Transit heeds ‘direct feedback,’ addslate-night hours to most on-request zones

Winnipeg Transit will soon add late-night service to most of its on-request zones, allowing riders to hail buses until 2 a.m. most days.

The city made the announcement in a news release Monday, saying the changes are a “direct result” of feedback that riders have submitted since June’s launch of the new spine-and-feeder bus network.

“Winnipeggers have been clear about what’s working and what needs improvement,” Mayor Scott Gillingham said in the release.

“Winnipeg Transit is using that feedback, along with what they see on buses and at transit stops every day, to keep improving the new network.”

The city cut more than 1,000 bus stops when it overhauled the transit system, but expanded the on-request bus service that allows riders to request a bus pickup online, via an app or by calling 311.

There are now 12 zones around the city where riders can request a bus to take them from where they are to a bus stop on the primary network. Ten of those zones will benefit from the changes, with zones 104 (St. Boniface Industrial Park) and zone 110 (St. Boniface) the only two unaffected,

All zones that currently operate after 7 p.m. will extend service until about 2 a.m. on weekdays and Saturdays. On Sundays and holidays, those zones will operate until about 12:45 a.m., the release said.

The boundaries for zone 103 (North West) will also expand so passengers can take on-request rides to Garden City Shopping Centre and Walmart.

“We’ve also rewritten schedules for buses that were regularly late and added capacity to routes that were regularly full,” the news release said.

Other changes include a full rewrite of schedules for buses D12, D13, D16 and F8. In total, those routes will see 49 service hours added on weekdays.

New trips will also be added to six school-serving routes that are experiencing capacity issues, the release said.

Routes 557, 649 and 678 will see new trips added before and after school hours. Routes 442, 694 and 885 will see an extra trip added before school hours.

A list detailing those schedule changes, and more, is available on the Winnipeg Transit website.

The changes will take effect Sunday to coincide with the launch of Transit’s winter schedule.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca