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Transit loses millions in ridership revenue

New network, safety concerns cited as ridership declines; surplus still forecast

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2025/12/08/transit-loses-mill...

WINNIPEG Transit expects to earn $8.5 million less in fares than its budget predicted this year as fewer people have been taking the bus.

During a public works meeting on Monday, committee members were told the number of riders fell to 89 per cent of 2019 levels as of Nov. 30, this year. That’s down from 95 per cent of 2019 (pre-pandemic levels) throughout 2024.

Annual ridership reached 48,770,208 in 2019, the city’s website says.

“The issue that we continue to struggle with is the erosion of fare revenue and this year’s forecast is to be under budget by $8.5 million… We did not anticipate the extent to which we have realized lower ridership numbers,” Laurie Fisher, Winnipeg Transit’s finance manager, told the committee.

Fisher said riders who refuse to pay also affect revenue.

Due to savings in fuel and carbon tax costs, Transit still expects to end the year with a $400,000 surplus.

The service doesn’t have clear data to determine the exact reasons why ridership declined. However, a Transit official believes the bumpy start to a new primary transit network implemented on June 29 is partly to blame.

“After the launch of the new network, we were expecting that we would have a bit of a decline in ridership, because… it’s going to take people a while to learn the new network. Some people are just going to not take transit anymore and there’s going to be a bit of a lag until people who have better service (due to the changes)… start taking the bus,” said Bjorn Radstrom, Transit’s manager of service development.

The new primary transit network triggered many complaints from riders, with some reporting longer travel times, inconvenient stops and added transfers. Transfers are a key feature of the new spine-and-feeder system, which uses community feeder routes to connect to more central ones and aims to make many buses more reliable.

Radstrom noted the decline in ridership began late last year, months before the new network was implemented. He said similar reductions have been experienced by other transit systems, though the reasons are not clear.

“We’re all a little bit confused as to why this is happening,” he said.

The chairwoman of council’s public works committee said she suspects reduced ridership may be linked to repeated security issues.

“I’d have to say people are not maybe taking transit as much because they’re concerned about their safety,” said Coun. Janice Lukes (Waverley West).

Crime has been a persistent concern for Transit for several years. In September, the Winnipeg Police Service announced a “targeted safety strategy” in and around buses. Police noted 325 violent crimes were reported at Winnipeg Transit locations in 2024 alone, including on buses and near bus shelters.

Lukes stressed the city and Transit have taken several steps to reduce public transportation risks, including adding community safety officers who patrol buses and bus stops.

Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1505 president Chris Scott called the loss in revenue “a bit of a surprise and a bit of a concern.”

Scott suggested changes made by the Transit overhaul, namely the reduction in late night service, could be a major factor in ridership decline.

Safety issues could also be a factor. “The two of them combined should put the city on notice that something is going to have to be done, and going to have to be done soon,” he said.

Ridership has slowly gone up since the pandemic, Scott said, but the drop in revenue has him concerned about a potential “death spiral,” where a reduction in ridership could result in cuts in service from the city, then spark further reductions in ridership.

“I do hope that this is just a hiccup in our increase in ridership.”

Harleen Deol, a University of Winnipeg student, said she bought a car around three months after the Transit routes changed in June. Overnight, the trip from her home in Amber Trails to the U of W nearly doubled, to an hour or more from 35 minutes, and she had to walk over half an hour to get home some days because her bus did not run at night.

“I can guarantee that if the bus routes had not changed, I would have never got the car,” she said Monday.

Taylor Reisdorf said he used to catch the bus twice a day or more. Now, he uses the bus about one day a week.

He also bought a car in response to the Transit overhaul after his commute from River Heights to his downtown office became 40 minutes or longer, in comparison to his original 15- to 20-minute commute.

“I no longer rely on the transit system… I’ve lost faith in their ability to run the system properly,” he said.

As the temperature continues to drop, he said he worries about Transit users who may be waiting outside more often and for longer periods, without additional shelters at stops to help them stay warm.

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