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Winnipeg Transit begins rolling out free bus passes for young people next week, starting with students in the highest grades.
While the City of Winnipeg and the Manitoba government hope the pilot project makes transit more accessible for youth, some people worry about the system’s ability to handle the expected influx of riders.
The program provides free transit passes to students aged 11 to 21 who are enrolled in Grades 7 to 12 in a Winnipeg-based school program during the 2026-27 school year. The passes are valid from September 2026 through August 2027.
The passes will be distributed through schools in three stages, starting with Grade 11 and 12 students when classes begin. Grade 9 and 10 students will follow, with Grade 7 and 8 students expected to receive passes near the end of September.
The city has printed 60,000 passes for the project but does not know how many additional students will actually begin taking transit.
Coun. Janice Lukes, chair of the city’s public works committee, said roughly 15,000 students currently take transit. She said the number could potentially increase significantly once the passes are made available.
But Lukes said she is concerned about how the system will handle the influx of new riders, particularly because September and October are already among the busiest months for pass-ups, when a bus is too full to stop to take on more passengers.
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Free youth transit passes will be available for Winnipeg students when school starts. The city says the move will make transit more accessible, but some worry the influx of riders will put too much pressure on the system.
“It’s a great concept. It’s a great idea. It’s great to give students free passes so that they’ll want to take the bus,” she said.
“But I’m really worried about the experience because if this is their first experience taking the bus and there’s pass-ups…, that’s not good.”
While distribution of the passes might vary from school to school, Winnipeg Transit says students in all eligible grades are expected to have access to one by the end of the month.
Transit is adjusting bus schedules and moving additional buses onto routes where it expects increased demand. Staff will also monitor ridership and pass-ups and provide regular updates to councillors and the province.
Lukes said the city had roughly six months to prepare for the program and did not have the funding or time to buy additional buses specifically for its launch.
The Manitoba government pledged in its March budget to introduce fare-free public transit for youths aged 18 and under across transit systems in a number of cities, setting aside $10 million to reimburse municipalities for the one-year pilot project.
Kyle Owens, president of Functional Transit Winnipeg, said removing the cost barrier is a positive step, but the transit system needs to be ready for the influx of new riders.
“We’re risking putting a lot of people into the system when the system isn’t necessarily ready for them,” he said.
Owens said Winnipeg’s recently overhauled “spine-and-feeder” transit network has frequent service along major routes but connecting feeder routes have not always provided the service and reliability riders need.
He said the city should accelerate planned transit improvements, including dedicated bus lanes and priority signals at intersections, to make existing service more reliable.