First-come, first served trip booking
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How the new system works
Winnipeg Transit Plus is now using a new system of booking trips after eliminating the Trip Priority System, an outdated practice no longer being used by other paratransit providers.
All trips are now being fulfilled on a first-come, first-served basis. Assigning trips this way is fair and equitable, and it is also more efficient because it makes it easier to shift resources in the case of cancellations or no-shows. This change will lead to a more flexible service that can better meet customer demand.
Customers who are unfamiliar with the new booking system should be aware of a few changes in how they book trips and plan their pickups:
- When you call to book a trip, you will be informed immediately if your trip request can be accommodated, and if it can, you will be provided with a 30-minute pick-up window.
- If you opt-in to receive notifications, you will also receive a call confirming the details the night before your trip.
- If your trip can’t be accommodated based on availability at the time you make your request, you will be offered a different time or a spot on a waitlist.
- We will continually monitor trip demand and look to accommodate your trips based on the availability of our vehicles.
- If you are on a waitlist and your requested time becomes available and is booked for you, you will receive a call the night before your trip confirming details (if you have opted in for notifications), or you can contact Transit Plus to confirm.
Printable PDF — Five steps to booking a trip with Transit Plus under the first-come, first-served booking system
We are also offering interactive virtual information sessions with our Travel Trainer to review this change, by request. If you are interested in attending a session, please call our contact centre and provide your name and email address. After you have registered, you will receive a log-in link for a Microsoft Teams meeting via email.
Trips are no longer being assigned a priority, and trips previously assigned a Priority 1 are no longer be guaranteed; please make your trip request as soon as you are eligible (one week prior.)
- This includes trips for work, medical or dialysis.
- You may be offered another time for your trip, or if that isn’t available, put on the waitlist.
The move from an exact pick-up time to a 30-minute pick-up window makes our service more transparent and efficient.
- It will help Transit Plus reduce the likelihood of drivers falling behind schedule, and make it easier to fill gaps left by no-shows or cancellations.
- Drivers will arrive within that time frame. Please be ready to leave as soon as the vehicle arrives and wait inside the outermost door of the designated pick-up spot.
- If you opt-in for notifications, you will receive a phone call notifying you approximately 15 minutes before the driver’s arrival.
- The driver will wait five (5) minutes upon arrival within the 30-minute pick-up window to assist you onboard. If you are not ready to leave within that five (5) minute period, the driver will notify Transit Plus, you may be considered a no-show, and the vehicle will leave.
- If your vehicle has not arrived within the 30-minute pick window, please call the customer contact centre.
Note: Subscription bookings, currently suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will continue to be unavailable under the new system.
Opt-in for trip notifications today
Trip notifications the night before your trip and 15 min prior to the driver’s arrival are now available to customers who opt in You can opt-in to receive notifications when you book your next trip. Opting-in can save you the time it currently takes to confirm your trip times.
Why the Trip Priority System has been eliminated
As part of our commitment to providing accessible service, Winnipeg Transit Plus has followed a number of recommendations from an Ombudsmen’s report, including to review our trip priority system. The review, carried out under the direction of Winnipeg City Council, found that the Trip Priority System:
- Was outdated, as other paratransit providers had moved away from such systems
- Could be perceived as being discriminatory in practice, as it can limit access to public transportation
- Wouldn’t align with upcoming accessibility legislation (The Accessibility for Manitobans Act)
Additionally, making this change allows Transit Plus to best utilize trip-booking software to assign trips more efficiently, reducing the likelihood of a trip request going unfulfilled. We are better able to serve you, our customers.
FAQ
Why is Transit Plus eliminating the current trip priority system?
For a number of reasons:
- To align with upcoming accessibility legislation (Accessibility for Manitobans Act (AMA) and address concerns noted in the January 2019 Manitoba Ombudsman report.
- To continue modernizing the service and make it fairer and more equitable, using computer scheduling to assign trips based on first-come, first-served.
- To create a more flexible service that can better meet customer demand, finding efficiencies in making better use of cancellations and no-shows.
How will I confirm my trip?
Trips that can be accommodated will be confirmed when they are booked, and you will be provided with a pick-up window time. Transit Plus representatives will always confirm the dates, times, and addresses before ending the call to ensure the accuracy of your trip booking.
If you opt-in to receive notifications, you will also receive an automated call the night before your trip confirming the details. This call will come from 204-986-5722.
What happens if Transit Plus can’t accommodate the time I want for my trip?
Transit Plus representatives will notify you immediately during the trip booking whether we can accommodate your requested time. If that time of day is at capacity, we’ll work with you to find a different but available time that may meet your needs, but if no other options will work for you, we’ll offer you a spot on our waitlist.
What does it mean to be waitlisted? How will it work?
We continually monitor trip demand and look to accommodate your trips based on the availability of our vehicles. If you choose to waitlist your trip, our schedulers will utilize the trip booking system daily to attempt to fit your trip into a spot made available as others cancel their trips or if we can deploy additional vehicles.
If you’ve opted into notifications, you will receive a call confirming your trip details the night before your trip. You can also check whether we’ve been able to accommodate a waitlisted trip by calling our Contact Centre (204-986-5722), available every day from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
What’s a pick-up time window? When do I need to be ready?
We will provide you with a 30-minute window for pick-up for any accommodated trips. On the day of your trip, a Transit Plus vehicle will arrive anytime within that pick-up window time. For example, if your pick-up window time is between 8 and 8:30 a.m., the vehicle can arrive anytime between 8 and 8:30 a.m.
Please be ready to leave as soon as the vehicle arrives and wait inside the outermost door of the designated pick-up spot. The driver will wait five (5) minutes upon arrival within the 30-minute pick-up window to assist you onboard. If you are not ready to leave within that five (5) minute period, the driver will notify Transit Plus, you may be considered a no-show, and the vehicle will leave.
Why is Transit Plus changing from confirming an exact pick-up time to a pick-up window time?
Previously the practice of confirming an exact pickup time contributed to highly rigid and tight scheduling, vehicles running behind, and gaps from cancellations or no-shows that we couldn’t use to help you.
Including even a small pickup window time benefits all customers and drivers, letting us use the gaps that cancellations or no-shows create to keep our vehicles on time and provide more trips.
A pickup window time is also a more transparent way to deliver service, considering everything in the real world that impacts an driver’s schedule, for example, traffic, construction, the time it takes to sanitize and board, and customer no-shows.
Will you call me when my vehicle arrives?
If you’ve opted into notifications, you will receive a call roughly fifteen (15) minutes before we expect your vehicle to arrive. It’s vital that when you opt-in that you provide the Transit Plus representative with the best telephone number that we can use to reach you directly.
We recommend if you have one that you provide a cell phone number so that whether you are at home or at any destination that our notifications can reach you.
What should I do if my vehicle is late?
If your vehicle has not arrived by the end of your 30-minute pick-up window time, call the Transit Plus Contact Centre at 204-986-5722 so that we can check on the status of your vehicle. For example, if your pick-up window time is between 9 and 9:30 a.m., call us any time after 9:30 a.m.
Can I opt-in to receive my notification by text (SMS)?
At this time, notifications are limited to automated telephone calls. Still, we are constantly investigating new technologies, for example, text messages (SMS) and push notifications (notifications from a smartphone app).
Will my work, medical, or dialysis trips still be guaranteed?
Transit Plus is implementing changes to trip scheduling to make the service more fair, equitable, and efficient. There will be scenarios in which we are unable to accommodate your trip at your requested time. Our representatives will work with you to offer available times.
If you decide that no available time offered will work for you, we can place your trip on a waitlist, or you can decline instead. Transit Plus will record all declined trips to make ongoing improvements to meet our customer’s needs.
