Winnipeg City Transit/Rapid Transit

[reallycoolguy]

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/br...s-at-the-forks
Text: Winnipeg’s new water bus service embarked on its maiden voyage Sunday, marking the first time the Red and Assiniboine rivers have been used for transit in six years.

Will Belford, co-owner of Winnipeg Waterways, estimated as many as 300 passengers tested out his company’s transportation service throughout the day.

“I think our numbers were beefed-up a little from folks who were here at The Forks and hopped on just for the fun of it, but I can confirm there were legitimate transit users going from one stop to another,” Belford said in an interview Monday.

Winnipeg’s new water taxis provide transit services from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. on weekdays and 3:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. daily. The buses run every 15 minutes.

“One thing you get on the water that you don’t get on the land bus, as we call it, is the chance to see some fawns and beaver, and just enjoy nature. When you’re down on the dock and on the boat, you are transported to a different place. You are in Winnipeg, but you are in it at a different level.”

Winnipeg Waterways and The Forks have partnered on the water bus service, with the latter providing two boats for the company to operate.

In total, the business’ fleet includes six boats, two of which are dedicated to providing transit services from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. on weekdays and 3:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. daily. The buses run every 15 minutes, with a live online map showing their location at all times.

Stops include docks at The Forks, Hugo, Norwood, Stephen Juba Park, the Manitoba Legislative Building, the Assiniboine river walk at the Midtown Bridge and the Esplanade Riel.

Each boat can carry a maximum of 12 people. Pets and bicycles are permitted on board, space permitting.

Belford and his business partner, Griffin Hewitt, developed the schedule and bus route after surveying around 1,800 Winnipeggers before launching Winnipeg Waterways back in May.

“Overwhelmingly, folks said they would use (the bus service) for recreation in the afternoon hours, but we wanted to push the envelope and offer it during commuter hours as well,” Belford said of the survey results.

“We want this to be transit, and we have to live in the future today for it to work… We can’t wait until there are people on the dock, stamping their feet and saying, ‘Let us ride in the morning’ — we have to provide it and allow people to show up.”

The pair now operates the only water bus service in the city. The new company is headquartered at The Forks and has been running boat tours since the May long weekend.

Belford planned to introduce the bus service earlier this summer, but the high amount of rainfall affected water levels and postponed the start date.

He hopes the service will expand to include more stops in future years, saying providing more transportation near Tache and Osborne streets would be ideal.

For now, the company is focusing on getting the word out about the service.

“We really see this year as a re-building, re-educating, proof-of-concept year to just get back in the mix,” Belford said.

[peg]

I've always loved the waterbus!! It's great to see they have more of a schedule and vision this time. I'll be sure to make use of it soon.

[biguc]

And you'll get the chance to see some beaver.

[bomberjet]

I was down at the forks and saw them in operation. I didn't realize they had just opened up!

[pegster]

The Waterbus is cool and all, but it's really more of a novelty than an actual mode of transportation. It's entire coverage area is within walking distance from where I live in the Village. I'd be much more curious about it if it went further, say to Kildonan, St. Vital, or Assiniboine Park.

[bomberjet]

I noticed that too. It's basically just in the downtown and norwood area. Not much use to most people for actual transit and the cost is higher than taking the bus.

[Mr Tall Forehead]

Originally Posted by pegster

The Waterbus is cool and all, but it's really more of a novelty than an actual mode of transportation. It's entire coverage area is within walking distance from where I live in the Village. I'd be much more curious about it if it went further, say to Kildonan, St. Vital, or Assiniboine Park.

It would be cool if it went as far as Assiniboine Park and the Zoo. I bet tourists would be all over it. I wonder if the boats could make it that far up the Assiniboine though? The water levels often seem pretty low at the ped bridge near Omand Park.

[dam_well]

Imagine the tourist experience if you could stay at a hotel at the forks or in the exchange, hop on the water bus to check out Assiniboine park, the Leaf, the zoo. You could boat up to Kildonan Park to catch a show at rainbow stage, or head down to Crescent Drive and St. Vital area to spend some time at Thermea.

If it stopped at most parks along the river, it could be a pretty solid transit option for locals too. My mom already skates to work at the forks whenever the river trail is open, and she'd totally take a water bus to work if the service was right.

Add in a stop at U of M and students could use it too.

Water depth on the Assiniboine is probably a big issue though.

