The City of Winnipeg announced services changes coming to Winnipeg Transit — and temporary layoffs for hundreds of drivers — at an update on its ongoing response to COVID-19 Wednesday.
Mayor Brian Bowman was joined by city officials — including Winnipeg Transit director Greg Ewankiw — at a noon press conference from city hall.
In a release sent before the press conference the city said Winnipeg Transit has seen a 72 per cent drop in ridership as a result of COVID-19, resulting in roughly $6 million in lost revenue every month.
To offset those loses the city says it will be reducing transit services across the city in a phased approach over the next two weeks.
Starting immediately the city says Winnipeg Transit will longer offer overtime to bus drivers, a move that could impact daily service as transit has been using overtime to make sure there hasn’t been disruptions to service in the wake of the pandemic.
Then, starting Monday May 4, Winnipeg Transit’s weekday schedule will drop to what the city is calling an “enhanced Saturday schedule.”
The new schedule will include all bus routes that run on Saturdays, plus additional bus routes that do not normally run on weekends, such as express buses, and buses serving industrial parks, the city says.
The bus schedule for Saturdays and Sundays will not change.
Transit says service around health care facilities will not be affected, and all city hospitals will be served by transit seven days a week.
Transit also says any hospital normally served by express routes on weekdays will have that additional service added to it over and above what would regularly be provided on a Saturday.
These additional buses will run with less frequency than regular weekday service though, the city noted.
A full-schedule of the adjusted service can be found on Winnipeg Transit website starting Thursday.
Layoffs coming for drivers
The changes mean 221 fewer buses will be required on the roads, and the city says 229 permanent drivers and 24 non-permanent drivers will be temporarily laid off as of May 3.
Non-permanent drivers who were in training will be also be laid off as training programs finish on May 1 and May 22, the city said.
The city said its employees who are temporarily laid off will have access to mental health supports, and will continue to be included in communications from the City of Winnipeg.
Transit said it will continue to monitor the situation and plans to return to regular service “once it makes sense to do so.” All laid-off drivers will be welcomed back to work at that time, the city says.
The union representing Winnipeg Transit employees is calling for a halt to the city’s plan, asking councillors to instead meet to discuss and vote on the changes.
“I’m extremely disappointed that frontline staff are getting axed when there’s a lot of other fat to be trimmed, ” said Romeo Ignacio, local president of ATU 1505.
“It is unacceptable that management didn’t even give us a courte
sy call before they began notifying our members of the lay off while they were on the job.”
In a release the ATU said the city didn’t reach out to its members to explore options like volunteer layoffs or bridged retirement before deciding on the changes.
The union also says no senior management positions have been affected by the layoffs.
“Public transit is an essential service right now during COVID-19 and will be key to our economic and social recovery after the fact,” said James Van Gerwen ATU 1505’s executive vice president.
“Our members, who have been putting their lives on the line during these trying times, quite frankly, deserve better from their employer than to be punted to the curb like this.”
Economic effects of COVID-19
A city report released Tuesday estimated the city could be losing $12 million a month during the pandemic.
It said even under better circumstances, the city’s unemployment rate could spike to 12.1 per cent and the number of people without a job at the end of the year could surpass 57,000.
The city has already been forced to reduce discretionary spending and temporarily lay off hundreds of non-permanent staff, and officials have said further cost-saving actions may be necessary.
Bowman had previously said those actions could include a reduction to Winnipeg Transit’s service.
Questions about COVID-19? Here are some things you need to know:
Health officials caution against all international travel. Returning travellers are legally obligated to self-isolate for 14 days, beginning March 26, in case they develop symptoms and to prevent spreading the virus to others. Some provinces and territories have also implemented additional recommendations or enforcement measures to ensure those returning to the area self-isolate.
Symptoms can include fever, cough and difficulty breathing — very similar to a cold or flu. Some people can develop a more severe illness. People most at risk of this include older adults and people with severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease. If you develop symptoms, contact public health authorities.
To prevent the virus from spreading, experts recommend frequent handwashing and coughing into your sleeve. They also recommend minimizing contact with others, staying home as much as possible and maintaining a distance of two metres from other people if you go out.
For full COVID-19 coverage from Global News, click here.