The City of Winnipeg announced on Wednesday April 22, 2020, that Winnipeg Transit will be laying-off 229 permanent drivers and 24 -non-permanent operators who are currently in training.
The city says that ridership is down 72 per cent over this time last year and revenues have dropped about 74 per cent. This equates to a monthly revenue loss of about $6 million each month.
Effective immediately transit will begin operating an enhanced Saturday schedule Monday to Friday and continue with normal weekend schedules. The enhanced schedule will see a number of routes added to the new schedule that do not normally operated on the weekend such as express buses and buses that service industrial parks.
Transit has committed that service around hospitals will continue to operate seven days a week. Express routes normally servicing hospitals will continue under the new schedule.
According to transit the additional buses will operate with less frequency then the regular weekday service. More information on schedules is available at the Winnipeg Transit website.
The city says that the driver lay-offs will begin effective May 3, 2020 for permanent operators and May 1 and May 22, 2020 for non-permanent operators in training.
© News4.ca 2020
