Mall was completed over a two-year period 1994-95 at a cost of $5.7 million.
The Winnipeg Free Press
Winnipeg Free Press
The Winnipeg Free Press is a daily broadsheet newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Founded in 1872, as the Manitoba Free Press, it is the oldest newspaper in western Canada. It is the newspaper with the largest readership in the province....
conducted a downtown idea contest in 1994, which Jeff Lowe won with an idea for a rail-based streetcar to serve the downtown Winnipeg area. Subsequently this idea was added to the CentrePlan report, the CentrePlan formed a "downtown connector" committee, of which a representative from Winnipeg Transit participated. In 1999 the Downtown BIZ had put forward a request for a feasibility study on a streetcar connector for downtown. However this did not happen until 2002. The subsequent report, which was never released, was very soft on recommending any form of connector service.
Recent Developments
There have been changes to Winnipeg Transit since the completion of the Graham Avenue Transit Mall in 1995. In the early 21st century, the three levels of government made a deal to fund the development of three infrastructure projects: Kenaston Underpass, Phase I of the Southwest Transit Corridor, and funding for expansion of the Floodway. The Kenaston Underpass was completed in the fall of 2006, and the Floodway expansion project and Southwest Transit Corridor are underway.It was announced in early 2007 that if 25 centimetres or more of snow were to fall, only seven mainline transit routes would operate. Since then, Winnipeg Transit has devised a more detailed winter snow plan that has three phases. In the first phase, the "Blue Snow Plan", most suburban and short-trip routes (including DART service) would not operate, and most other routes would operate on shortened or simplified routes. In the second phase, the "Red Snow Plan", transit service would be reduced to thirteen routes running along major arterial roads and serving downtown, major hospitals, and the airport. In the third phase, transit would cease to operate completely. Winnipeg Transit has not had to implement the snow plan as of September 2009.
On November 16, 2007, the federal, provincial, and municipal governments announced the Transit Improvement Program, in which it includes upgrades and improvements to existing infrastructure for buses, such as transit priority signals, transit-only lanes, and new bus shelters. In addition to an order of 33 new regular 40-foot low-floor buses, Winnipeg Transit also ordered 20 new 60-foot articulated Diesel-Electric Hybrid buses
Hybrid electric bus
A hybrid electric bus combines a conventional internal combustion engine propulsion system with an electric propulsion system. These type of buses normally use a diesel-electric powertrain and are also known as hybrid diesel-electric buses....
; the first bus was delivered by the end of 2007. The test of the first articulated bus was not successful, and that part of the order was cancelled.
In 2008, Winnipeg Transit added the "Next stop" program. "Next stop" announces the next bus stop in a computerized female voice, and shows the street name on a small display on the roof in the front of the bus. It also shows whether a stop has been requested by a passenger. The program was preceded by a phase where transit operators called out stops, which led to debate over whether this would distract drivers from the road.
As of 2009, Telebus operates through one telephone number - 287-7433 or BUS-RIDE. Users can access information about buses stopping at a specific bus stop by entering the five-digit code located on the sign for that stop. The first number of the stop designates the municipal area the stop is located in (1 for the old City of Winnipeg, 5 for St. Boniface and St. Vital, etc.).
Rapid Transit
In the spring of 2004 Glen Murray, who was Mayor of Winnipeg at the time, decided to run in the federal election in the Charleswood-St. James riding as a Liberal in a mostly Progressive Conservative area. Murray was taking the side of high level bureaucrats at Winnipeg Transit who preferred Bus Rapid TransitBus rapid transit
Bus rapid transit is a term applied to a variety of public transportation systems using buses to provide faster, more efficient service than an ordinary bus line. Often this is achieved by making improvements to existing infrastructure, vehicles and scheduling...
over rail-based options such as subway or LRT
Light rail
Light rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...
. Sam Katz
Sam Katz
Samuel Michael Katz, OM is the 42nd mayor of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He is also a businessperson and a member of the Order of Manitoba.- Life before mayorship :...
became the successor mayor in his place after a mini-election and began to make plans to cancel the BRT project. After several weeks of debate, mostly in the local newspapers, a vote at Council took place on September 29, 2004. The BRT project was canceled by a strong vote. Subsequent to that, Dallas Hansen wrote an op-ed column in the Free Press
Winnipeg Free Press
The Winnipeg Free Press is a daily broadsheet newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Founded in 1872, as the Manitoba Free Press, it is the oldest newspaper in western Canada. It is the newspaper with the largest readership in the province....
saying that he discovered the Wilson subway plan for Winnipeg and had extolled its benefits to the city. However, in 2008, the City resurrected the BRT project, now called the Southwest Rapid Transit Corridor. Ground was broken on Phase I of the corridor in the summer of 2009. Phase I will run from downtown Winnipeg to roughly the intersection of Pembina Highway and Jubilee Avenue. The proposed Phase II will run from that intersection to Bison Avenue, near the University of Manitoba.