[FactaNV]

Any travel west of omands Creek would probably require dredging. I think there's a set of rapids that come up in the late summer near the Assiniboine park ped bridge.

[cllew]

Originally Posted by FactaNV

Any travel west of omands Creek would probably require dredging. I think there's a set of rapids that come up in the late summer near the Assiniboine park ped bridge.

I think that Omand's Creek is even pushing it. Somebody told me that the Assiniboine starts to get really shallow at the Midtown Aquduct crossing between Aubrey St. and Waverley

I guess it depends on the river level and the type of draft the boats have when they go by.

[Lars65]

There's also infrastructure that goes under that river some places.Shallow enough to hit with a canoe paddle.

[FactaNV]

For the sake of argument though, they do operate pontoons with real shallow draft. I wonder if a dredge once a year could cut a passable enough canal for them?

[WinCitySparky]

Originally Posted by biguc

And you'll get the chance to see some beaver.

My man

[FactaNV]

In the Free Press today

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/op...ansit-deficits

It raises a good point, are there alternative funding models available? Congestion taxes or registration levies, something that can provide a reliable funding stream for WT operations and infrastructure.

[pspeid]

A little humour for the LRT fans out there:

https://www.thebeaverton.com/2023/08...sit-system-is/

[FactaNV]

Originally Posted by pspeid

A little humour for the LRT fans out there:

https://www.thebeaverton.com/2023/08...sit-system-is/

It's insane how bad OCTranspo fumbled with their LRT. Wowzers.

[pspeid]

Originally Posted by FactaNV

It's insane how bad OCTranspo fumbled with their LRT. Wowzers.

Yes when LRT is working I'm sure it's wonderful, but when it breaks down it looks disastrous.

I know I'm not going to change minds, and that's okay, but for me this is an advantage of BRT. A bus breaks down, you send another bus and tow the breakdown. An LRT train breaks down and the entire line is compromised.

BRT isn't sexy, and I know there can be a stigma attached to needing to choose a somewhat less expensive rapid transit system, but I'm okay with having BRT...as long as it can get built!

[FactaNV]

Originally Posted by pspeid

Yes when LRT is working I'm sure it's wonderful, but when it breaks down it looks disastrous.

I know I'm not going to change minds, and that's okay, but for me this is an advantage of BRT. A bus breaks down, you send another bus and tow the breakdown. An LRT train breaks down and the entire line is compromised.

BRT isn't sexy, and I know there can be a stigma attached to needing to choose a somewhat less expensive rapid transit system, but I'm okay with having BRT...as long as it can get built!

I agree 100%. I like the flexibility BRT provides, but it'd be nice if it was actually funded so construction could start before 2030 haha.

[bodaggin]

Before they build another mile of dedicated BRT track they can start combining their half-city lines into full cross-town lines.

There's 87 bus routes in Winnipeg. Why? I'm a neanderthal motorist, I can't comprehend 87 routes.

For example: The Portage 22 goes from Unicity to Downtown and stops there. The Transcona 46 goes from Downtown to Transcona. Combine these. Make 1 cross city route from Unicity to Transcona. Call it whatever you want. The "East-Wester" whatever. Keep the transfer stations in the middle. Now it's 1 main line for neanderthal me to understand, and no transfers for people to go cross-city.

I could only find 1 cross-town ish line and that's the 36 from UofM to McPhillips.

They could probably combine 10 lines like these into 5 and not a single cubic foot of concrete would need to be poured.

[zalf]

Originally Posted by bodaggin

Before they build another mile of dedicated BRT track they can start combining their half-city lines into full cross-town lines.

There's 87 bus routes in Winnipeg. Why? I'm a neanderthal motorist, I can't comprehend 87 routes.

For example: The Portage 22 goes from Unicity to Downtown and stops there. The Transcona 46 goes from Downtown to Transcona. Combine these. Make 1 cross city route from Unicity to Transcona. Call it whatever you want. The "East-Wester" whatever. Keep the transfer stations in the middle. Now it's 1 main line for neanderthal me to understand, and no transfers for people to go cross-city.

I could only find 1 cross-town ish line and that's the 36 from UofM to McPhillips.

They could probably combine 10 lines like these into 5 and not a single cubic foot of concrete would need to be poured.

Well good news, that's what the Transit Master Plan is doing. The current 87 routes are being consolidated to 64 beginning 2025-06-29.