Winnipeg Transit service reduced as city struggles to recruit dozens of drivers to fill vacancies
A lack of transit drivers has led to a reduction in service in Winnipeg, as the city struggles to fill dozens of empty positions.
City Councillor Janice Lukes, chair of the public works committee, said Winnipeg Transit is short about 50 drivers.
If numbers don't bounce back, she says the city will not be able to return to pre-pandemic levels of service.
The City of Winnipeg told CTV News in a statement that Winnipeg Transit is operating at a six per cent reduction in overall service levels, as approved in the most recent budget update.
The city also says they are dealing with an increase in operator absenteeism, including longer recovery times before returning to work.
The combined result, the city says, is a small number of buses designated as DNOs, or Did Not Operate in its schedule, resulting in about one per cent or less of their daily service hours being cancelled.
“While we never want to see DNOs, what we are experiencing currently is intermittent and is limited to the peak periods (rush hours),” the statement read.
The city’s human resources department is working on a strategy with a consulting firm to address the issue of recruitment, but there’s no word on how long that will take.
Meantime, the union representing operators said vacancy numbers don’t tell the whole story. There are about 100 more drivers on short or long-term leave of absence for medical or personal reasons.
“Some of them are actually due to accidents and assaults. Some of them are not yet coming back to work. So on paper, they are operators, but they are not going to be driving anytime soon,” said Romeo Ignacio, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1505.
Ignacio said the number one barrier to recruitment is safety, an issue he has raised with the mayor and some city councillors.
“We have a number of recommendations, and they're looking into it,” he said.
“However, safety isn't just specific to transit. There's still issues out there, just being out in public. Even our operators, who are not driving the buses, are getting assaulted, as well. So we think the province and the city could do a lot more to address the issue of overall safety within the city.”
- With files from CTV's Jon Hendricks
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Half of Canadians have negative opinion of latest Liberal budget: poll
A new poll suggests the Liberals have not won over voters with their latest budget, though there is broad support for their plan to build millions of homes.
opinion Why you should protect your investments by naming a trusted contact person
Appointing a trusted person to help with financial obligations can give you peace of mind. In his personal finance column for CTVNews.ca, Christopher Liew outlines the key benefits of naming a confidant to take over your financial responsibilities, if the need ever arises.
Teacher shortages see some Ontario high school students awarded perfect grades on midterm exams
Students at a high school in York Region have been awarded perfect marks on their midterm exams in three subjects – not because of their academic performances however, but because they had no teacher.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Ottawa injects another $36M into vaccine injury compensation fund
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
An Ontario senior thought he called Geek Squad for help with his printer. Instead, he got scammed out of $25,000
An Ontario senior’s attempt to get technical help online led him into a spoofing scam where he lost $25,000. Now, he’s sharing his story to warn others.
Her fiance has been in prison for 49 years. She's trying to free him before it’s too late
She was lying in bed on a Thursday morning, thinking about the man she loved, hoping to win his freedom before time ran out.