\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
![\"MIKAELA](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/4284333_web1_27481364_190514-FREE-BUS-007.JPG\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n
MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS FILES<\/p>\n
A crackdown on bus riders who don\u2019t pay their fares is getting credit for preventing thousands of free Winnipeg Transit rides.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve just had spectacular feedback from the transit drivers, spectacular feedback from the public. (Passengers know) you have to pay to ride the bus. We\u2019ve got so many subsidized programs. If people can\u2019t pay, we\u2019ll help them figure out what program \u2026 that they can afford,\u201d said Lukes (Waverley West). \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of support being offered, it\u2019s really not just kicking people off the bus.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those conducting enforcement may refer vulnerable people to the Downtown Community Safety Partnership for support, or even provide rides to help them seek services at nearby clinics, she said.<\/p>\n
Winnipeg Transit inspectors recorded 2,878 denied bus rides, plus 1,083 instances where individuals chose to walk away instead of boarding, between July 2025 and April 20.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of support being offered, it\u2019s really not just kicking people off the bus.\u201d<\/p>\n
The city\u2019s community safety team, a key security presence on buses, recorded another 8,816 denied rides and 6,313 \u201cwalkaways\u201d between Jan. 1 and April 20. Results of that team\u2019s 2025 enforcement were not included in the report.<\/p>\n
The city has said it loses between $7 million and $10 million in revenue each year due to Transit fare evasion.<\/p>\n
Officials stressed the crackdown on skipped payments is also meant to make buses safer.<\/p>\n
The head of the union that represents Winnipeg bus drivers said that\u2019s a key reason many drivers support fare enforcement.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor one thing, 90 per cent of our assaults (on drivers) are caused by people who did not pay the fare \u2026 It needs to be done,\u201d said James Van Gerwen, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1505.<\/p>\n
Van Gerwen said the union counted 265 security incidents on buses in 2025 and 112 more this year so far. That figure counts a variety of issues, including all types of assault, attempted assault and verbal threats, as well as steering wheel grabs, shield punches, spitting, attempted robbery, theft, property damage, open liquor, drinks being poured on drivers and use of bear repellent spray.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS FILES<\/p>\n More than 11,000 bus rides have been denied since a Winnipeg Transit crackdown began on riders who don\u2019t pay fares.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Drivers are also concerned about the money Winnipeg Transit loses due to fare evasion, which could otherwise by spent on enhancing bus service, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of the budget relies upon the fares \u2026 If we want a transit system that\u2019s running efficiently, (those millions of dollars) would go a long way in supplying extra buses, better buses and the operators to (drive them),\u201d said Van Gerwen.<\/p>\n The report also shows Transit inspectors issued just 35 bylaw tickets for fare evasion since July 2025.<\/p>\n \u201c90 per cent of our assaults (on drivers) are caused by people who did not pay the fare \u2026 It needs to be done.\u201d<\/p>\n Lukes said penalties are not the focus of the program.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re really trying to educate people and talk them through it. This isn\u2019t about issuing tickets. If they can\u2019t pay for the bus fare, they\u2019re not going to be able to pay for that ticket,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The councillor said enforcement appears to have happened smoothly for the most part.<\/p>\n \u201cThere weren\u2019t a lot of altercations. What they tell us is that people, when they see that there\u2019s fare enforcement \u2026 they either pay or they don\u2019t take the bus. It acts as a real deterrent to negative situations,\u201d said Lukes.<\/p>\n Winnipeg Transit did not grant an interview request Thursday.<\/p>\n In an email, spokeswoman Megan Benedictson said it\u2019s not yet clear how much fare enforcement has reduced Transit revenue losses.<\/p>\n \u201cOur fare revenue is also influenced by multiple other factors. We simple can\u2019t say with confidence how many people who are denied rides are returning next time to pay willingly, and what this means for our bottom line,\u201d wrote Benedictson.<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t Anecdotally, it appears bus drivers are reporting fewer people not paying since enforcement began, she added.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Lukes said the city is seeking funding from the provincial and federal governments to equip buses with full driver shields, replacing partial ones the city installed in 2019.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re closer than we\u2019ve ever been to determining who\u2019s coming to the table with funding,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Lukes said the new shields are expected to cost about $15 million and the city will consider its portion of the funding in the 2027 budget.<\/p>\n She believes city councillors support that change, which would allow polycarbonate (shatter resistant) driver enclosures to be added to the bus fleet.<\/p>\n \u201cWe work very closely with the union and \u2026 they want full enclosures, so that\u2019s what we\u2019re going to be looking at,\u201d said Lukes.<\/p>\n Van Gerwen said the change is needed as soon as possible.<\/p>\n \u201cWe found that (the) shields that are there right now are inadequate. (People can) still can reach around the shield, they still can grab the steering wheels, they can throw things at the operators. It\u2019s a hazard,\u201d he said. \u201cFull enclosures (do) reduce the assaults on the driver and make it a safer environment.\u201d<\/p>\n joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n X: @joyanne_pursaga<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Joyanne Pursaga Joyanne is city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. A reporter since 2004, she began covering politics exclusively in 2012, writing on city hall and the Manitoba Legislature for the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in early 2020. Read more about Joyanne<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Joyanne produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Reporter
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n