Bowman said that the city council should be prepared to take political risks to shake things up for the better, and that, although he calls 2019 the “year of transit,” the council will have to go beyond the current authority.
On Monday, January 28th Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman was in Ottawa for a meeting of the Big City Mayors’ Caucus, and he says one of the issues that has been at the top of the agenda is public transit funding.
Bowman said he and his counterparts from more than 20 cities across the country are asking for concrete investment in public transit. All levels of government need to work collaboratively on the issue, he said, but the dialogue with the feds is going well so far.
The city authorities also plan to install safety shields on all Winnipeg buses. The cost to purchase shields for all 630 Winnipeg Transit buses is estimated at $3.15 million.
After testing a selection of shields, Transit shared a video of the model selected to be installed on all buses. The city launched a pilot project on six buses which wrapped up in August 2018, allowing drivers to test different types of shields. More than 700 drivers tested out each shield and were able to fill out a survey sharing which one they preferred.
Matt Allard, a member of the Transit Advisory Committee, said the city will buy new buses, many of which are articulated, so they will carry more passengers, at about the same overall operating costs. It is great information for all citizens of Winnipeg and people, who come here for work.
Winnipeg bus drivers safety means a lot for city`s transportation inspectors. This is a huge plan, with a pretty high bill that the city of Winnipeg will have to pay to protect the drivers and make transit transportation safer for everyone else too. The public transportation system is a very important part of Winnipeg`s daily life, because of thousands of people use it every day to commute to work and back home, they rely on the system and people need to be able to catch that bus on time and make to work or home to their families.
The city authorities recognize the growth of our city`s needs, the population grows every year and the workforce visiting Winnipeg constantly increases as well. Public transportation is a very important part of city infrastructure modernization and development.
City authorities recognize and understand the importance of constant transport infrastructure growth and modernization to be able to satisfy the needs of Winnipeg citizens and a workforce visiting our city every day. Mayor Brian Bowman says the city transport system needs a major overhaul.