Winnipeg transit hoping new investment will bring on more drivers

Transit Union leaders are hoping a multi-million dollar investment in Winnipeg transit safety will prevent trained drivers from seeking work elsewhere as many drivers are looking at making other cities their stop when it comes to a career.

“We’ve heard indications, just in the first month alone, there are 13 operators ready to take off to Calgary. They’re just waiting for their phone call,” said Chris Scott, President of the ATU 1505.

“That’s just the first step there’s the need for commitment to ongoing funding and the potential for increased funding to expand it as necessary.”

Scott says the union has been asking for dedicated transit police for years. Calling the move ‘astounding,’ he is encouraged by the city’s funding plan.

President of the ATU 1505 Chris Scott says to see the city commit $5 million to a transit security force is astounding and says the ATU has to be a major voice when in talks on how to implement it.

Scott says violence in the system. 130 transit-staff assaults in 2022 – is a factor driving operators away.

“I think it will go a long way initially to try and retain the operators. They are leaving in part because of safety to other properties that have peace officers already dedicated to transit.”

In Winnipeg, there were 69 open operator positions in late January and a transit spokesperson said in a statement the city is not alone in the vacancies, as “many public transportation providers across North America are experiencing staff shortages” stressing Winnipeg Transit is actively recruiting.

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Transit spending is up by more than $26 million, to $238 million from $212 million, in 2022 with Winnipeg Transit hoping to increase revenue by more than $15 million this year, the majority coming from rider fares. The city hopes to increase ridership by eight million, bringing total passengers carried to 38 million compared to 30 million in 2022.

Detailed in the 2023 budget was $5 million for the transit safety initiative, and while details were sparse, Mayor Scott Gillingham says he envisions the security officers — referring to them as a security team as opposed to a force — will be trained in de-escalation tactics and will work hand-in-hand with frontline agencies.

Mayor Scott Gillingham speaks with reporters following delivery of Winnipeg’s preliminary budget for 2023 on Feb. 8, 2023.

“We are moving quickly on that. One of the keys to getting ridership levels back to pre-pandemic levels and also a key to recruiting and retaining bus operators is ensuring that transit is a safe space,” said Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham.

However, some groups in the city, like Winnipeg Police Cause Harm, feel the addition of the security is steering transit in the wrong direction, saying the city is failing to address issues creating unsafe environments on public transit, like a lack of affordable housing and inadequate mental health and substance use supports.

“Security is just really papering over these other issues while failing to address the underlying problems,” said James Wilt, Winnipeg Police Cause Harm.

James Wilt, a member of Winnipeg Police Cause Harm, says security officers on Winnipeg Transit is the wrong direction.

“We don’t think that this is the best way to be promoting transit safety and most of all, transit viability.”

Scott says while he agrees these issues need to be addressed on a larger scale, the introduction of a security team is needed now to ‘cap’ violence on transit before things get worse.

Budget consultations and debates are now ongoing until March 22 when council will consider the budget.