One year after the biggest change in Winnipeg Transit’s history, we continue to grow and adjust our bus network with the feedback of Winnipeg residents and riders in mind.
“Our job at Transit right now is to make the network as best we can for residents and evolve it so it serves them better and better every year,” said Adam Budowski, Senior Transit Planner.
A conversation with Budowski is the focus of the August 2026 episode of Our City, Our Podcast. It walks listeners through Transit's experience hearing about, mitigating, and adapting to the growing pains of the largest system change in the organization's history.
As riders tried out the new schedules and routes, we quickly heard what wasn’t working for them. In July 2025, the first full month of the new network, we received 2,895 comments, complaints, and concerns.
What we heard
The feedback covered everything from bus stop locations and route frustrations to the time of our last buses in the evening. We have read every comment, in that month and in the months since, and our planners have looked for opportunities to address not only the broad concerns, but as many specific rider complaints as possible.
We take all feedback seriously and appreciate the time riders took to share their experience and insight. And in the year since the network was introduced, we have used every schedule change as an opportunity to address elements of what you told us.
“When I look at a lot of the feedback, it's really evident people feel a sense of ownership of it, which is good and what we want,” said Budowski.
We just want to make sure that we have that trust with people and we're making the changes that we need to make so that we continue to make this network a little bit better every time and get some of that trust back with Winnipeggers.
We know there is still work to be done to improve the rider experience, however we are seeing positive signs that our recent changes are addressing many of the concerns. A year in, network related feedback has dropped significantly, down to 188 messages received.
We’re also starting to see a return to more stable ridership, a sign that our changes are beginning to address rider concerns.
Recent ridership data shows our average number of weekday boardings grew from this winter to spring. This is significant because it goes against the general trend of fewer people taking the bus each year as the weather warms up. We will continue to monitor ridership carefully, especially as Winnipeggers return to regular schedules with school and university resuming this fall.
We encourage you to continue sharing your feedback on the network so we can identify and address areas of improvement.
Factoring in your feedback
The most frequent concerns we heard related to schedules, stop placements, and route planning. We’ve made several changes over the past year to respond to those concerns.
Schedule adjustments
We’ve addressed schedule concerns in several ways, including expanded evening and late-night service, both in On-Request zones and fixed route areas. Additional trips were added on busy routes, such as the F5 and F8. Schedules were rewritten for underperforming routes, including D12 and D13.
Trips on routes serving schools were added to address capacity concerns, with even more being added later this year.
We’ve also seen transfer times lining up better because of schedule improvements.
Moving stops
We’ve relocated several stops for a variety of reasons and moved terminals to bring transit closer to priority services identified by residents. One example is moving a terminal to bring transit closer to the Winnipeg Clinic, Graham Avenue, Manitoba Hydro Place, and Canada Life Centre.
We’re adding stops at Main at Cathedral on FX2, as well as two additional stops on Portage for BLUE, starting September 6, 2026.
We’re continuing to review and respond to stop changes requests.
Our crews are also adding bus benches and making other enhancements around new bus stops.
Route changes
We’ve made changes to routes because of passenger feedback and rider demands, with more on the way. Routes are being extended to include high-density developments, popular retail, and commercial destinations.
On-Request zone boundaries have been expanded where better coverage was needed.
Read more about the route changes coming as part of the upcoming fall schedule.
While we’ll continue to adjust, it’s not possible for us to address every specific concern raised. We’ve built this network to benefit most of our riders and with our city’s future in mind. It’s inevitable there will be some riders for who will find the system is less convenient than before or may need to take more steps to reach their destination.
Our Transit Trainers have been helping riders navigate the network by holding information sessions with residents and community organizations. You can find them at various events and farmers’ markets through the fall. You can also register for one of their online sessions held on Tuesdays.
We encourage you to continue sharing your feedback on the network so we can identify and address areas of improvement.
Growing the network
Our bus network was designed to be scaled to meet the needs of our growing city. It will continue to change and adapt.
“I don’t want people to think that because the network launched, Transit is done with it,” said Budowski, “This network change is just the beginning, it's the start of something new.”
If you’re interested in growing the network alongside us, we’re in the process of hiring bus operators. Our training program is fully paid and runs just over a month. Visit our website to start the application process.
Our City, Our Podcast
You can hear more about why our bus network needed to be changed, how we’re responding to your feedback, and the future of Transit in Winnipeg on this month’s episode of Our City, Our Podcast.
You can listen to the episode in the player below or on any major podcasting platform.