New Winnipeg Transit system met with frustration from users: ‘I’m not impressed’

Monday was the first full day of Winnipeg’s new transit network, which overhauls the city’s bus stops and routes in a bid to make travelling on buses more efficient.

But just over 24 hours into the launch, many Winnipeggers weren’t happy with the change.

“Leave it the way it is,” said one Winnipegger.

“Horrible. What happened to the 11 bus? The 11 bus was like heaven,” said another.

Winnipegger Ken Berryman takes the bus nearly every day. On Monday morning, he was already confused by the new system.

“I’m not impressed,” said Berryman. “Now I’m waiting to go to Assiniboine Park, and I’m not sure what to catch, so I have to wait and see what comes by.”

The change, which the City of Winnipeg calls simplifying the transit network, has its usual Rapid line, but now has other lines: Frequent Express, Frequent, and Direct Lines, as part of its new primary line system, designed to have fewer bus stops and keep buses moving through traffic.

But Berryman says he was frustrated, seeing multiple buses going the other direction before he saw one coming his way.

“You expect a bus to come on time, and when you see three going another way, it’s kind of head-scratching,” he said.

Bjorn Radstrom, manager of service development with Winnipeg Transit, says he’s hoping users can provide specific feedback to help improve the system.

“There’s a big learning curve for everybody involved, including us at Transit. Making sure everything is working properly, and for the riders as well,” said Radstrom.

“That’s exactly the type of thing we want to hear. And if there’s any areas people in the city are having trouble getting from or to, or just things that are and aren’t working with the schedules and the routes, we want to hear all of that information.

“The system that we had before was really designed for the city we had in the ’50s or the ’60s. Getting into downtown in the morning, leaving downtown in the afternoon. But what we heard from people when we started doing public engagement on the master plan is that people basically wanted to go from everywhere to everywhere.

“Give it a chance. Use the system, explore it and use the trip planners that we have out there.”

Jesse Dizon came to the bus stop earlier than usual on Monday morning. Although he’s now having to take three buses instead of two to get to the university in the mornings, he’s holding out for positive changes once the system tackles its growing pains.

“It’s part of life, like, there’s always changes,” said Dizon.

“Maybe people right now are just having a hard time to adapt to these new route, but over time, they will be able to adapt to it.

“We just have to be patient about it.”