All-Time List of Canadian Transit Systems

Winnipeg, Manitoba

Principal System

North-West Angle Stages (19 July 1877 (one day))
Enterprise folded when passengers proved too few and street mud too deep.

North-West Omnibus Co. (circa 1878 - circa 1884?)
Enterprise owned by G.H. McMicken. Omnibus service connecting Winnipeg with the railway station in St. Boniface. Purchased from railway interests a rival omnibus service 02 February 1879. Started a rural tri-weekly service between Winnipeg and Selkirk 08 September 1879. (Manitoba Free Press 1879-1881, image Manitoba Historical Maps).

Winnipeg Street Railway Company (20 October 1882 - 11 May 1894)
Incorporated 27 May 1882 (Man.) to operate in Winnipeg and the parishes of St. Boniface East and West, St. Johns, St. James, and Kildonan. Company sold to the WESR 11 May 1894. (Manitoba Historical Society photo)

Winnipeg Electric Street Railway Company (27 July 1892 - 25 July 1904)
Incorporated 20 April 1892 (Man.) to build and operate an electric railway in Winnipeg, St. Boniface, R.M. of Assiniboia, and parishes of St. Boniface, St. John, St. James, and Kildonan. Name changed to WER 1904. (photo: Winnipeg Transit photo archives)

Winnipeg Electric Railway Company (25 July 1904 - 05 April 1924)
Charter expanded to include the Municipality of St. Vital. Acquired controlling interest in the Winnipeg, Selkirk and Lake Winnipeg interurban 1906. Name changed to WECo 1924. (Photo: Winnipeg Tribune Archives). [tickets]

Winnipeg Electric Company (05 April 1924 - 31 January 1953)
Operated bus service to Transcona 1928-1941. Absorbed SRT operations in St. James, Tuxedo, Charleswood and Assiniboia in 1940. An offer to purchase WECo was made by the Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board 28 October 1952 which was accepted (date?). Transit system divided from hydro-electric interests in 1953, as the GWTCo. (Manitoba Hydro website, Photos: CWTS archives, University of Manitoba archives, Dennis Cavanagh) [tickets]

Greater Winnipeg Transit Company (01 February 1953 - 29 May 1953)
Incorporated 06 January 1953 as a subsidiary of WECo, which was controlled by the Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board, a provincial government agency established by legislation in 1949 and activated 18 May 1951 (Manitoba Hydro website). Sold to the GWT Comm. 1953.

Greater Winnipeg Transit Commission (30 May 1953 - 31 December 1960)
Multi-municipality enterprise incorporated 08 April 1953. Purchase of predecessor's assets completed 11 November 1953. Reorganized as the Transit Department of the M Corp of G.W. 1961. (photos: Winnipeg Transit, Peter Cox).

system logo

Source: Mark A. Perry 2008

Metropolitan Corporation of Greater Winnipeg (01 January 1961 - 31 December 1971)
Service to Transcona resumed 1963. Service to East St. Paul withdrawn in 1969. Metro municipalities amalgamated as the City of Winnipeg 1972. System also referred to as Metro Transit (CC66). Summer-only service to Bird's Hill Park outside the city begun 21 May 1971. (Photos: CWTS archives and Winnipeg Tribune archives, Angus McIntyre)

system logo

Source: Steven Strothers 2008

City of Winnipeg Transit System (01 January 1972 - present)
Customarily referred to as Winnipeg Transit. Summer-only service to Bird's Hill Park outside the city ended 03 September 1979. Service to Headingley withdrawn 31 December 1992. From 1995 bilingual signs inside buses acknowledging provincial financial support cite la Régie des transports de Winnipeg. (CUTA 1989, CUTA 1991/2, CUTA 1992, photos Jaworski, Dennis Cavanagh and Alex Regiec)

system logo rt logo (2012)	Service area population	600,000 (1991)
	Vehicle fleet	540 buses (2000)
	Employees	1366 (1991)
	Ridership	43,870,036 (2009)
	Data sources:	CUTA 1991/2 CTHF/SSG 2000 Winnipeg Transit Website 1999 (logo) CTF [Aug. 2010] (ridership)

Suburban Rapid Transit Company (02 December 1903 - 26 October 1940)
Incorporated 01 March 1902 to build and operate an electric railway from Winnipeg west on both sides of the Assiniboine River to Headingley. In 1904 powers were expanded to include the R.M. of Saint François-Xavier and Portage-la-Prairie. All operation was conducted under contract by the WESR and its successors. Control of the SRT was purchased by the WER 26 October 1905. Operated street railway lines from Winnipeg to Headingley via St. James and Assiniboia, and from Winnipeg to Charleswood via Tuxedo. Bus lines added towards the end of the franchise. Operations absorbed by WECo at the end of the SRT franchise in 1940. (Winnipeg Transit photo). [tickets]

