Winnipeg bus riders 'trying to be open-minded' about new transit network

Winnipeggers now have a new bus network, which will mean learning new routes, stops and bus numbers. 

On Sunday, Winnipeg Transit launched its new primary transit network, which it calls the most significant single-day transformation in its history 

It replaces the city's decades-old "hub-and-spoke" model, where buses meandered through outlying neighbourhoods before heading downtown. In the new "spine-and-feeder" system, buses follow a more grid-like pattern, with straighter routes along major arteries, and smaller feeder routes connecting to residential areas.

While the changes only took effect on Sunday, the plan has been in the works for years. Winnipeg Transit posted the new schedules online weeks ago, adding a feature to its website that allowed riders to plan their trips using the new routes, and has been changing signage to prepare riders.

Transit users CBC spoke with last week, before the new routes began operating, raised concerns — but some also said they were willing to give the changes a chance.

Katherine Morgan, a retiree living in south St. Vital, says she's had a passion for public transportation ever since working on a school project about it in Grade 12, and uses the bus to get just about everywhere.

She expects the new bus network to come with both benefits and drawbacks for her.

"I am trying to be open-minded," she said.

The redesign has reduced the total number of stops in Transit's network, removing about 1,700 of the 5,200 stops in the city and installing about 460 new ones, for a total of about 4,000 bus stops.

"It's quite a few stops that [they're] taking. It seems to be all the stops that I use," Morgan said.

However, she often rides the bus to Princess Auto Stadium, where she volunteers, and said that ride will be shorter thanks to several removed stops.

But she says her ride home, which is often after 9 p.m., will involve a 15-minute walk from the nearest stop, whereas before, she could get off at a stop right in front of her home.

"That's pretty frustrating. I don't want to be walking home 15 minutes in the dark, trying not to trip."

Jarod Strelnikow says he rode the bus every day for almost 20 years, but bought a truck after learning the bus he rode home to The Maples would stop running before the end of his evening shift as a health-care aide.

"You can have reliable bus service all you want, but if you're not running it late into the evening, or into the night, it's useless," he said.

More transfers but shorter trips: Transit

While the new network relies on passengers transferring buses more often and walking longer distances to get to stops, Winnipeg Transit has said it will be more reliable and efficient thanks to straighter routes, fewer stops and routes that avoid travelling through congested downtown traffic.

But both Morgan and Strelnikow raised concerns about the problems more frequent transfers and longer walks could pose for people who have disabilities, elderly riders or parents with children.

Bjorn Radstrom, Winnipeg Transit's manager of service delivery, acknowledged rider concerns about issues like how late buses will run, but says anonymized cellphone data was used to track where passengers were coming from and going to.

"There's a lot of areas where ridership really, really drops off after, say, 10:30 at night. And only a handful of people ... are taking the bus for the last two or three hours of service. And it's just not financially sustainable to keep operating," he said.

While some people will have to transfer more frequently, he says the increased frequency of the routes, and the fact that most routes have fewer turns and avoid downtown, will mean total trip times are shorter.

"Just because there's a transfer doesn't necessarily mean it will take longer," he said.

"And also, because we're focusing the frequency on the major corridors, especially if you're transferring from a primary network line to a primary network line, you won't really have much of a wait."

Rick Theriault, another daily transit user, said last week he wasn't sure how the new network would affect his commute.

"We'll see what happens. It looks confusing," he said.

Radstrom encouraged anyone unsure about the new routes to try online tools to plan their trips, including Transit's Navigo trip planner, the Winnipeg Transit app or Google Maps.

Blue-vested Winnipeg Transit "travel trainers" will also be going around to stops along major routes, helping people navigate the system.

Winnipeg Transit says it will submit annual service plans to the city, based on feedback from the public through 311 and other sources, which will be used to make adjustments to routes, service levels and operating hours.

For now, Morgan says she'll try out the new system before casting a final judgment.

"Maybe at the end of the day … after three months, we'll say, 'Hey, this is actually working better.' I'm hoping so."