WINNIPEG -- The City of Winnipeg is promising to speed up bus commutes once the South West Rapid Transit corridor from Jubilee Avenue to the University of Manitoba opens in April.
A new report says a “Spine and Feeder” system will be put in place, where the BRT corridor acts as a spine and is fed by neighbourhood routes.
A new “BLUE Line” will power the spine, running north and south from downtown to the U of M, along the rapid transit corridor and on south Pembina Highway to St. Norbert.
“The ‘feeder routes’ from the various neighbourhoods in southwest Winnipeg feed into the BLUE Line and Pembina Highway at stations or major stops. Passengers will catch their neighbourhood feeder bus, take it to a BLUE Line station and from there transfer to a BLUE Line bus, instead of waiting for one specific bus,” explained the City of Winnipeg in a news release.
The report says travel time on the corridor will improve by eight to ten minutes in ideal conditions.
It’s promising an average wait of two to three minutes for transfers from feeder routes to the BLUE Line and five to eight minutes for transfers from the BLUE Line to feeder routes.
In order to pull this off, the report says the city will need to spend an extra $3.5 million annually for added resources, including:
- 38 bus drivers;
- four operation supervisors;
- one control centre staff member focused on the BLUE Line; and
- five maintenance staff.
It also says 28 articulated buses were purchased for the opening, and at peak times they will be used for the BLUE Line exclusively.
The city’s public works committee will consider the plan next week.
If approved a number of new routes will be created, changed or cancelled:
Created:
- BLUE Line
- 635 Osborne Village
- 641 Lindenwoods West
- 642 Lindenwoods East
- 649 Chevrier
- 650 McGillivray
- 662 Richmond
- 671 Dalhousie North
- 672 Killarney
- 676 Bridgwater/River Road
- 677 Wilkes
- 690 Industrial
- 691 Whyte Ridge
- 693 Waverley Heights
- 694 Wildwood
Changed:
- 23 Broadway (formerly “29 Sherbrook – Broadway” branch)
- 29 Sherbrook (Stafford branch)
- 47 Transcona and 160 Pembina (merged into one route)
- 60 Pembina
- 65 Grant Express
- 66 Grant
- 68 Crescent
- 74 Kenaston
- 78 Waverley
- 91 St. Norbert
Cancelled:
- 51 St. Vital/University of Manitoba
- 64 Lindenwoods Express
- 72 South Pointe/University of Manitoba
- 76 St. Vital/University of Manitoba
- 84 Lindenwoods/Fort Rouge Station
- 86 Bridgwater/Fort Rouge Station
- 94 Whyteridge/Wildwood
- 99 Downtown/Misericordia/Windermere
- 109 St. Norbert DART
- 137 Richmond Super Express
- 161 University Super Express
- 162 Downtown/University of Manitoba/St. Norbert/Turnbull Drive
- 163 Waverley Heights Express
- 170 Downtown/University of Manitoba/St. Norbert
- 180 Industrial Express
- 181 Whyte Ridge Express
- 183 Richmond West Express
- 185 Osborne Village Express
