Winnipeg’s new water bus service embarked on its maiden voyage Sunday, marking the first time the Red and Assiniboine rivers have been used for transit in six years.
Will Belford, co-owner of Winnipeg Waterways, estimated as many as 300 passengers tested out his company’s transportation service throughout the day.
“I think our numbers were beefed-up a little from folks who were here at The Forks and hopped on just for the fun of it, but I can confirm there were legitimate transit users going from one stop to another,” Belford said in an interview Monday.
JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS
Winnipeg’s new water taxis provide transit services from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. on weekdays and 3:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. daily. The buses run every 15 minutes.
“One thing you get on the water that you don’t get on the land bus, as we call it, is the chance to see some fawns and beaver, and just enjoy nature. When you’re down on the dock and on the boat, you are transported to a different place. You are in Winnipeg, but you are in it at a different level.”
Winnipeg Waterways and The Forks have partnered on the water bus service, with the latter providing two boats for the company to operate.
In total, the business’ fleet includes six boats, two of which are dedicated to providing transit services from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. on weekdays and 3:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. daily. The buses run every 15 minutes, with a live online map showing their location at all times.
Stops include docks at The Forks, Hugo, Norwood, Stephen Juba Park, the Manitoba Legislative Building, the Assiniboine river walk at the Midtown Bridge and the Esplanade Riel.
Each boat can carry a maximum of 12 people. Pets and bicycles are permitted on board, space permitting.
Belford and his business partner, Griffin Hewitt, developed the schedule and bus route after surveying around 1,800 Winnipeggers before launching Winnipeg Waterways back in May.
“Overwhelmingly, folks said they would use (the bus service) for recreation in the afternoon hours, but we wanted to push the envelope and offer it during commuter hours as well,” Belford said of the survey results.
“We want this to be transit, and we have to live in the future today for it to work… We can’t wait until there are people on the dock, stamping their feet and saying, ‘Let us ride in the morning’ — we have to provide it and allow people to show up.”
The pair now operates the only water bus and boat tour service in the city, after the former Splash Dash Boat Tours went up for sale last year following 31 years in business. The new company is headquartered at The Forks and has been running boat tours since the May long weekend.
Belford planned to introduce the bus service earlier this summer, but the high amount of rainfall affected water levels and postponed the start date.
He hopes the service will expand to include more stops in future years, saying providing more transportation near Tache and Osborne streets would be ideal.
For now, the company is focusing on getting the word out about the service.
“We really see this year as a re-building, re-educating, proof-of-concept year to just get back in the mix,” Belford said.
tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca
Tyler Searle
Reporter
Tyler Searle is a multimedia producer who writes for the Free Press‘s city desk. A graduate of Red River College Polytechnic’s creative communications program, he wrote for the Stonewall Teulon Tribune, Selkirk Record and Express Weekly News before joining the paper in 2022. Read more about Tyler.
Every piece of reporting Tyler produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.