BRODBECK
And there's another inconvenient reality that gets lost in the election rhetoric: the overhaul wasn't accompanied by new money. The city essentially took its existing budget and reorganized the service.
That helps explain why some of the promised improvements have been difficult to deliver. You can rearrange routes, consolidate stops and change the way buses connect, but you can't manufacture additional service hours out of thin air.
If Winnipeg wants more buses running more frequently, better neighbourhood connections, shorter waits and fewer inconvenient transfers, it will need to put more resources into the system.
That means investing in additional drivers and buses, expanding service hours and improving the connections between feeder routes and primary lines. It also means identifying where service reductions have created unacceptable hardships and providing the resources to correct them.
Some improvements might be possible through better scheduling, route adjustments and more effective use of existing resources. Transit should continually evaluate its performance and make changes where they can improve service without creating new problems elsewhere.
But there are limits to what can be accomplished by rearranging the deck chairs.
The provincial government also has a role to play. Public transit is an essential service that supports employment, education, economic development and access to health care. If Winnipeg is expected to deliver a substantially better system, the province should be prepared to help pay for it.
A properly funded transit network could provide more frequent service on major corridors while restoring or expanding neighbourhood connections where they are needed.
It could make transfers less onerous, reduce long waits and improve the reliability of the entire system. It could also make transit a more attractive alternative to driving, which is essential if the city wants to reduce congestion and accommodate future growth.
None of that is impossible. But it won't happen simply because a mayoral or council candidate promises to bring back the good old days.
Any candidate who claims to be able to substantially fix Winnipeg Transit with the existing budget, while restoring old routes and hundreds of stops, either doesn't understand the system or is deliberately misleading voters.