City report calls for new, modernized fare-collection system for Winnipeg Transit

A new city report is calling for Winnipeg Transit to implement a new, $10.5-million fare-collection system that would allow mobile credit and debit payment.

The report, going before the public works committee next week, says the new system would improve on shortcomings from Transit’s current Peggo cards and address fare evasion, all with the ultimate goal of growing ridership, revenue and customer satisfaction.

“We are looking to lower barriers here, so that you wouldn’t need to plan ahead to ride the bus,” Kirk Cumming, the report’s author and Transit’s manager of innovation and technology, told the Free Press.

The new system would include fare-capping and open payments, giving riders a “modern, stable, convenient fare-collection system” the report says.

Under a fare-capping system, riders using an app-based account are automatically charged for a pass once they have taken a certain number of rides in a day, week or month.

Open payments would allow any transit user to pay using debit or credit.

There are no plans to replace existing cash fare boxes, and paper products would be used until the new system is launched and tested, Cumming said.

“If you’ve got something in your pocket, you just board the bus without having to worry about purchasing products ahead of time or whether you’ve got enough change,” he said.

The system would require a $4-million loan above the $6.5 million allotted for the project in the 2024 budget and cost the city about $2.1 million annually.

It would be anticipated to start in mid-2027.

The debt could be subsidized by the federal government, which promised the city $11.5 million annually to support transit infrastructure if the Liberals were re-elected Monday, Coun. Janice Lukes said.

Terry Duguid, the federal minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada told a news conference in March the funding would continue for 10 years as part of a broader program, if the Liberals remained in power.

Lukes, chairperson of the public works committee, is encouraged by the plan and its intention to address fare evasion.

“I think that in the long run, it probably will help,” Lukes (Waverley West) said Wednesday. “We have to try to continue reducing fare evasion by modernizing… what they’ve presented to us really meets our needs.”

The Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1505 has long pointed to fare evasion as an issue facing Winnipeg Transit drivers.

According to figures obtained by the union in 2024, fare evasion cost Transit up to $6.7 million in revenue from Jan. 1 to Oct. 31, 2022.

Figures from 2023 and 2024 were not available Wednesday, city spokesperson Brandon Logan said.

ATU Local 1505 president Chris Scott was not available for an interview Wednesday, but said in a statement a safer, more efficient fare system is long overdue.

Addressing fare disputes with riders can quickly escalate into threats or violence, the union said.

“Our members face real risks every day just trying to do their jobs,” Scott said in an emailed statement. “No one should be put in danger over the price of a bus fare.”

Fare evasion also undermines Winnipeg Transit’s ability to deliver reliable service, the union said.

In 2023, the average fare collected per rider was $1.85 — below the standard fare of $2.85 to $3.35, according to the union.

The new system would be a step toward modernizing and improving rider experience, it said.

Transit currently offers 19 “distinct fare products” and 44 “fare media categories” creating confusion for riders and adding administrative complexity, the city report says.

nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca