Emergency Service Plan
Overview
The Winnipeg Transit Emergency Service Plan (ESP) allows Transit to respond to an emergency that prevents regular routes from operating, such as a major weather event. It is designed to be useful in a variety of situations, and can be applied in select areas of Winnipeg or city-wide.
The ESP has three levels:
- Levels 1 and 2 ensure Transit is able to maintain public transportation service in the event of an emergency.
- Under ESP Level 3, Transit will communicate that service will be suspended due to concerns with safety and/or road access.
In the event the Emergency Service Plan is implemented, members of the public will be notified via banner messages on our website, TeleBUS, on digital bus signage, and on Twitter.
ESP Level 1
Under ESP Level 1, passengers will be notified of adjustments being made along select routes in affected areas of the city. Detours will be put into place as needed to avoid service disruptions and ensure safety. Details of detours will be available on the Service Alerts page and the Transit Alerts account on Twitter.
Note: Buses will stop at all existing Winnipeg Transit stops along the detour, even those not part of its regular route.
ESP Level 2
Under ESP Level 2, passengers will be notified that service will continue along Priority 1 streets using an alternate route network. Maps of the route network and individual routes can be accessed below:
ESP Level 3
Under ESP Level 3, passengers will be notified that service will be temporarily suspended due to streets being inaccessible or in the interest of safety. No routes operate under Level 3.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How will passengers be notified if Transit is activating its Emergency Service Plan?
A: Passengers will be notified via on banners on winnipegtransit.com and all of its digital scheduling applications. Information will also be provided on social media, and in the case of ESP Level 1, information describing current detours will be available on the Transit Alerts page and the @transitalerts Twitter account. Under ESP Level 2, digital signage on buses will read “Emergency Service Plan Level 2” so passengers are aware alternate routing is in effect.
Q: Are all unplanned detours considered ESP Level 1?
A: No; ESP Level 1 is activated in the case of widespread service impacts, i.e., several routes are impacted by detours, or detours are necessary in multiple neighbourhoods. Unplanned detours with limited geographic impact, or detours that only impact a small number of routes, will be communicated on the Service Alerts page and @transitalerts Twitter account as usual.
Q: Will schedule information appear online as usual when Winnipeg Transit is operating its Emergency Service Plan?
A: Under ESP Level 1, users attempting to access online schedule information for stops being bypassed by detours will see that the bus has been cancelled at those locations. While buses will stop at all stops along the detour, digital schedule information will not be available for stops not on the regular route. Schedule information for regular stops not affected by the detour will still be available.
Under ESP Level 2, digital schedule information will be available to passengers.
Under ESP Level 3, Winnipeg Transit’s website and other schedule information platforms will indicate there is no service at this time.
