Winnipeg City Transit/Rapid Transit

[Wpg transit 163-1]

iv noticed that this summer change that the 60 bus my friend drives is about 10 mins behind the 160 which i think is a good thing as the 160 and 60 aren't back to back. i heard from a friend that the new hoist for the 60 foot buses is almost done and ready for use. Cause right now they use remote jacks to lift the bendy buses up for engine and transmission rebuilds and tire work. i also noticed that the 60-2 has well this week gotten AC every day i think it might have to do with it becoming a 160 in the late night.

[buzzg]

I think with the Portage thing, if they put priority signals at all the stops it would help a lot, it's generally 1-3 busses at the front of the line with cars randomly behind who are waiting to turn. Making that a diamond lane wouldn't really do much since no one uses it as a thru lane in rush hour, mostly just for turning.

One thing I wish they would do with all priority lights is put them before and after each light cycle: always keep the busses moving. This i=would be especially helpful at Harkness Station with NB busses exiting to go to Main, they have to wait for the full cycle from both sides to go, but should be let out every time traffic stops. NB Osborne @McMillan also as they rarely even get to make use of the priority signal because the timing of the lights is weird they they're usually still loading when the signal goes on.

[Wpg transit 163-1]

winnipeg transit voted 607 to 406 in favour of the new contract. Full council must still approve it.

[cllew]

I think CJOB was saying around 59%. Not really a resounding endorsement of the new contract.

[GarryEllice]

Originally Posted by CoryB

This would actually require removing the bump outs and parking a previous council added to the "bus lane" on that exact stretch of Portage Ave. As it stands now buses need to hop between two lanes over that stretch.

I'm not sure what you mean here. For most of that stretch of Portage, there are three through lanes per direction, and the buses remain in the rightmost through lane. They don't hop back and forth between lanes, if that's what you're saying. All that would be needed is to paint diamonds on the rightmost through lane, leaving two through lanes for cars.

I don't know if this would accomplish much, though, since buses pretty much rule that lane in rush hour anyway, and cars making turns would still be allowed to use the lane.

[Wpg transit 163-1]

A driver i know told me that bus 800, and 802 have this different kind of drivers seat he calls the race car seat and he has told me that this seat should be on all buses. On a side note pembina hwy has been backed up this past week at the junction going north with a lane closed this cuased the 60 i was on to be 10 mins late but still got us back to the U of M 3 mins early.

[Wpg transit 163-1]

bus 832 was spotted on the road today. Also bus 834 was in the garage at FRG accoridng to my friend.

[CoryB]

Originally Posted by GarryEllice

I'm not sure what you mean here. For most of that stretch of Portage, there are three through lanes per direction, and the buses remain in the rightmost through lane. They don't hop back and forth between lanes, if that's what you're saying. All that would be needed is to paint diamonds on the rightmost through lane, leaving two through lanes for cars.

Portage Ave actually has four lanes. On the blocks where there is a bus stop, ie east bound in front of Portage Ave, on other blocks, ie west bound between Gary and Smith, the sidewalk is extended out into the fourth lane at the intersection limiting through travel and allowing parking on that block. This causes buses to be moving into and out of this lane as needed. If you want diamond lanes on Portage Ave that would need to be undone.

[Wpg transit 163-1]

Originally Posted by CoryB

Portage Ave actually has four lanes. On the blocks where there is a bus stop, ie east bound in front of Portage Ave, on other blocks, ie west bound between Gary and Smith, the sidewalk is extended out into the fourth lane at the intersection limiting through travel and allowing parking on that block. This causes buses to be moving into and out of this lane as needed. If you want diamond lanes on Portage Ave that would need to be undone.

no portage ave from gary to spence westbound and portage ave from st mary to gary eastbound 3 lanes so 3 travel lanes but the bus stops are in the curblane. the only time buses have to move out and back in is to pass a bus that i stopped. some sections are 4 lanes but that is where its 3 travel lanes and 1 parking lane but buses never use that lane.

