Winnipeg Transit riders adapt to reduced service with bus shortage
Service reductions, caused by a bus maintenance backlog, caught people off guard this week
Winnipeggers are getting used to a new transit reality — fewer buses and some longer waits — but City Coun. Janice Lukes says the short notice on the bus shortage shows the cracks in the city's communication system.
A group of relatively new councillors as well as administrative staff have left gaps in how things should work, she told CBC News.
"It is challenging working in this environment of change and getting people on the same page and getting the communication flowing. The communication is not flowing, and I've talked about this before, it's very challenging to get information. This kind of information is critical, it is a core service," Lukes said Friday.
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The sudden service reduction, caused by a bus maintenance backlog, caught a lot of people off guard on Thursday morning. But by Friday morning, most seemed to have adapted.
"I'll just take a different bus, work a little bit later," said Patrick Nakoneshny, who was waiting for a morning bus on Graham Avenue.
Transit riders tell me they will adapt to the new bus schedule. Expect fewer buses, more crowded. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/cbcmb?src=hash">#cbcmb</a> <a href="http://t.co/xAIPbEgecG">pic.twitter.com/xAIPbEgecG</a>
—@CBCMeaghanKThe bus shortage demonstrates backward priorities, Joe Kornelson told CBC News. Kornelson works with Functional Transit Winnipeg, a citizen group advocating for more city buses.
"The city needs to buy more buses, buy more buses and operate more buses," he said.
John Callahan, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union, is also critical of the shortage, but he doesn't think that more buses will solve the problem.
"There's too many buses out of service because there's not enough people to repair them," Callahan said.
Transit has shuffled its fleet and at 4 a.m. Friday it released a revised schedule.
Routes affected include:
Morning rush hour:
11, 14, 16, 17, 19, 21, 22, 25, 29, 30, 34, 41, 44, 46, 54, 55, 58, 64, 66, 75, 78, 137, 160, 162, 163, 185
Afternoon rush hour:
11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 25, 26, 29, 40, 41, 44, 46, 54, 55, 57, 58, 59, 66, 75, 77, 162, 163, 183
Riders are advised to check the Winnipeg Transit website, call TeleBUS or contact 311 the day they plan to take a bus for the latest information on routes.