Winnipeg Jitney Association (circa April 1915 - ?)
The "jitney craze" in Winnipeg played out in similar fashion to other Canadian cities. Jitneys first appeared in February 1915 and by April there were over 200 in service. The May 1915 figure was thought to be about 480, and June 1915 was 572. On September 14, 1915, the official count was 635. Various associations came and went quickly. CR&MW made note of the following:

• Winnipeg Jitney Association (formation reported in May 1915 issue)
• Winnipeg Jitney Dispatch Service (organization reported June 1915)
• Winnipeg General Jitney Despatch (reported on October 1915)
• Sargent Jitney Association (reported April 1916) Forty-six jitneys operating on Sargent Avenue on 06 September 1916.
• Winnipeg Jitney Owners' and Drivers' Protective Association (reported August 1916 through September 1917) Over 100 members in July 1916. The charter of the Jitney Owners' and Drivers' Association of Winnipeg was finally cancelled by the provincial government 28 September 1936 (Manitoba Gazette, Vol. 65, #38, Sep. 19, 1936, p. 738).

Peoples Bus Service (13 October 1920 - 1920?)
Assiniboia launched a municipal bus service to challenge the service provided by the Suburban Rapid Transit Company. While it was still operating at the end of October 1920 it's not clear how much longer it lasted. (Winnipeg Tribune 13 October 1920, 28 October 1920).

Brookside Cemetery shuttle (circa 1922 - 2005)
Beginning in the 1920's Brookside Cemetery provided seasonal transportation between the cemetery and a connection with Winnipeg's transit system on Keewatin Street. The initial schedule was mid May to the end of October, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Fare was 10¢ one way. As late as 2005 a Sunday van service connected the cemetery with the transit terminal at Red River College 1 km away. Cemetery owned by the City of Winnipeg. (Brookside Cemetery: A Celebration of Life p. 15, photo Alex Regiec).

St. Vital Bus Lines (1932 - circa 1949)
Owner Harry Henteleff. Took over a single bus route from the WECo in St. Vital in 1932. Began using the name Beaver Bus Lines circa 1939 and incorporated as Beaver Bus Lines Limited 11 December 1945 (Manitoba Gazette Vol. 74, #51, Dec. 22, 1945, p. 1418). St. Vital route reabsorbed into main Winnipeg system circa 1949 (Canadian Coach 1969). Company shifted to operating suburban bus service between Winnipeg and Selkirk.

Cross-Country Bus Lines Ltd. (circa 1950s)
Suburban carrier operating between the Winnipeg bus depot and Fort Whyte (now also in Winnipeg). (Photo: William A. Luke)

Splash Dash (Summer 1992 - circa 01 July 2004 (summer seasons only))
Fixed route common carrier boat service along the Red and Assiniboine rivers in central Winnipeg. Service suspended indefinitely circa 01 July 2004.

River Spirit (01 July 2006 - circa 2011, 09 July 2016 - present (summer seasons only))
Resumption of boat-bus service previously called Splash Dash. Did not operate 2007 or 2010.

Domo Double Decker (29 June 2013 - 2014 (summer seasons))
Shuttle bus service in Assiniboine Park, operated daily from Canada Day to Labour Day, and on Saturdays and Sundays from Labour Day to Thanksgiving. Operated by the Assiniboine Park Conservancy using a donated Routemaster double decker bus. Service relaunched in 2015 under a slightly different name. (website 2013, photo: David A. Wyatt).

Domo Shuttle (2015 - present (summer seasons))
Navette Domo. Shuttle bus service in Assiniboine Park, operated daily from Canada Day to Labour Day, and on Saturdays and Sundays from Labour Day to Thanksgiving. Operated for the Assiniboine Park Conservancy by contractor Winnipeg Trolley Company.

Notes

Mr. Miranda (1912 - ?)
Semi-scheduled automobile (jitney) service between Transcona and Winnipeg. (Transcona 50th, photo: Transcona 25th)

W.F. Lange (1922 - October 1924)
Initial bus service between Winnipeg and Transcona. Incorporated 1924 as the TTC. (Bradley)

Mr. Thompson (? - October 1924)
Operation absorbed by the TTC (Winnipeg Tribune, 30 Jun. 1967).

Transcona Transportation Company (October 1924 - 16 November 1925)
Operation owned by W.F. Lange. Taken over by IS. (Bradley)

Interurban Services, Ltd (16 November 1925 - 12 January 1928)
Incorporated 02 November 1925 (Man.) and took over TTCo two weeks later. Affiliate of the Winnipeg Electric Company (Winnipeg city system). Initial operation by four buses. Went out of business after an accident in downtown Winnipeg. Transcona bus route absorbed by parent company. (Bradley, CR&MW Nov. 1926, p. 607, photo: Winnipeg Transit)

Winnipeg Electric Company (12 January 1928 - 01 May 1941)
Winnipeg city system. Competed with WRBL 1933 - 1941. Service to Transcona curtailed at the direction of the Dominion Transit Controller. (Bradley, Transcona 75th, photo: Winnipeg Transit)

White Ribbon Bus Lines (11 November 1933 - 29 December 1941)
Operation of former WECo bus driver William Dunn. Incorporated 1941.

