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November 2025

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WFP: Surge pricing part of city’s new parking plan (Nov1'25)
by Beth McKechnie 01 Nov '25

01 Nov '25

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. Surge pricing part of city’s new parking plan https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2025/10/31/councillors-to-vo… THE City of Winnipeg has unveiled a five-year parking strategy that includes more spaces and “surge pricing” during busy times and special events. If the plan is adopted, the $270,000 strategy would pilot electric vehicle-charging stations downtown, develop an app for all parking needs and update accessibility signs for drivers with disabilities. The strategy aims to manage the parking stock amid increased curb use. “With the federal government providing funding for housing and transit, the city is densifying and we need our parking policies to better reflect that,” said Coun. Janice Lukes, who is chairwoman of the public works committee, which will vote on it Nov. 6. It requires final approval from council. The strategy falls in line with the city’s recently implemented transit master plan, as well as CentrePlan 2050, which is in the works for the development of downtown parks, streets and buildings over three decades. Rideshare pick-ups, taxis, food deliveries, carsharing and loading all compete for curb space; the limited areas need to be managed to “meet community needs while also advancing broader goals like sustainability and city-building,” the report states. More paid and time-limited parking could be added in different areas. Surge pricing — charging more during periods of high demand — could help manage the city’s limited parking space in high-traffic areas, Lukes said. Baseline parking prices wouldn’t necessarily change. “If there’s a big event downtown and everyone wants parking, maybe the rates are higher so we keep parking available in areas where people would otherwise be parked for hours,” Lukes said. Demand for paid parking has steadily recovered since the pandemic. Drivers paid for 2.5 million hours of parking in 2023, a 25 per cent jump from one year earlier but still below the 2019 high of 2.8 million, the report states. In 2024, purchases climbed again to 2.6 million hours, only five per cent below pre-pandemic levels. Last year, the city managed approximately 3,850 street spaces plus nearly 1,250 stalls in one city-owned downtown parkade and seven lots. The strategy could empower the Winnipeg Parking Authority to ticket rule-breakers in private parking lots. The document also suggests the city establish several designated rideshare loading zones, such as in front of the downtown arena and Burton Cummings Theatre on Smith Street. Vehicle-for-hire trips have grown rapidly, to more than 10 million in 2024 from 6.7 million rides in 2022, the report said. Lukes said it’s time to fall in line with other major cities that have implemented similar strategies. “We need to have a better, unified system,” she said. “Our city is growing and the demand on street parking is greater and greater.” The Downtown Winnipeg BIZ and other local improvement zones participated in sessions about the strategy and say its focus is ensuring the proposed changes support accessibility and vibrancy downtown. “It’s important that any new measures don’t create additional barriers for how people get to and move through downtown, and that they don’t negatively impact our local businesses, their staff and the community they serve,” Downtown BIZ chief operating officer Rhiannon Hayes said in an email. nicole.buffie(a)frepress.mb.ca<mailto:nicole.buffie@frepress.mb.ca>

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WFP: Transit proposes to expand evening service and hire 27 drivers to address complaints (Nov1'25)
by Beth McKechnie 01 Nov '25

01 Nov '25

Caution! This message was sent from outside the University of Manitoba. Later hours, more jobs to cost $7M Transit proposes to expand evening service and hire 27 drivers to address complaints https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2025/10/31/transit-proposes-… WINNIPEG Transit plans to spend millions of dollars each year and add 33.5 new staff positions to ensure buses on some of its fixed routes can run later into the night. A new proposal calls for council to approve $3 million in 2026 (when many of the changes will start in April) and $4.4 million throughout 2027 to extend service on 11 bus routes. The funding will also pay to extend a separate extension to nighttime service for on-request routes. “This gives a lot of really good late night service to areas that never had late night service under the old network or under the first instance of this new network,” said Bjorn Radstrom, Winnipeg Transit’s manager of service development. Radstrom said the routes were selected for added hours based on gaps identified in transit’s new primary route network, which was implemented on June 29. The city also considered proximity to large workplaces with night shifts, ridership data and public feedback. Radstrom said further changes could be needed as circumstances change, such as the construction of new neighbourhoods or addition of large companies that rely on night shifts. Transit’s new hires would include 27.5 new bus operator positions, plus six more positions to cover operating, plant, equipment and administrative supports. While Transit has sometimes struggled to hire enough bus drivers, that’s not expected to be an obstacle to this plan. “We’re doing better with our hiring than we ever have… We’re continuing to hire about six operators a week,” said Radstrom. In 2025, Transit hired 234 operators, while 120 left their positions, he said. “We haven’t had a single service cancellation due to a shortage of operators since the launch of the new network,” he added. On Thursday, council’s public works committee will vote on a request to refer the plan to the city’s 2026 budget process. The committee’s chairwoman said she will support the proposal. “People need to get to work. Transportation and movement is the backbone of our economy,” said Coun. Janice Lukes (Waverley West). Lukes said the changes match key complaints received by the city after the new network was implemented, with some residents noting they could no longer rely on the bus to get home from work or school. “We’re making these changes, we’re taking feedback,” she said. Mayor Scott Gillingham said he supports adding more night-time bus service, although he’s still reviewing the details of the plan. “If that’s what it takes to ensure that transit’s available late at night for transit users, then that’s an investment that I’m certainly willing to look at,” said Gillingham. If approved, the fixed route changes would kick in on April 12, 2026. The following routes would offer a last trip that starts after midnight: D10 Panet – Adsum; D14 Salter – Stafford; D16 Academy – Notre Dame; D17 Talbot – Selkirk; 28 Arlington – Stafford; 38 Mountain – Munroe; 43 Watt – Logan; 70 Roblin; 74 Kenaston – Keewatin; 224 Sherwin – Valour; 680 River Heights – Cambridge (on weekdays only). Currently, the last bus for fixed two-digit “connector” routes makes its final pickup around 10 p.m., while the last bus on three-digit “community” routes do so at 7 p.m. City council has already approved a separate plan to extend hours later into the night for 10 on-request bus routes, starting Dec. 14, with funding until April. The latest plan would extend its funding permanently as well. On-request service will end just before 2 a.m. from Monday to Saturday and around 12:45 a.m. on Sunday and holidays on those routes, instead of around 10 p.m. On-request service allows riders to request a pickup from their location to a stop on the primary bus network by using the Winnipeg Transit website, app or by calling 311. joyanne.pursaga(a)freepress.mb.ca<mailto:joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca> X: @joyanne_pursaga

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