Of the approximately one thousand public transit drivers employed with the City, Winnipeg Transit is temporarily laying off 253 of those positions along with eliminating overtime due to the pandemic.

Busses in the city have seen a drop of 72 per cent in ridership and subsequently is seeing a 74 per cent drop in revenue.

On March 26 the Winnipeg Transit department began evaluating the need for busses during the pandemic. After evaluating, the City of Winnipeg's transit department determined approximately 221 fewer busses were required by transit users.

d 24 non-permanent operators -in-training will be temporally laid off from once their programs have ended. The city is offering mental health supports to laid-off workers.

Mayor Bowman says "the service reductions should not come as a surprise to anyone" as he has been warning Winnipeggers about possible reductions.

The City of Winnipeg and Winnipeg Transit says they will continue to monitor and reevaluate the needs of riders and will make changes as needed. The new schedule will be available to review online starting tomorrow.

Up until now, many busses have been driving without passengers but the alterations in routes will change that. The city says they hope to have only 15 riders on a bus at a time to allow riders to comfortably practice physical distancing. Riders are also being asked to keep two-meters away from other riders, avoid unnecessary rides, and use the rear door to exit when possible.

If riders are experiencing flu-like symptoms they are asked to stop using public transit.