Operations
Winnipeg Transit has a staff of 1,366, of which 950 are bus operators.There are about 6,000 bus stops across Greater Winnipeg area, 800 bus shelters and 1,500 transit benches.
To facilitate use of the system, Winnipeg Transit's web site provides a service called Navigo which allows users to specify a starting location and destination (either by address, Winnipeg landmark, or intersection) and the desired time of arrival or departure (specified as "before" or "after"). It then produces all the available bus routes that meet the criteria, estimating how much time is spent walking to bus stops and waiting for buses, as well as how many transfers are required to arrive at the destination.
Current Fleet
Winnipeg Transit has 499 buses. 415 are low-floor easy access buses. As of June 2009, the Flyer D901 series retired.The following fleet roster is as of November 2011:
| Make/Model | Series | Model | Year | Notes |
| New Flyer | 140-169 | D40LFR | 2011 | Being Delivered 140-159 are Inservice |
| New Flyer | 101-135 | D40LFR | 2010 | 128 has Driver Shield |
| New Flyer | 201-230 | D40LF | 2004 | 204 Retired Due to Fire |
| New Flyer | 231-260 | D40LF | 2005 | |
| New Flyer | 270-281 | D40LF | 2007 | |
| MCI Motor Coach Industries Motor Coach Industries International Inc. is an American bus manufacturer based in Schaumburg, Illinois, and is a leading participant in the North American coach bus industry. It has various operating subsidiaries:... |
301-334 | Classic | 1988 | 301-304 310-316 319-321 323 324 326 328-332 334 Remain in Active |
| New Flyer | 340-366 | D40 | 1992 | 340 360 365 Remain |
| New Flyer | 370-399 | D40 | 1994 | 380 and 397 Retired 370 372 373? 374 390 394 398 399 are still in orange colours |
| New Flyer | 401-443 | D40LF | 1998 | Being Rebuild |
| New Flyer | 444-504 | D40LF | 1999 | Being Rebuild |
| New Flyer | 510-561 | D40LF | 2002 | |
| New Flyer | 570-599 | D40LF | 2003 | |
| New Flyer | 671-699 | D40 | 1994 | All Rebuild |
| New Flyer | 701-733 | D40LFR | 2008 | 705 has Driver Shield |
| New Flyer | 735-799 | D40LFR | 2009 | 765 has Driver Shield |
| New Flyer | 801-828 | D40 | 1989 | 812 814 Remain |
| New Flyer | 831-860 | D40 | 1990 | 858 Remain |
| New Flyer | 861-890 | D40 | 1991 | 863 Remain |
| New Flyer | 901-910 | Invero/D40i | 2004 | Ex701-710 Only used for rush hour |
| New Flyer | 911-925 | D30LF | 1996 | All Rebuild |
| New Flyer | 930-949 | D30LF | 2001 | 931 Rebuild |
| New Flyer | 991-993 | D40LF | 1994 | All Rebuilt Only used for rush hour |
Facilities
- Winnipeg Transit Base & Fort Rouge Garage (1969)
- North Main Garage (Main St. @ Carruthers)
Routes
As of August 2009, Winnipeg Transit operates 89 routes. Of these, 29 are labelled either as express routes or park-and-ride, 28 are regular routes connecting the city centre with the suburbs, 20 are suburban routes, five are crosstown routes, three are Downtown Spirit routes, and four are dial-a-ride transit (DART) routes.Most routes serving downtown have an official route name as well as number, and are usually named based upon their main streets they travel on. (The exceptions are the Routes 53 and 56, which connect downtown
Downtown Winnipeg
Downtown Winnipeg is centred around Portage Avenue and Main Street, and is bounded by the Assiniboine River on the south, Colony and Balmoral Streets on the west, Notre Dame Avenue, Princess Street, and Logan Avenue on the north, and the Red River on the east. It includes the Exchange District,...
with the northern section of St. Boniface). Some routes travel in two directions from downtown, each direction carrying the same number but different signage. Some routes' ultimate destinations also vary from trip to trip, and carry secondary signage to designate the specific sub-route. For instance, the route 16 Osborne (southbound) may have one of five different ultimate destinations depending on the time of day, day of the week, and intended route: two of these destinations (St. Vital Centre
St. Vital Centre
St. Vital Shopping Centre is an office and retail complex situated in southeast Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Opened on October 17, 1979 with Eaton's, The Bay, Woolco and Safeway as the main anchor tenants...
and Kingston Row) are in St. Vital, two (Southdale Centre and Island Lakes) are in St. Boniface, and one (Plaza Drive) is in Fort Garry.
