In the autumn of 1951 the Winnipeg City Council hired Norman D. Wilson, nationally-known consulting engineer, to advise the city on the proposal that the tram system be brought under public ownership.

Wilson, was also asked whether the traction system could reasonably be expected to pay its way under public ownership.

After checking the records of the Winnipeg Electric Co., here is what he recommended:

"Specifically I recommend that the government of the province initiate the establishment of an intermunicipal commission to take over and operate the transit system."

The Wilson Report went on to say: "If it is in the interest of the province to see that transit be divorced from power generation, it is equally in the interest of the city that basic control of the transit service in the Winnipeg area be retained by the city."

As for the second question: Could the tram system under public ownership be expected to pay its way? Wilson's answer was: "Given reasonable stabilization of traffic and of costs, the transit system could operate on a self-sustaining basis."

This reply carried with it a number of big "ifs". Ii the first place, it assumed that the minimum number of riders would not fall below 72 million a year by 1954.

This assumption seemed safe enough at the time and subsequent experience seems to confirm that it was a conservative estimate. There were, for example, 78 million car riders in 1952, and there are signs that the decline in tram and bus riders which has been going on since the end of the war is levelling out.

Nevertheless as continued increase in the number of motor vehicles in the city (27,500 in 1946 to about 50,000 at present), fare increases and such things as the five-day week all militate against use of mass transit facilities. There can be no positive guarantee that the yearly number of tram riders will not fall below 72 millions in the years ahead.

Wilson is confident that some of the present costs of operating the street railway could be cut down. He outlined a program of modernization that would eliminate street cars from city streets and many of the small gasoline buses as well.

the report noted that it cost the company about 57 1/2 cents a mile to operate a street car, 36.6 cents to operate a trolley bus and 43 cents to operate a motor bus.

Wilson commented that it was important to get rid of the street cars that cost 20 cents a mile more than trolley buses. He also urged that many of the small buses be replaced by large buses. This is already being done. Twelve large buses have been ordered and some of them are already in service.

Wilson based his finding that the tram system might be self-sustaining on the premise that the city would have to pay $4.5 millions for the mass transit utility and that as much as $6.175 millions might be spent on fully modernizing the system. Actually the tram company is being offered for about $1.25 millions net.

Wilson noted that to pay its way the utility must be able to charge adequate fares and not be required to provide excessive service. Otherwise it would show deficits that would have to be made up either by municipal taxpayers or by all power users.