Winnipeg Transit pilot program to become permanent

Winnipeg is moving on-request transit from a pilot program to a permanent service as the city expands it.

The service is expanding to northwest Winnipeg, adding route 103 Maples starting on September 1.

103 Maples will be the fourth on-request route since the service started back in 2021.

“More and more people are moving into the northwest corner of our city as the population increases. That community is attracting a lot of newcomers to that city, so this is a great opportunity to introduce them to our transit service,” said Mayor Scott Gillingham.

On-request or on-demand transit service allows riders to request buses using an app rather than waiting for buses that operate on a fixed schedule. 

It’s been seen as a way to provide public transit in areas that are not densely populated.

Willem Klumpenhouwer, a transit research consultant says while on-demand transit can be useful in providing service in areas with low density its important for municipalities to monitor ridership and be able to quickly adapt to any changes to those levels.

“On-demand transit is primarily useful for cases if you are trying to cover a lot of area without providing a lot of service, operators driving buses around,” said Klumpenhouwer.

“The paradoxical problem of on-demand transit is that when it gets popular, it gets worse. It has to serve multiple destinations and different areas. If lots of people show up and want to use the service people tend to wait a lot longer compared to a fixed-route service.”

The current on-request app will be discontinued, with the service available on the Winnipeg Transit + On-Request app starting on August 27.