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The Free Press recently obtained a copy of the complaints about the new network during its first full month of operation through a freedom of information request. They range widely, but a common theme was that the new system, which cost the city roughly $20.4-million, was a downgrade from the previous one.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis change is a slap in the face and a nightmare of huge proportions for me and others,\u201d said one rider, who filed a complaint at 9:15 a.m. on July 1 about the D19 route, which runs predominately along Corydon Avenue, connecting Assiniboine Park and downtown.<\/p>\n
The rider said commuters had been \u201cblindsided\u201d by the overhaul, calling it a \u201cdeception of the highest order.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is terrible,\u201d a different rider wrote that same day, complaining about the lack of late-night service. \u201cI\u2019m going to lose my job now because of these changes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe new bus system is a nightmare!!!!!\u201d wrote another. \u201cAre you trying to kill bus ridership?\u201d<\/p>\n
By the end of that first month, riders were sounding more desperate. \u201cI\u2019m almost ready to trade my first-born child for a fully functioning transit system,\u201d one user wrote on July 28.<\/p>\n
Touted as the biggest modernization of Winnipeg Transit in 60 years, the new network moved from the decades-old hub-and-wheel route design to a series of high-frequency spine routes on major corridors, which was anticipated to deliver faster, more reliable service.<\/p>\n
Another one chides the bus<\/p>\n
The Free Press reviewed more than 2,900 complaints, spanning 500 pages, filed in July 2025, the first full month of the new primary transit network.<\/p>\n
The complaints were logged with the city\u2019s 311 service or via other feedback portals.<\/p>\n
All personal information was redacted, including names and addresses.<\/p>\n
The length of each complaint varied. Some took up several paragraphs, while others were short and direct. One rider submitted a one-word complaint on July 2: \u201cHorrible.\u201d<\/p>\n
The complaints ranged widely, but a common opinion was that the new system was a downgrade, not an upgrade.<\/p>\n
Roughly 40 positive comments were received, but those were often tempered with suggestions for additional improvements.<\/p>\n
A year in and transit is forecasting a $18-million drop in revenue, from a projected $97 million in its current budget to $79 million.<\/p>\n
The loss of ridership \u2014 specifically a drop in use by international students and workers \u2014 and fare scofflaws were cited as the main factors for the anticipated shortfall, the city reported in June.<\/p>\n
The number of complaints fell during the second month, with only 1,324 logged in August 2025. But when school resumed last September, the complaints ballooned to more than 2,800.<\/p>\n
At the time, city transit downplayed the negative feedback, chalking it up to growing pains.<\/p>\n
This year, only 188 complaints were received in July, with a spokesperson attributing the lessening of negative feedback to ongoing adjustments in response to the criticism.<\/p>\n
However, one expert, whose research into building age-friendly cities and shaping Winnipeg\u2019s downtown includes public transportation, said people can only complain so much.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would think that\u2019s more like learned helplessness,\u201d said Richard Milgrom, associate professor in the University of Manitoba\u2019s department of city planning.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve complained, but how many times can you complain? \u2026 People already have busy days, they don\u2019t want to spend all of their time writing to complain about things.\u201d<\/p>\n
Milgrom suggested the city went \u201call in\u201d on its plan to launch a new system, but put no real investment behind it, saying even though the formal complaints have slowed, dissatisfaction remains.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe volume, I think, reflects the fact that the city has done something that just isn\u2019t working for a lot of people,\u201d he said, adding that even among some of his transit-minded colleagues, the bus is no longer considered a viable option.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t While a rise in complaints is expected when a new system is launched, Milgrom said, the city should be actively seeking feedback.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s actually, in a way, the best time to do consultation,\u201d he said. \u201cAll projects are going to fall short in some way. This one\u2019s falling short in a lot of ways, but everything falls short and needs to be tweaked.\u201d<\/p>\n He said the city should not dabble in a system that doesn\u2019t serve riders\u2019 needs and thwarts its own climate-change targets. If Winnipeg \u201cis serious about their climate goals of reducing emissions,\u201d he said, \u201cthey\u2019re going the totally wrong way.\u201d<\/p>\n The city initially planned to wait a full year before making major changes, but then began tweaking the system in response to the criticism.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Those tweaks include increasing transfer windows to 90 minutes, expanding both the hours and boundaries of the city\u2019s on-request zones and extending late-night service to 10 routes.<\/p>\n The city has also cracked down on fare evaders while adding more safety officers \u201cto enhance rider and operator safety,\u201d a spokesperson said.<\/p>\n Mayor Scott Gillingham said in a recent interview with the Free Press that officials knew the move would be disruptive and would negatively impact some riders, but the overhaul was a critical phase in the city\u2019s Transit Master Plan.<\/p>\n The $4.7-billion plan, which establishes a road map for transit until 2050, will help the city as it grows to a population of one million while also allowing for the potential implementation of light-rail rapid transit, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe made the change to set transit up for the future of the city that we are building and the city we are growing to be,\u201d Gillingham said. \u201cWe have to remember that the old transit network wasn\u2019t working either \u2014 there were a lot of complaints.\u201d<\/p>\n City data indicates ridership is slowly climbing, but is still significantly lower than the post-pandemic high logged in October 2024, when 4,730,474 people rode the bus.<\/p>\n In June 2026, there were 3,112,499 riders, a decrease of more than 34 per cent, or 1,617,975 fewer people riding the bus.<\/p>\n However, when comparing June 2025 to June 2026, the decrease is only 13 per cent, or 494,949 fewer riders.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \u201cComplaints are down 95 per cent and transit ridership has recovered to more than 98 per cent of where it was a year ago,\u201d Gillingham said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe question wasn\u2019t whether there were complaints after a major change \u2014 of course there was going to be \u2014 the question is whether we listened as a city. Whether we made the changes and improved the system, and we\u2019ve done that.\u201d<\/p>\n A review of rider complaints by the Free Press revealed that people with mobility issues and seniors were among the hardest hit.<\/p>\n \u201cThis system is ridiculous. I have emphysema and arthritis, transit is my main source of (transportation). Now there is no way I can use it. I can\u2019t walk more than a block or 2 \u2026 Come winter I\u2019d die, simple as that,\u201d a user wrote on July 3.<\/p>\n \u201cI am disabled and unable to walk to any of the new bus stops in my area. You have caused me to become a prisoner in my home.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t have money for a cab,\u201d said one senior, detailing how a route change required her to walk two kilometres. \u201cWalking more than a few blocks is not an option for me. I\u2019m in tears right now because we are so low on groceries.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI am disabled and unable to walk to any of the new bus stops in my area,\u201d another person wrote. \u201cYou have caused me to become a prisoner in my home. In addition, I am unable to get to my doctor\u2019s office since your change. Thank you very much for making me very sorry that Winnipeg is my home.\u201d<\/p>\n James Van Gerwen, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union 1505, which represents Winnipeg bus drivers, mechanics and technicians, agreed the old system \u201cwas broken\u201d but said the new network should\u2019ve been rolled out in stages, allowing for feedback with each significant change.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was literally flicking a switch on a Saturday night and then on Sunday morning, you\u2019re starting with a brand-new system,\u201d Van Gerwen said.<\/p>\n \u201cIf it had been a slower rollout, you could have fixed those situations as they arise, not fix everything all at once \u2026 That\u2019s where their major problem was and that\u2019s where it was a flop.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t And riders took out their frustrations on the drivers, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey don\u2019t have access to talk to the director of transit and complain to him. But they do have the ability to scream at a driver from around that shield. That causes a lot of stress.\u201d<\/p>\n Online gathering places offering people a place to vent about the system are still active, said Tracey Honeybunn, an administrator for the Facebook page Winnipeggers Against the New Transit System.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery day someone wants to join,\u201d she said of the page, which has more than 12,000 members.<\/p>\n People are still raising concerns, and for the most part, they have not changed.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \u201cIt\u2019s basically the same thing,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s people complaining about the stops, people complaining about how many transfers they have to take.\u201d<\/p>\n Based on observations she\u2019s made through the Facebook page comments, she feels the changes have damaged the relationship between riders and the system.<\/p>\n Once an avid transit user, she now tries to avoid it, she said, opting for a ride whenever possible. She said in addition to the change in the service, the new system has created an underlying tension on the bus, for riders and drivers alike.<\/p>\n Winnipeg Transit has been Barbara Stasiuk\u2019s main form of transportation since 1982. She wanted to believe the city\u2019s promise that the overhaul would make transit more functional and efficient, but now \u2014 a year in \u2014 she says she\u2019s resigned to the inferior service.<\/p>\n Her commutes are longer and involve more transfers and have led to increased feelings of dread, she said, adding that she sometimes has to rely on rideshares, a more expensive service that she rarely needed in the past.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a complete disconnect for me,\u201d she said. \u201cMy transit time every day between the two rides, is at least half an hour to 45 minutes longer and the connection points are in sketchier areas \u2026 None of it feels safe. And quite frankly, it\u2019s baffling that they thought this would be better.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tIn the days after the launch of the Primary Transit Network, thousands of complaints and concerns began rolling into the city and Richard Milgrom, associate professor at the University of Manitoba\u2019s department of city planning, questions why those early warnings were not heard or acted upon. (Robert Lee \/ Free Press)\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMayor Scott Gillingham (Mikaela MacKenzie \/ Free Press files)\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDocuments show the city recieved more than 2,900 complaints in a one month period after a major overhaul of its transit network last year. (Robert Lee \/ Free Press)\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(John Woods \/ Free Press files)\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n