[GarryEllice]

Originally Posted by CoryB

Portage Ave actually has four lanes. On the blocks where there is a bus stop, ie east bound in front of Portage Ave, on other blocks, ie west bound between Gary and Smith, the sidewalk is extended out into the fourth lane at the intersection limiting through travel and allowing parking on that block. This causes buses to be moving into and out of this lane as needed. If you want diamond lanes on Portage Ave that would need to be undone.

What are you talking about? That's absolutely not the way the street is set up. Get on a westbound bus at Portage & Garry and ride it to Portage & Colony. It will go right straight through without changing lanes once. Same thing going eastbound; the only lane change is approaching the stop at Fort, where the road widens out for the Portage & Main intersection.

The fourth lane is never used as a through lane. It's either been filled in with a bus stop bump-out, or it's a parking area, or it's a right-turn lane. The buses don't use it. They stay in the third lane all the way through. It's a great setup for the buses and it could easily be converted to a diamond lane without any physical changes to the street layout.

[cheswick]

Originally Posted by CoryB

Portage Ave actually has four lanes. On the blocks where there is a bus stop, ie east bound in front of Portage Ave, on other blocks, ie west bound between Gary and Smith, the sidewalk is extended out into the fourth lane at the intersection limiting through travel and allowing parking on that block. This causes buses to be moving into and out of this lane as needed. If you want diamond lanes on Portage Ave that would need to be undone.

As others have said, west bound there is no fourth travel lane. It only juts in to create the lane for parking or as a turning lane. The buses never use it as all the bus stops are on sections where the "4th lane" doesn't exist.

[Wpg transit 163-1]

i talked to a mechanic from transit the other day and learned that transit should be receiving about 2 buses a month of the order of 58 buses till around September 2016. By 2016 all of the XD40 buses ordered should be in and most high floors will be gone.

[Wpg transit 163-1]

Bus 837 was parked along the fence at FRG this morning all decaled and fleet number is on.

[LilZebra]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/ditch-the-bus-get-light-rail-transit-says-winnipeg-councillor-1.2600974

Ditch the bus, get light rail transit, says Winnipeg councillor

CBC News Posted: Apr 07, 2014 10:44 AM CT

Winnipeg Coun. Russ Wyatt says the city has to re-think the future of rapid transit and look to rails rather than roads.

The city is in the middle of planning the next stage of its Southwest Transitway bus rapid transit (BRT) system from Jubilee Avenue to Bison Drive, near the University of Manitoba.
But Wyatt believes the city has grown enough to justify switching gears to a light rail transit system instead.

That option is costlier but Wyatt says a rail system will attract more riders and as such, more revenue.

"BRT does have the ability to handle an increase in ridership, but an LRT can do it far more," he said.
"And the other part we recognized, you know, the fact is, you will attract new ridership to an LRT that you just can't or won't with a BRT."

The estimated cost of the new BRT route is now $450 million. Wyatt said a rail option would be double that but could be financed in a public private partnership, making it a viable option.
"We could be building a LRT line right from the eastern side of the city, right through the downtown and right south to the University of Manitoba," he said.

"And we could be doing it now if we had the vision, the courage and the political will to make this happen."

[esquire]

^ Haha, that was when Wyatt was attempting to obstruct rapid transit by reopening the debate as to which mode should be used.

[TimeFadesAway]

Originally Posted by esquire

^ Haha, that was when Wyatt was attempting to obstruct rapid transit by reopening the debate as to which mode should be used.

Taking a page out of Katz's book. Although judging by how his pet project on Plessis has been going and his restaurant bill, he's all about the Katz.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by TimeFadesAway

Taking a page out of Katz's book. Although judging by how his pet project on Plessis has been going and his restaurant bill, he's all about the Katz.

The tactic is pretty dumb, but Katz got away with it by using it to delay RT a few years.

