Free downtown bus could be so much more

No spirited energy here

The bus driver finally looks at me, waits a moment, frowns and opens the door. I get on at an intersection instead of a stop; he doesn’t approve. Either that, or he hates his job and gets upset at people easily.

I haven’t been on the number one bus in over a year. The last time was brutal. It was extraordinarily filthy and smelled like a collection of baloney sandwiches dipped in warm milk and left out in the sun.

Recently, I gave Winnipeg’s Downtown Spirit bus another shot and rode its entire circuit.

Although it was bearable this time around, I still couldn’t help feeling very disappointed. Our public transit should be a beautiful thing, but it presents itself in a light that seems to create the stigma of it being a “lower class” service.

For example, when I sat down, the ad to my right read “RELIEVE YOURSELF,” which is the ad campaign about Winnipeg’s high chlamydia and gonorrhea rates amongst 15-24 year olds. Though it’s great that there is public awareness about the issue, I wondered why they advertise it so much on the bus.

I questioned further when the ad next to it is Money Mart, the devil of financial institutions that locks people into debt and then eats their souls. It’s safe to presume the ads aren’t targeting the lawyers, business people and the rest of the upper class of Winnipeg.

Moreover, it doesn’t seem to be a popular bus to catch. From The Bay to The Forks only one person got on the bus. It was lunch hour; people were running around, going out for lunch meetings, etc. That one guy ended up riding the entire circuit with me, just going for a bus ride, like myself.

At The Forks, two people got on. One guy stopped and looked at me with a questioning face, as if I shouldn’t be using the bus.

Although these are small observations, they seem to link to a greater problem. The Downtown Spirit does not inspire feelings of responsibility for our community and the use of sustainable transport, nor does it scream of being a great way to get around downtown. Rather, it seems to say, “You don’t have bus fare.” It also seems to target a certain demographic.

All of this brings into question why the Downtown Spirit exists. Its website states “enjoy FREE convenient transit … Get into the Downtown Spirit for the best shopping, dining, attractions and entertainment Winnipeg has to offer.” Obviously targeted at tourists and visitors, why is the Downtown Spirit not marketed to city residents as well?

Every day, thousands of people drive to the downtown to work, and every day transit is clogged trying to escape downtown. The Spirit should be promoted as a great way for one to get around downtown during the day.

Then more people will take it – meaning more people will realize free transit is great. Getting people excited about transit could get more people to ask the city to reduce or eliminate bus fares, or to demand mayors that care about sustainability.

There should be substance behind the Spirit’s purpose. The bus shouldn’t look like a prison on the inside. There should be a comprehensive effort to attract all income earners. There should be public ads explaining how it could decongest downtown Winnipeg.

These aren’t unreasonable requests.

The Downtown Spirit needs more spirit. There needs to be an effort on the part of the city to make it everybody’s bus.

Matt Austman is a politics student at the University of Winnipeg.

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