Express routes also have official route names and connect downtown with either the suburbs or the industrial areas. Suburban express routes normally operate inbound in the morning and outbound in the afternoon, weekdays only, while routes connecting downtown with industrial areas operate as required. The Route 80 Industrial Express runs seven days a week to serve customers who work in the Fort Garry Industrial Park.
Suburban routes do not enter the downtown core. They are scheduled according to customer demand; some only run during rush hour, while some run whenever transit is operating.
The three "Downtown Spirit" routes use smaller accessible buses and serve the city centre. Two connect Main Street, Broadway, the Exchange District
Exchange District
The Exchange District is a National Historic Site of Canada in the downtown area of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Just one block north of Canada's most famous intersection, Portage and Main, the Exchange District comprises approximately twenty city blocks and nearly 150 buildings.- History :The...
, and The Forks, one running clockwise, the other counter-clockwise; the other connects the University of Winnipeg
University of Winnipeg
The University of Winnipeg is a public university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada that offers undergraduate faculties of art, business and economics, education, science and theology as well as graduate programs. The U of W's founding colleges were Manitoba College and Wesley College, which merged...
with the Graham Transit Mall and City Hall.
Many routes that do not have official names still may display signage. The Route 53 bus has no official name but buses on the route use the signage "Norwood".
The DART routes serve communities in south Winnipeg. Three DART routes replace regular transit service to neighbourhoods (Riel/Plaza Drive, St. Norbert, and Southdale/Island Lakes) during times when demand for transit service is insufficient to justify running a regular bus route, while one DART route provides daytime service to residents of the northern section of St. Boniface.
Winnipeg Transit operates accessible buses on most routes. Non-accessible buses are commonly used only during peak hours or on major routes that end at the University of Manitoba
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba , in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, is the largest university in the province of Manitoba. It is Manitoba's most comprehensive and only research-intensive post-secondary educational institution. It was founded in 1877, making it Western Canada’s first university. It placed...
(Routes 60 and 75, especially).
Major Bus Stops
- Polo ParkPolo ParkPolo Park is Winnipeg's largest retail and entertainment district. It is the largest mall out of the eight malls in the city. Situated on the former Polo Park Racetrack, the Polo Park Mall was built in 1959. It was the first enclosed shopping mall in Winnipeg when a roof was added in 1963...
Shopping Centre Terminal - Garden CityGarden City, WinnipegGarden City is a neighbourhood in the northern part of the city of Winnipeg, in Manitoba, Canada. It has a land area of 2.32 square kilometres, and a population of 5,650 ....
Terminal - Kildonan PlaceKildonan PlaceKildonan Place is a middle-market regional shopping centre that serves shoppers in the northeast area of the city with a mix of national, regional, and local retailers. Strategically situated in one of the busiest retail and commercial nodes in Winnipeg, the mall has over 100 stores and services,...
Terminal - St. Vital Shopping Centre Terminal
- University of ManitobaUniversity of ManitobaThe University of Manitoba , in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, is the largest university in the province of Manitoba. It is Manitoba's most comprehensive and only research-intensive post-secondary educational institution. It was founded in 1877, making it Western Canada’s first university. It placed...
Terminal - University of WinnipegUniversity of WinnipegThe University of Winnipeg is a public university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada that offers undergraduate faculties of art, business and economics, education, science and theology as well as graduate programs. The U of W's founding colleges were Manitoba College and Wesley College, which merged...
Terminal - Unicity Terminal
- Graham Avenue Transit Mall
- Balmoral Station
- Osborne Station (under construction)
- Harkness Station (under construction)
- Fort Rouge Station (under construction)
Fares
2011 fare structure:| Fare type | Cash | 10 Tickets | Monthly Pass | Superpass (Mon-Sun) | Max 5 (Mon-Fri) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full Fare | $2.40 | $21.00 | $75.35 | $21.00 | $18.60 |
| Reduced Fare* | $1.90 | $14.30 | $51.00 | $14.30 | n/a |
| Senior Fare | $1.90 | $10.50 | $37.70 | $10.50 | n/a |
| Handi-Transit Fare | $2.40 | $21.00 | $75.35 | n/a | n/a |
| Post-Secondary Student | n/a | n/a | $60.10 | n/a | n/a |
- Reduced Fare applies to Youths 6-16, High School Students 17-21 (with GoCard)