White Ribbon Bus Lines Ltd. (29 December 1941 - 1959)
William Case Dunn and others incorporated by Manitoba letters patent (Manitoba Gazette Vol. 71, #1, Jan. 03, 1942, p. 1). Sold to Thiessen Bus Lines in 1959. (Photos Winnipeg Tribune Archives, William A. Luke)

company logo

Data source:

William A. Luke/Alex Regiec

Transcona Bus Lines Ltd. (1959 - 31 December 1962)
Owned by Thiessen Bus Lines which later became Grey Goose Bus Lines Ltd. 1961 advertisement proclaimed “Serving Transcona Since 1927.” Service and operation assumed by Metropolitan Corporation of Greater Winnipeg (Winnipeg city system) 01 January 1963. (Canadian Coach 1966, Transcona 50th, Transcona 75th, Bus Ride, November 1989, photos: Peter Cox, author's collection).

Notes

Several attempts were made to extend electric street railway service from Winnipeg to Transcona. The Winnipeg Electric Railway Company was building a line in the summer of 1914 when the rails for it were requisitioned for the war effort and construction stopped (Baker, p. 55). A Dominion incorporation to be called Winnipeg Interurban Ry Co. was proposed in 1915, and a Manitoba company to be named Transcona Electric Ry. was proposed in 1917. Both incorporations were rejected (CR&MW Oct. 1915 p. 404, Feb. 1917 p. 73, and May 1917 p. 203).

Modes

Winnipeg River Railway Company (1923 - 1935)
Incorporated 24 March 1911 (Man.) by WERCo interests. Manitoba Power Company, Ltd. incorporated 1920 to assume assets and operations of the WRRCo and the Winnipeg River Power Company. Line from Lac du Bonnet to Great Falls (25 km) opened 1923 (Andreae 1997). MPCo and Winnipeg Electric Railway Company amalgamated to form WECo 1924. WRR leased to Canadian Pacific Railway Company 1935 and sold to them 1938 (Andreae 1997).

Manitoba Eastern Railway Co. (1928 - circa 1954?)
Line from Whitemouth to Seven Sisters Falls (19 km) opened 1928 (Andreae 1997). Line still operating in 1949.

References

• Baker, John E., Winnipeg's Electric Transit: The Story of Winnipeg's Streetcars and Trolley Busses, Railfare Enterprises Limited, West Hill (Ontario), 1982.
• Blake, Herbert W., The Era of Streetcars in Winnipeg: 1881 to 1955, H. W. Blake, Winnipeg (Manitoba), 1971.
• Bradley, Walter E., “A History of Transportation in Winnipeg”, MHS Transactions Series 3 1958-59 season Winnipeg: Manitoba Historical Society, 1958. Available online at the URL: http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/transactions/3/transportation.shtml 2004.
• Brookside Cemetery: A Celebration of Life, vol. 1, Winnipeg: City of Winnipeg, Planning, Property & Development Dept., Cemeteries Branch, and ER Publishing & Communications Ltd., 2003.
• NewDavesRailPix: Manitoba, a World Wide Web gallery of photos at the URL: http://newdavesrailpix.com/odds/man/man.htm, 2000.
• Jaworski, Jim, Unofficial Winnipeg Transit Online, A world wide web site at the URL: http://www.uwto.org, 2003.
• McMullen, M.J.G., J.M. McGowan, and F.W.G. Hughes, eds., Transcona Silver Jubilee: 1911-1936, Transcona: Transcona Board of Trade, Historical Booklet Committee, 1936.
• McMullen, M.J.G., Robert T. Rankin, and Arthur H. Day, eds., Transcona: On the Horizon of a Great Future, Transcona: Golden Jubilee Commission, 1961.
• NA Transit, Winnipeg Transit, a photo gallery website at the URL: http://photo.natransit.com/winnipeg/index.htm 2003.
• Watts, Betty Ann, ed., Transcona 1911 - 1986, Celebrating 75 Years of Community Winnipeg: Transcona 75th Jubilee Inc., 1986.
• Winnipeg Transit, All-Time Fleet Roster, a world wide web page at the URL: http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~wyatt/alltime/winnipeg-roster.html, 2005.
• Winnipeg Transit, Moving With Winnipeg Since 1882, Winnipeg Transit, Winnipeg (Manitoba), 1982.