Bowman pledges to put off transit garage repairs and use cash for new bus shelters

Brian Bowman wants to put off bus-garage upgrades and spend the money on new bus shelters instead.

Bowman, who's running for a second mayoral term, pledged Monday to redirect $4.1 million from a roof-replacement project at Winnipeg Transit's Fort Rouge garage on Osborne Street and use the cash to build 55 heated bus shelters along busier streets over the next four years.

"We can make upgrades to the garage that will obviously do a better job to keep the buses warmer at night. I'd rather keep our transit riders warmer during the days," Bowman said at a campaign announcement outside a bus stop on Stafford Street at Grant Avenue.

• Bowman leads Motkaluk 2-to-1 in mayoral poll, but majority of voters still undecided
• Mayoral promises: What the candidates are offering Winnipeg voters

Bowman initially could not say what project would be put off or cancelled as part of his pledge. His campaign manager, Kelly McCrae, identified the Fort Rouge transit garage as the project in question.

The city plans to spend $11.5 million over the next five years on that project, which would replace roofs built in 1969 and 1978, the 2018 city budget says.

Those roofs cover 70 per cent of transit's buses and "are now at the end of their economic and useful lives and need to be replaced," the budget says.

The project also includes ventilation improvements at the transit garage. 

The union representing Winnipeg Transit workers welcomed additional heated bus shelters — but not at the expense of the garage roof replacement.

"We support measures proposed by the mayor to improve the comfort of riders through stop and station upgrades. However, these supports should not come at the cost of necessary facility upgrades, which the city will only have to pay for later in the form of future upgrades or increased maintenance costs," Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1505 president Aleem Chaudhary said in a statement.

• Full coverage of the Winnipeg election
• Full coverage of the Winnipeg mayoral race

Bowman also reiterated his support for Winnipeg Transit's effort to develop a low-income bus pass, which is already in the works, and touted a $500,000 2019 budget allocation to improve wheelchair access at bus stops.

Mayoral challenger Jenny Motkaluk said it's clear Bowman is out of ideas and said Winnipeg Transit needs an overhaul to make it more attractive to users.

She said there are two reasons Winnipeggers don't ride the bus more often.

"One is that they don't feel safe getting on a bus, for good reason. Two, because the bus system today does not operate efficiently enough for people to get where they need to go in a timely way," she said.