Are buses the best option for public transit in Winnipeg?

Steven Higashide might know the answer. Higashide – who wrote the book Better Buses, Better Cities: How to Plan, Run, and Win the Fight for Effective Transit – has been studying transit in cities around the world, and he told 680 CJOB that if done right, the bus can be the way of the future for cities like Winnipeg.

Even if it’s not as flashy as some of the other options out there in the world.

“Buses can be a great way for people to get around,” said Higashide.

“You don’t want to focus on transportation technology because it’s perceived as sexier or flashier. What really matters is transit service that is fast, frequent, and provides a dignified experience. Tweet This

“So the question is – are leaders in Winnipeg going in that direction?”

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Steven Higashide. Twitter / @shigashide

Higashide said there are a number of simple ways the ridership experience can be improved, without necessarily shelling out big bucks for shiny new technology.

“There’s a lot that can be done through simple way-finding and map design to make transit an intuitive experience,” he said.

“As an outsider looking at the Winnipeg Transit maps, it’s a bit confusing to understand which are the frequent routes that are coming every 10-15 minutes, and which are the routes that I have to plan my life around the schedule?”

Something as simple as colour-coding the frequent routes on transit maps, he said, would go a long way toward clearing up that confusion, as would making small tweaks to street design.

“There can be great customer information at stops or on your smartphone, and there are a lot of street design tools that need to be implemented to make bus trips fast.

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“There’s the system of diamond lanes that exist in Winnipeg – perhaps there are some places to expand that, perhaps geographically or to expand the hours that some of those are open.”

Higashide said his research has shown that Canadian cities are, in general, handling bus transit better than their American counterparts, but there are a few standout U.S. cities — such as Houston, Tex. — that are on the vanguard of bus innovation.

“In Houston, in 2015, they re-organized the bus system from scratch,” he said.

“They really emphasized the importance of frequent service, of routes that come every 15 minutes, or sometimes more often than that. Those provide a service where you can just show up and go.”

Ultimately, he said, getting an efficient bus system means co-ordination between the transit service and civic leaders, especially in a winter city like Winnipeg.

“You can have a transit service that’s fast and frequent but it’s still not going to feel like a great experience when getting to the bus stop involves crossing roads that are dangerous, if it involves standing in some place without a sidewalk… and in winter cities that includes that it’s not going to be a great or convenient experience if they haven’t cleared the snow. Tweet This

“That really involves a lot of coordination perhaps between the many different entities that operate the transit service on the one hand and maintain the streets on the other.”

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READ MORE: Winnipeg Transit bans 28 passengers in 2019

Councillor Scott Gillingham. City of Winnipeg / Twitter

Winnipeg Transit has been in the news in recent days, as the union representing the city’s bus drivers calls for more of transit’s accumulated surplus to be spent within transit.

The head of Winnipeg’s finance committee told 680 CJOB that most of the money does, in fact, remain in the department.

According to Coun. Scott Gillingham (St. James), much of the money that’s been left over at the end of the year has been spent on capital projects for transit – to fund projects like bus shields and to buy more buses.

“Those surpluses are reallocated back into transit. For example, in 2019, those funds were used to purchase bus shields, (for) an electric bus study, heated bus shelters, and many other capital improvements as well.

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“There have been years previous where the money did not stay within transit,” said Gillingham, “I know that in recent years, the money has stayed within transit so that it can be re-invested in transit.

“One of the advantages of using those surpluses within transit is it means transit does not have to use debt in some cases, to fund things like bus shields.”