Out with the old, in with the new

South Osborne

After spending decades deteriorating on shelves at Winnipeg Transit’s complex in South Osborne, 26 binders containing thousands of photos spanning 123 years of history have been handed over to the city’s archives.

The photos document the complete history of changes to Winnipeg Transit’s system and fleet – from horsecars in the 1880s to electric cars in the 1890s up to the many iterations of diesel-powered buses that became ubiquitous here and around the world. The most recent photo is from 2005.

Fitting, perhaps, that they should be sent to the archives now. The first fuel cell buses in Transit’s fleet hit city streets about two months ago, and the first two 60-foot-long, battery-fuelled articulating buses just last week.

Also fitting is that their charging station is at the same complex where the photos sat gathering dust in South Osborne, on the same street where the first electric car took its experimental inaugural run on Jan. 28, 1891.

Out with the old, in with the new.

In this case, the new seems to be a solution uniquely suited to Winnipeg.

Among zero to low-emission buses, fuel cell buses have longer-range, and refuel more quickly. Overall emissions still depend on how hydrogen is produced, but the technology essentially combines the clean benefits of electric buses with the range and fast refuelling benefits of gas buses.

They are also lighter than electric buses (so should create less wear-and-tear on city streets), and happen to perform better in extreme temperatures. Upfront costs are higher, but efficiency should offset costs in the long-run.

In Transit’s particular case, New Flyer partnered with Ballard Power Systems of Burnaby, B.C. – so both the technology and production are (mostly) Canadian.

But a burning question remains, and it is probably top of mind for most regular Transit riders: Do they provide any benefit to making Transit more reliable and user friendly?

Much has been made of the new route system in the six months since its rollout. Most of it has, to be fair, been anecdotal; it has also been almost entirely negative.

But the empirical evidence, as far as it is available, backs up the anecdotal – revenue is down, and Laurie Fisher, Transit’s finance manager, went on record to admit that she did not “anticipate the extent to which we have realized lower ridership numbers.”

The new system, it seems, isn’t as well-suited to Winnipeg as the new members of Transit’s fleet.

We elect officials to represent us, and to make decisions on our behalf by researching every alternative option.

Sometimes they get it right; other times they might not. But should we reward them for taking action?

We’ll find out this October.