Transit overhaul not accessible to everyone, residents say

Northeast Winnipeg

Windsor Park

City Centre

St. James-Assiniboia

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This article was published 25/06/2025 (424 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

On June 29, Winnipeg Transit will introduce a new network of bus routes all over the city. The overhaul is part of the Winnipeg Transit Master Plan — which was approved by city council in 2021 — and aims to make the public transportation network more efficient and accessible.

The new plan has been available for preview online and on the Transit app since May, and several residents from both ends of the city have expressed thoughts on what the new system could mean for their day-to-day routines. Although its improved for some, others aren’t so sure.

Jason Bolduc has been taking the bus for 25 years, and his usual route will jump from 12 minutes to 40. He said that the new change will make things a lot more difficult for those in working class neighbourhoods away from downtown, as well as those who are unhoused.

“It’s a nightmare,” he said. “Folks who don’t live in the centre of the city are kind of shafted. They have to walk or find transport to hit one of these rapid transit routes. And I don’t see how that’s feasible. Like, even for me, I live a half-an-hour to an hour walk from downtown, and even then, it’s a 40-minute bus ride. I might as well just walk at that point.”

“I think it’s definitely benefiting middle-to-upper class folks who want to skip parking downtown,” The northeast Winnipegger added. “You know, ‘I don’t want to park my Mercedes Benz and spend $100 a month to park,’ … I understand that’s frustrating, but for people who want to get to work and make a living — and it’s already hard to do so now, and it’s such a tumultuous time — they’re tacking on more problems, and it seems like this is really just trying to cut costs and cut corners to a system that was already really flawed.”

Bolduc has two children who use the bus to get to school, and he would need to get them up far earlier to account for the change, as well. Because of this, he says he’ll be using Uber regularly — something he already predicts will be the case for many people who can afford it.

Despite his concerns, Bolduc says he’s a “glass half full guy,” and considers it a stepping stone towards a better system in the future.

“I’m hopeful, but I also am aware that this is Winnipeg, and public transit is never something we’ve done super well. I’ll keep my fingers crossed and understand it is a process, and do my best to be understanding. But as it stands, hard to say.”

Wendy Bowen, who lives in Windsor Park, works downtown and prefers to take the bus so she has time for a moment of peace before the day gets rolling. Additionally, as someone who advocates for the city — “self-appointed advocate,” she said — she does so to support city infrastructure. Bowen is frustrated about the change, which has felt a bit like a “personal insult.”

She said that once the changes roll in, she’ll need to walk an extra seven minutes to get to the first stop — while touting up to three bags with her — which she can do, but that’s not her primary concern.

“I can walk seven minutes, but a neighbour three houses down who’s still recovering from knee surgery is not going to walk seven minutes,” Bowen said.

Curious, Bowen began to look into the new Navigo system, where she discovered that someone on Vincent Massey Boulevard would need to walk 23 minutes to the nearest bus stop.

“That’s ridiculous,” she said, adding that, although a change was needed, this one didn’t look as great as announcements have led to believe.

“Who is this great for? … It’s not good for thousands of people in Windsor Park.”

“I’m still holding out hope that it’s not going to be as bad as I’m anticipating,” she said, and is remaining optimistic, but frustrated.

Sergiy Volotovskyy works on King Edward Street and says that, although he won’t know until it happens, he predicts there will be a bit of chaos.

“The biggest annoyance I see right now is an extra 10 minutes of walking before and after my bus trip, which will be hell in the winter when the sidewalk clearing already made it hell this year,” he said.

Volotovskyy added that the new system will also have him travelling to areas that are out of the way and it will be difficult to find different routes if usual buses become late or get cancelled.

“Some recommended routes have me walking just as long as I bus,” he said, but repeated that his destination is already awkward to get to with the system that’s currently in place.

You can currently preview the new system at winnipegtransit.com