Winnipeg Transit's Manager of Service Development, Bill Menzies, an industry veteran of 29 years, says now is a very busy time for the capital of Manitoba's public transportation unit. "But, it's a good kind of busy," he is quick to add.
"Right now, there is a lot of interest by all three levels [federal, provincial and local] of government to improve transit," Menzies says. "Major investments have been under way during the last three to four years and it's quite gratifying to see many of those things starting to happen now. One of the biggest is the application of information technology to our entire system."
Winnipeg Transit runs more than 500 buses and services an average of 150,000 revenue passengers each weekday. That translated into 42.6 million passengers in 2008, a stark contrast from a passenger low point spanning 2002-03. Since then, Winnipeg Transit has grown at a steady annual pace of two to four percent - mirroring the moderate growth of the city proper, which has a population of approximately 650,000 - and, owing to a diversified economy, has not been as significantly affected by the ongoing recession as other parts of the country.
"The key," Menzies reiterates, "has been the investment funding from the three levels of government. We're a city department and in 2006 the City Council asked us to come up with an implementation plan for broad scale improvement. They approved that plan and we've been working on it ever since. The funding was authorized before the recession happened."

CONTINUAL IMPROVEMENT
Menzies says Winnipeg Transit has been implementing system-wide technological improvements since the mid-1980s. "We've been improving our internal processes and business function incrementally, as well as delivering the things that the public notices," he notes.
The most visible are SmartBUS upgrades that feature an advanced bus radio communications system, GPS-based Automated Vehicle Location, automated real time schedule tracking and reporting, automated next stop announcements and displays, and text messaging. Features to come include bus-to-bus text notification to accommodate transferring passengers and automated external destination announcements when a bus stops and the front doors open.
Winnipeg Transit has also revamped its website and will soon be supplying real-time passenger information through Telebus (an interactive voice response system), electronic displays at major bus stops, on mobile devices, and in its online trip planner Navigo, which was developed internally by its staff and has proven to be extremely popular. "Our goal is to have information available when people want it, which is usually right away," Menzies says. "We want to provide easy to get information on mobile devices, on computers in homes and offices, by telephone, at stops, and on the buses."
Security cameras have been installed system wide and installation of a new fare collection system, likely involving smart card technology, will start next year.
All of these systems build on earlier technology initiatives, including geographic information systems, an automated scheduling system that uses operations research routines to optimize the scheduling of buses and drivers, and an automatic passenger counting system that details boarding and unloading information at each stop and also monitors running times and delays. "Having all that information in the data base allows us to adjust service levels to match passenger demand and yields more efficiency throughout the system," Menzies notes.
The technology innovations are made possible by a dedicated information systems unit. "We've got a very good IT group and a very visionary guy who leads it. We've been able to do a lot of cutting edge work."
On the infrastructure side, Winnipeg Transit continually upgrades its fleet and is improving its stops and terminals - which Menzies calls "the storefronts for transit systems" - adding new shelters, benches, lighting, signage, schedule posters, and variable message signs. It has also been working closely with Winnipeg's traffic engineers to implement a network of reserved lanes, queue jumps, and transit priority signals to improve the speed and reliability of transit service.

RAPID TRANSIT PROJECT
Winnipeg Transit now operates a network of 89 routes. The Rapid Transit Project is designed to create dedicated rights of way that will provide a higher level of service by removing buses from the congestion of mixed traffic.
"Back in the mid-1990s we built the downtown part of it, the Graham Transit Mall, nine blocks for only buses and cyclists. The additional infrastructure will bypass a lot of congestion that buses encounter, especially on the approaches to river crossings in the city," Menzies says.
The first stage of the rapid transit network, the Southwest Rapid Transit Corridor, began in May. The project involves construction of a 3.6-kilometer grade-separated transitway and includes four stations, a bridge over an existing road, a tunnel under a transcontinental rail line, and new active transportation paths for cyclists and pedestrians. The total cost is CAN $138 million and when completed by late 2011, a network of a dozen transit routes, as well as emergency vehicles, will operate over the new transitway.
Local companies are executing the engineering design and construction work. Menzies says the project will "require reconstruction of some existing roads in order to fit the transitway where we want it."

DAY TO DAY
Winnipeg Transit has a clear, well-defined goal - to get commuters out of their cars and into the more than 500 buses in the city's public transportation service. The advantages are numerous. In addition to reducing greenhouse emissions, increased public transit use will reduce traffic congestion and the city's need to invest in increased road and bridge capacity and will support the City's efforts to strengthen its downtown and encourage more infill development.
"The major emphasis is trying to make transit as good as we possibly can and get people out of their cars and using the transit system. The improvement program approved by City Council is comprehensive and a major initiative," Menzies notes.
Green initiatives include the use of alternative fuels and beta testing of hybrid buses. "The results were mixed but as the technology improves, it's likely that we'll bring them on as well. We're also reducing energy use in our buildings, but the fleet is the big one," Menzies says.
The company's two operating bases provide year-round indoor shelter for the buses. Fort Rouge accommodates 410 buses while the North Garage is home to another 125. Both have servicing facilities while full maintenance is performed in-house at Fort Rouge by Winnipeg Transit's approximately 250 maintenance workers.
Menzies says the average life cycle of a well-maintained bus is 18 years and that, on average, Winnipeg Transit replaces approximately 30 vehicles per year. Winnipeg-based New Flyer, one of the major transit bus suppliers in North America, won a 10-year tender to supply Winnipeg Transit buses in 2004.
Winnipeg Transit maintains strong ties with the University of Winnipeg, the University of Manitoba and Red River Community College and regularly attracts employees from those institutions. Menzies says the company is vigilant about maintaining an ongoing recruitment campaign for drivers as it annually replaces approximately 120 individuals as they reach retirement or change careers.