I'd like to see the same tactic used to block the Chief Peguis extension... "I mean let's slow down a gol' darn minute. Are we sure we shouldn't be surfacing the extension with a steel grate deck like the old Disraeli Freeway? Or maybe we should surface it with gravel for better cost savings? Let's get a consultant in to provide a report and put this off by 18 months..."

[Wpg transit 163-1]

bus 840 spotted at FRG out in the back of G and bus 837 is parked along the fence at FRG in the back of the tracks.

[wilpeter]

You’ve debated Light Rail, several kinds of bus, devoted lanes, moving the railway yards, and the cost-comparison between bussing and driving to work plus parking. It seems fairly clear to me that, if there were a solution, someone would have legislated it. You’ve also explained how difficult it is to provide drivers with job-satisfaction, comparing the cost of living, net wages, licensing and training, and budget for salaries. That second topic seems almost to be undoable also; however, your loss of drivers AFTER training may be alleviated somewhat if the conditions of work were improved.

A few years ago, we riders were geared up for an improved fare box—not the one we presently have, with passengers fumbling for tickets or cash, others trying to get the transfer to cause a satisfying beep, and others asking whether the bus goes to Timbuktu—but the one where the driver is fairly free from involvement with passengers.

I just returned from visiting England. Although London Transport has been underground since 1914, millions of workers get to work daily by combinations of trains and buses without tickets or transfers. There, passengers must exit from the rear door rather than delay incoming passengers. They tap their permanent Oyster Card or visitor’s Travel Card at a button as they board a bus or go through a turnstile. Bus stops are either Bus Stops or Request Stops (where a passenger flags down the bus). Buses come every 5-10 minutes on major routes. They do have zones (making downtown more expensive to visit), but the fare for the day has a maximum, which upon being reached means you are not charged for further rides.

My point is that the drivers can keep driving. Information route maps at every stop enable a rider to find the best route to his destination, which bus to take to get there, and where the nearest stop for that bus is located.

[LilZebra]

Transit Union asks Winnipeg bus riders to speak up

The Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) wants to know what will make transit service in Winnipeg better, and they are now going straight to bus riders to find out.


ATU is currently running radio ads asking people to call and let them know what could be done to make Winnipeg Transit better.


“We are committed to our riders and we want to see improvements to service,” said ATU president John Callahan.


“What we want to do is gather comments so we have data to back up what we have been saying, because we know service needs to improve.”


The radio ads recently came out, but Callahan said they have been collecting data for about a year.
“The two biggest complaints are frequency of buses, and service on evenings and weekends,” said Callahan.


The plan is to take data to the city in the fall to see how the union and the city can work together to make improvements.


“This is all about getting local data right from the grassroots,” said Callahan. “This is about what the people want to see, because we don’t just want the union to say it, we want the riders to say it.”
Yadwinder Singh rides the bus regularly and said there are too many areas in the city where bus service makes it hard for riders to get around.


“There are lots of neighbourhoods in Winnipeg that don’t have good service,” said Singh. “People near the edge of town can’t get buses especially on weekends or late nights, so I know those are the places where riders are struggling.”


Sundays are always a very difficult day to catch a bus without a long wait, Singh added.
Singh said he has been looking to move from his Pembina Highway home, but many of the places he has considered just don’t have good enough bus service for him to make the move.


Safety is also a concern for Singh when he rides the bus.


“Drivers are too easy about letting people on that seem drunk or belligerent, but I think they let them on because they are scared of what will happen if the don’t, so when that happens nobody feels safe on the bus.”


Callaghan said the union hopes to present data to Winnipeg city council sometime in September.
“We hope the city will work with us,” said Callahan. “And if that doesn’t work we will move forward using other means.”


To contact the Amalgamated Transit Union call 204 943-5064.


http://metronews.ca/news/winnipeg/14...s-to-speak-up/