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Bus network overhaul, fewer newcomers cited in seasonal drop

Winnipeg Transit ridership plummets

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2026/01/16/fewer-newcomers-bu...

FEWER people rode Winnipeg Transit in the fall, a trend some blame on reduced immigration and a recent bus network overhaul.

Transit data shows average daily rider counts fell 14 per cent in September to December 2025, when compared to the same period of the previous year. The average rider count fell to 178,505 from 207,224.

“This is on track for what I thought we would see … The fact that it’s that much, (since we) were already seeing a ridership drop for other reasons, it doesn’t surprise me. We just now need to work at addressing what the issues are, making the improvements and making sure the system’s as good as it can be,” said Bjorn Radstrom, Winnipeg Transit’s manager of service development.

Radstrom said ridership began to decline several months before Transit implemented a new primary network that changed virtually every route in the system on June 29, 2025.

He believes the initial reduction is directly tied to federal policy changes that reduced immigration, leading fewer temporary foreign workers and international students to come to Winnipeg.

“Those are groups of people that tend to use transit at a higher rate than the general population … so that would definitely explain some of the drop in ridership,” he said.

Radstrom said other passengers likely did stop taking the bus due to the network change, adding to the decline.

“You’ve got the one group of people that the new system is not better for and some of them might have decided not to take transit … What’s going to drive an increase in ridership is people who have never really considered taking the bus before who now have better service available to them. But it takes time for them to learn it’s there, realize it’s there and to give it a shot,” he said.

Radstrom said he hopes more people will start to discover their Transit routes have improved this spring.

Mayor Scott Gillingham said many Canadian cities saw public transit ridership decline in late 2024, likely due to immigration changes.

Manitoba was allotted 11,196 spots for international students this year, due to a federal cap, down from 18,951 in 2025. The latest federal immigration plan aims to add 380,000 new permanent residents across Canada in 2026, down from a 485,000 target in 2024.

Those opting not to board buses due to the network changes should be aware the city is closely monitoring Transit and making changes in response to public feedback, said Gillingham.

“We’re making record investments in the transit system, and it’s been a significant, monumental change (with the network) that we have introduced to transit. It’s going to take some time for that change to settle in,” he said.

The mayor said the city should be able to better gauge the full impact of the network around June 2026, one year after it took effect.

“We’ve made the most significant change to transit … in, really, probably the city’s history … We’ll continue to monitor the data and see what adjustments need to be made,” said Gillingham.

The new network has triggered many rider complaints, with some passengers stating their routes now take far longer to complete, while others said service ends too early for them to get home from school or work.

Coun. Janice Lukes, chairwoman of public works, said the city has made adjustments every season to respond to feedback, which will continue.

She stressed the new network is not the only factor driving down ridership.

“We didn’t expect the hit with the international students … On transit ridership, it’s a massive hit, if you don’t have thousands of people taking the bus because they’re not in the country,” said Lukes (Waverley West).

The councillor said the lost fare revenue will pose a challenge to the city’s bottom line.

The head of a group that has long pushed for more Transit spending said the new network was needed, even if it led some riders to stop taking the bus.

“There’s no going back. This was emergency foundation repair. There is no way that we could truly grow as a city under the old system,” said Kyle Owens, president of Functional Transit Winnipeg.

Rider frustration should be expected, though, because the city has long failed to spend enough money on Transit to ensure the system operates as frequently as it should, said Owens.

“This changeover was not a changeover to an ideal transit system. The system is still vastly underfunded,” he said.

To attract more riders, Owens suggested Transit speed up bus trips by adding more Transit corridors and bus priority signals at intersections. The signals give buses a head start before all other traffic.

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