Maybe it'll give Winnipeggers one more excuse to skip work on a snowy day.
Winnipeg Transit is asking city hall for permission to stop service during extreme snowstorms.
The move would pose problems for passengers on Winnipeg's outer edges, according to a report that will be tabled at a public works committee meeting on Tuesday.
"Those passengers who use Transit in outlying suburban areas will be required to walk to/from bus stops on major regional or collector streets to make their trips during a severe winter storm," states a report by Transit director Dave Wardrop.
During last winter's first major storm on Nov. 15, 2005, the city saw more than 30 cm of wet, heavy snow that left many streets impassable. By 10 a.m., a total of 120 buses were stuck on snow-packed streets throughout the city, Wardrop said in a Winnipeg Sun interview.
'SKELETON NETWORK'With a winter storm emergency plan, Transit could temporarily cancel service in some areas -- likely less-travelled suburban and feeder routes. Passengers would have to find a way to get to the closest main route.
In extreme weather situations, service would be scaled back to a "skeleton network" of seven basic routes, the report states.
"We're talking about the extreme outer reaches of the city," said Wardrop. "We're saying if there's a corner of the city that's impassable, we won't be sending buses there."
As it stands, individual drivers make the call about whether they can complete their routes in a storm, said Wardrop. There's no widespread system of informing would-be passengers about travel problems.
"Customers will be better served ... because they can move to one of the major routes," said Wardrop said. "Then we'd be providing a higher level of service because we won't have as many buses getting stuck."
If the emergency storm plan is enacted, Transit plans to notify passengers through the Internet, its phone line and local media.