THE city's rapid transit corridor must run on rails, activists told a council committee yesterday.

The future of a rapid transit system from downtown to the University of Manitoba dominated a meeting of the mayor's executive policy committee, which was gathering input on the 2003 capital budget. The budget contains $5 million for testing and design of an express-bus corridor.

Well-known community activist Nick Ternette said an express bus system guided by magnets or other high-tech options won't work in Winnipeg's climate and won't lure people away from their cars.

Outspoken transit activist Jim Jaworski agreed, saying gas-powered buses, instead of trains that run along electric rails, feed car culture.