City of Winnipeg reduces transit service, lays off hundreds of drivers

WINNIPEG (CityNews) – The City of Winnipeg is reducing transit services and temporarily laying off hundreds of bus drivers due to the impact of COVID-19.

Winnipeg Transit announced Wednesday it would be laying off 229 permanent bus drivers and 24 non-permanent bus drivers until regular transit resumes.

The city says the decision is due to a 72 per cent reduction in ridership compared to last year – a loss of $6 million in revenue every month.

Winnipeg Transit will also gradually begin reducing weekday service across the city over the next two weeks.

Weekday schedules will now resemble weekend schedules, with the addition of a few express buses. The current transit schedule for Saturdays and Sundays will remain unchanged.

An updated weekday schedule will be available on the Winnipeg Transit website beginning Thursday.

The adjusted schedule means there will be 221 fewer buses on the roads on weekdays. The city says that will also facilitate social distancing on public transit.

The city also announced that bus drivers will no longer be eligible for overtime pay – a decision that could disrupt daily service even further.

“Winnipeg Transit has been using overtime to ensure service was maintained as close to schedule as possible,” they said in a statement. “However, with continual declining ridership numbers and a corresponding decline in revenue, this practice will no longer continue.”

The city says regular transit service will only resume “once it makes sense to do so.”