WINNIPEG – The free ride is over for Winnipeg Blue Bombers fans – sort of.
The club announced Thursday it will cover the bus ride home for fans who wish to take transit to the games. But fans are being asked to buy a one-way ticket at $2.55 to get to Investors Group Field.
All regular transit routs will remain the same as they were last season
“This is the best option we had just 10 days before the game,” said Bombers CEO Wade Miller.
The club offered free transit rides to fans last season in an attempt to ease traffic flow to the south end of the city.
It cost the organization about $11 per rider, or $1.1 million.
This year a deal that would have seen the city and the club essentially split the cost, which rose to $1.25 million, fell apart after the Bombers boasted about a $2.9 million profit.
Fans picking up season tickets Thursday expressed no problem with the change. Many thought the club should also make fans pay for the ride home.
“You’re going to any other event, you’re going to a movie, you don’t expect someone to pay for your ride,” said one fan.
But Miller said Winnipeg Transit expressed concern drivers would have trouble collecting from fans after the game, because there are so many demanding the service at once.
“Because of the mass amount of people that would be leaving at once, it’s problematic for Winnipeg Transit to charge on the way back,” said Miller.
The Park and Ride service is also still available but will be operated by the Winnipeg Football Club using First Student, the same company that ran the service last year.
Fans using the Park and Ride will pay $5 per round trip or $40 per person for the entire regular season, starting June 26.
Car-poolers will also see a subsidy of sorts. If you arrive at the game with three or more people in the vehicle, the cost is $10 to park instead of $20.
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