When Winnipeg Transit rolled out its redesigned route network this summer, the city promised faster, more frequent and more efficient service, but new data says many riders are instead watching full buses roll past.
Pass-ups — when a bus is too full to take on additional passengers — rose sharply this fall compared to last year, Winnipeg Transit’s own numbers say.
From September to November, there were 6,971 pass-ups, nearly 1,200 more than during the same period in 2024, an increase of more than 20 per cent.
On a chilly Winnipeg morning, commuters lined up at Jubilee Station, hoping the next bus would have room. For some riders, pass-ups have become routine.
Una Du said she’s been passed up in the afternoon, when buses arrive already full from downtown.
“If I miss this one, I may miss the next one,” she said. “I need to wait another half-hour.”
Du relies on multiple bus transfers to get home from work, and a single missed bus can delay her entire commute. She says the new network feels slightly better overall, but pass-ups still cause stress and uncertainty.
Another rider, Darien Duclos, takes the bus to and from downtown five days a week. He’s learned to expect pass-ups, particularly during the afternoon rush.
“I leave early just to try and catch the buses,” he said. “I’ve kind of learned to expect it now.”
Transit officials say pass-ups typically rise each September, as students return to school and workers settle back into post-summer routines. They also point to continued ridership recovery following the pandemic.
After dropping sharply during COVID, fall pass-ups have risen steadily as service levels returned. This year’s increase is the largest since the pandemic, though still below the peak levels seen in the years immediately before COVID.
September 2025 pass-ups are comparable to September 2019, which Transit considers the most recent “normal” pre-pandemic year.
“There are also more people taking the bus during peak periods. This impacts on-time performance and pass-ups,” city communications manager Alissa Clark wrote in a statement.
“Our ridership has been slowly recovering from the effects of the pandemic. When we look at pass-up numbers from this September, they are in line with pass-ups from September 2019, which is our most recent baseline of a ‘normal’ year since COVID.”
Coun. Janice Lukes, chair of the city’s public works committee, says fuller buses can reflect stronger ridership, and the city is continuing to make adjustments.
“Now you’re telling me we’re having less pass-ups than 2019? I think that’s a positive thing. The sad part is there’s still pass-ups, right?” she said.
Capacity, funding issues
The union representing transit operators says pass-ups are frustrating for riders and drivers.
Chris Scott, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1505, says comparing individual routes or stops year over year has become difficult following the network redesign, but system-wide pass-ups still point to capacity pressures.
“When you create something as expansive as a primary transit network, it’s all done on theory and numbers,” Scott said. “Until you put it in application, you don’t know how those theories actually play out.”
Scott said operators don’t like driving past crowded stops, which causes frustration for passengers, who sometimes take it out on the driver who eventually picks them up. He also warns that without enough operating funding, pass-ups will continue even as ridership grows.
Winter schedule
A new winter schedule took effect Sunday, expanding late-night service in most on-request zones, rewriting schedules on routes that have struggled with delays and adding capacity where crowding has been an issue.
Most on-request zones that run after 7 p.m. will now operate until around 2 a.m. on weekdays and Saturdays and until about 12:45 a.m. on Sundays and holidays, with Zone 103 expanded to reach Garden City Shopping Centre and Walmart.
The city is also rewriting schedules on several spine-and-feeder routes and adding capacity on corridors with chronic lateness or pass-up problems.
It has rewritten full weekday schedules for routes D12, D13, D16 and F8, with 49 additional weekday service hours across those routes, plus extra morning and afternoon trips on school-serving routes like 557, 649, 678, 442, 694 and 885.
The changes are based on rider feedback following the launch of the new primary transit network.
WATCH | Winnipeg Transit pass-ups rise as riders face full buses:
Winnipeg Transit pass-ups rise this fall as riders face full buses
New data shows Winnipeg Transit pass-ups — when a bus is too full to pick up more passengers — increased sharply this fall compared to last year.
