Moving Transit Plus service in-house costly, report says

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This article was published 22/06/2023 (850 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It would take dozens of new full-time employees and millions of dollars to have city staff deliver part of the accessible Winnipeg Transit Plus service, a new report finds.

And some city councillors argue the change isn’t worth its price tag.

A new Winnipeg Transit report offers a proposal to deliver 22 per cent of Transit Plus service in-house, a measure council ordered the public service to explore.

The present service is entirely contracted out.

The report says the city would need to hire 56 permanent full-time staff and add three temporary positions to implement the public service component in 2026, two years later than council first intended.

Coun. Brian Mayes, a longtime champion of the change, said he would still like to see city employees deliver it.

“(The) Transit Plus operating budget has gone up 46 per cent in the past three years without bringing any of it in-house,” Mayes said.

While Mayes said he doubts there is enough support on council to approve the extra spending, he believes creating competition for the private sector for Transit Plus contracts would spark service improvements and better cost control.

The new Transit report estimates the switch would create about $101,000 of new operating costs in 2024, $3.2 million in 2025, $4.5 million in 2026 and $1.2 million in 2027, with savings from reduced contract expenses offsetting the cost in later years.

And while council approved $9.25 million in capital funds to buy 20 buses to support the change, the city would need to spend $12.8 million to buy and store them, the report notes.

When both operating and capital costs are considered, it would cost $2.1 million more per year to move part of the service in-house (based on a three-year average), Megan Benedictson, a spokeswoman for Winnipeg Transit, said in an emailed statement.

“To proceed with this plan, we need to begin recruitment and procure buses well before service is implemented, which means costs will be incurred before we realize any contractor savings,” Benedictson wrote.

Coun. Janice Lukes, chairwoman of the public works committee, said she believes that price is too high.

“I’m not supportive of the cost to bring Transit Plus in-house,” said Lukes.

The councillor said she feels the service itself has improved in recent years and most users are happier with it overall.

“We’re delivering a very good service right now. I think it’s prudent to have Transit Plus set up the way it is,” said Lukes.

A Transit Plus rider said she would like the city to provide the service and is disappointed the cost could prevent that from happening.

“If the city brought it back in, I think we’d have a much safer, better service. (It) would be more controlled,” said Lori Ross, who uses a wheelchair.

Ross said she believes Transit Plus drivers should receive the same benefits and pay as those who support the main Winnipeg Transit routes, working directly for the city to provide the most equitable service to all taxpayers.

“Get the vehicles, get the service, get the professional drivers. Like everybody else, we pay taxes, we live in the city. Why are we treated differently?” said Ross.

If council opts against having city staff take over some of the service, Mayes said he would still like to reform how the current privatized model works, which would include reducing more than a dozen separate Transit Plus contracts into a smaller number of deals and ensuring all drivers earn a fair wage, he said.

Lukes said she expects the public works committee will consider a motion that would pursue those changes and ensure Transit Plus contractors rely on drivers who are their direct employees, not subcontractors.

Any changes to the Transit Plus service would require full council approval.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga