Klein pledges to restore 150 Winnipeg bus stops, extend late-night service

WINNIPEG — Mayoral candidate Kevin Klein is promising to restore at least 150 previously removed Winnipeg Transit bus stops, extend service to later hours and guarantee front-door dropoffs at acute-care hospitals.

In a Wednesday announcement, Klein said Winnipeg Transit’s bus network overhaul, in place for the past 16 months, has left some passengers stranded.

“We need an effective, efficient… transit system that is safe, in order to grow, in order to expand,” said Klein.

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The new primary transit network was part of the Winnipeg Transit Master Plan city council approved in 2021.

Klein, who was the city councillor for Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood at the time, voted against the plan.

“I was worried about the changes. I was worried they were happening too fast. I was worried there was not enough consultation and a lack of stops that would create pain and issues for those that ride transit,” he said.

The network reduced the number of bus stops to approximately 3,800 from about 5,100, cut routes to 71 from 87 and reduced late-night service hours in many areas.

“I’ve talked to some staff at the outlet mall and other places who are not capable of getting a bus when their shift ends,” said Klein.

Winnipeg Transit has added some late-night service hours to 10 on-request routes and 11 fixed ones since implementing the new network, Winnipeg Transit spokeswoman Patricia Bal confirmed late Wednesday afternoon.

There are currently 3,895 bus stops, Bal noted in an email.

Klein said that within 120 days of taking office, he would direct Winnipeg Transit to review every bus stop removed in 2025, assessing proximity to hospitals, clinics, seniors residences, care homes and schools.

Priority would also be given to stops in neighbourhoods that lost the most service.

The 150 “highest-need” stops would resume service by fall 2027.

Klein promised to also extend service hours for routes that connect hospitals and neighbourhoods that lost late-night buses.

That would ensure a bus stop is available at or near the main entrance of all acute-care hospitals seven days a week “from before the morning shift change until after the late-evening one,” he said.

“A nurse facing a late shift should be able to count on a bus to get home,” he said.

Transit would publish a quarterly report detailing every restored stop and hour of service added.

Klein also vowed to make private Transit advisory committee meetings public and require the group to include riders.

“We need to hear from people that are having problems with the service so that we can fix it,” he said.

He expects the promises to cost between $5 million and $7.7 million annually, once fully implemented.

That price accounts for 150 more stops, though the city will likely need to add many more, which would add to the tab, said Klein.

Meanwhile, mayoral candidate Don Woodstock said he would reform Winnipeg’s building permit system, making it easier and faster to obtain them.

Building bylaws would be rewritten in “plain language,” with standard submission checklists and the city would offer digital templates for common do-it-yourself home projects.

Woodstock said a risk-based system would prioritize reviews based on safety, while a simplified process would make people more likely to apply for a permit.

“Now, you’re encouraging people to do the right thing,” he said.

New target timelines would see the city aim to provide simple permits within five days, approve occupancy permits within two days and respond to inquiries in two business days.

Inspectors would be required to call, text and email when they arrive to inspect a site, while also providing a date-stamped door-tag notice, with photo proof that they have done so.

If an inspector fails to follow those steps, or misses a scheduled appointment without at least two hours’ notice, the property owner would receive a $150 credit.

With files from Winnipeg Free Press