WINNIPEG -- Winnipeg transit buses are getting too full more often according to new data from the city showing there were more "pass-ups" in 2019 than ever before.
A pass-up happens when a bus is unable to accomodate any more passengers and passes by people waiting at bus stops.
While bus pass-ups were at an all-time high in 2019, it's a trend that's continued to climb since 2015, when there were more than 12, 800 pass-ups.
That number climbed steadily up to 2019, when there was a total of 17,588 pass-ups.
Coun. Matt Allard, chair of the Public Works Committee, said the city is aware of the issue.
"Council has endorsed work on the transit master plan and has endorsed a report, which is the first phase of the master plan in the southwest quadrant, which is a significantly enhanced level of service and so that has been passed by council," he told CTV News.
The data also shows that pass-ups occur more often on certain routes.
Here is a look at the routes that had the most pass-ups in 2019:
- Route 162 with more than 2,000 pass-ups.
- Route 75 with more than 1,600 pass-ups.
- Route 11 with more than 1,200 pass-ups.
- Route 160 with more than 700 pass-ups.
- Route 21 with more than 700 pass-ups
Allard says the rising number of pass-ups is a budget issue.
"Right now it's a very bleak situation with about $50 million missing in the transit budget for the next four years," he said.
Derek Koop, the president of Functional Transit Winnipeg - a public transit advocacy group, said he has concerns about the city's master plan
"We've seen this plan in the works with the city,” Koop said. “They're working on the transit master plan, where they have a frequent network laid out -- but we don't see this being implemented in the upcoming four-year budget."
