Manitoba's 3rd largest city runs without buses, leaving some families stuck in place
Ian Froese | CBC News | Posted: May 8, 2023 10:00 AM | Last Updated: May 8, 2023
2006 study said Steinbach was 'well-positioned' to adopt public transit but 17 years later, it hasn't happened
Steinbach was "well-positioned" to start offering public transportation — according to a study done 17 years ago, when it was a city of 10,000 people.
"There is the potential client base, necessary growth and most importantly the need for more sophisticated public transportation," according to a 2006 report from the Institute of Urban Studies at the University of Winnipeg, commissioned by a group in Steinbach hoping for public transit.
Since then, Steinbach's welcomed another 8,000 people, sprawled outward, and become a more dense community with more apartment and condominium complexes, but the city hasn't yet added public transit.
Gay Boese is part of a new group in Steinbach trying to change that, and she says many residents would use it.
"We've got people who can't maintain a job because they can't get to their work," said Boese, a member of the South East Equity Coalition.
"We had a story of a young woman from Blumenort, who walked [nine kilometres] from Blumenort to Steinbach every day, all year, to work a minimum-wage job because she was so determined she wasn't going to go on [Employment and Income Assistance]," said Boese.
"We've had people who need food, they need to go to the hospital, they need to go to a doctor. How do you get there if there's no public transport and you can't afford a car and you can't afford a taxi?"
A city of automobiles, but not buses
Steinbach is know for its relationship with private vehicles — it is called the Automobile City, after all. The city's oft-repeated radio jingle, "It's worth the trip," continues to be a bid for price-conscious customers to buy an affordable set of wheels.
With a city's identity tied to owning your own ride, it isn't surprising that smaller Manitoba communities have sped past Steinbach and its 18,000-strong population in adopting public transit, including Thompson, with 13,035 residents according to the 2021 census, and Selkirk, with 10,504 residents.
Both Winkler (13,745 residents) and Portage la Prairie (13,270 residents) pursued transit feasibility studies in the last few years.
In Steinbach, Boese says the South East Equity Coalition is currently distributing a survey to gauge opinions on public transit. Copies have gone out to social service agencies that support low-income individuals and newcomers. The coalition will present the survey's findings to Steinbach's leaders.
One of the roles for the coalition is "to convince the city councillors that the time is now," Boese said.
"There is a need, there is a will and now is the time to start working on it."
Bus service costly without the density: mayor
Steinbach Mayor Earl Funk said he looks forward to going over the survey results with the coalition and exploring if this is a road worth following. He cited a different study for the city which suggested Steinbach needed 20,000 to 25,000 citizens to make transit viable.
"There's just so many challenges with smaller urban centres with density. It's just so expensive when you don't have the density to cover your transit."
He said he's spoken to other small-city mayors about transit, and they're virtually all facing financial challenges, but he said transit will surely be in Steinbach's future.
"I want to make sure that we're doing the right thing," he said.
In the meantime, Steinbach residents like Nick Young are feeling left out. Without a vehicle, Young is restricted in the activities he can do when his seven-year-old son visits.
"If I'm paying $12 for a cab to get to a pool, then it takes money out of my pocket that I want to be able to spend towards my son, so we can have that good time."
A bus could also take Young to work. His commute is currently a 40-minute walk, partially along a highway. He takes a cab either to or from work, as he said he gets exhausted staying on his feet as a gas jockey, but he can't afford two taxi fares in a day.
"I wish there was something I could do, but I can't, and then it goes into the feeling of being discouraged."
Some people outside Steinbach are also interested in a transit option.
Viktoria O'Malley moved from Steinbach in 2021 to the small community of Kleefeld, Man., 14 kilometres to the southwest. Earlier this year her husband changed jobs and doesn't have a company ride anymore, so he now takes the family vehicle during daytime hours.
"Instantly, it was like this big weight, because all of a sudden I'm thinking of all the things that I can't [go to]," O'Malley said.
"I have to make sure I get out of the house somehow or call people or something, to not end up in misery."
A grocery store and playground are within walking distance in Kleefeld, but O'Malley can't bring her kids to swimming lessons in Steinbach or visit the Steinbach Family Resource Centre to take classes with other parents, and give her kids, age four and one, the chance to play with others.
"They're not just with each other because after a while, they do get tired of each other and they fight a little bit," she said.
"It's been really good for them to socialize with other kids."
O'Malley said her mother sometimes helps with rides, but not always. She'd use public transit if it became available.
Study exploring transit in southeastern Manitoba
Last year, the Rural Municipality of Piney and Eco-West Canada took it upon themselves to explore the potential for a regional transit service in southeastern Manitoba. Other municipalities are supporting the project financially.
Preliminary results show a third of the 900-plus survey respondents aren't satisfied with their transportation options. Many of them want to rides into Steinbach or Winnipeg, be it for work, shopping or medical appointments.
Martin Van Osch, Piney's chief administrative officer, said he understands there will be questions about the viability of transit in a low-density, geographically vast region, but he's convinced it's necessary.
One transit option coming forward in their discussions is one that relies on a hub approach, using major highways to connect certain communities, or hubs. A private bus operator used to run through southeastern Manitoba, he said.
"It's worthwhile because the people that live out here want to live out here and are deserving of the same services that individuals in more urban areas live with," he said.