ManitobaFor two days in a row, Emmett and Wyatt Gigian have had to find another way to school after their usual Winnipeg Transit bus was too full to pick them up at their stop in the southeast corner of the city.Louis Riel School Division says it is working with Winnipeg Transit to fix issueLauren Scott · CBC News · Posted: Sep 05, 2025 6:32 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hour agoEmmett, left, and Wyatt Gigian had to find alternate routes to school after their Winnipeg Transit bus was full and bypassed their stop on Friday morning. (Trevor Brine/CBC)For two days in a row, Emmett and Wyatt Gigian have had to find another way to school after their usual Winnipeg Transit bus was too full to pick them up at their stop in the southeast corner of the city. As many students returned to school on Thursday, the Louis Riel School Division raised concerns that the recent overhaul of the city’s transit system would leave students in the Bonavista and Island Lakes neighbourhoods — where Emmett and Wyatt live — without adequate transit access. Emmett, who is a Grade 8 student at École Van Belleghem, an elementary school within the LRSD, said the 557 bus skipped his stop on Thursday. “I couldn’t get to school yesterday. I had to be picked up by one of my parents,” he told CBC News just before 8 a.m. while waiting at his stop on Friday morning. Emmet’s brother Wyatt, who is in Grade 10 at Collège Béliveau, which is also in the LRSD, said he had a “little trouble” figuring out his new two-bus route to school this week. In a statement on Thursday, the LRSD warned that students at Wyatt’s school and J.H. Bruns Collegiate would be most affected by transit service gaps. Last year, Wyatt said he used a charter bus. “I liked the charter bus, it was easy. Only one bus, no waiting,” Wyatt said. Winnipeg Transit has cancelled its charter services to school divisions this year, a move that transit officials said was necessary to increase service frequency along its revamped bus routes. A spokesperson for the City of Winnipeg told CBC News that there are no plans to reinstate any school charters that were part of the previous Winnipeg Transit network. (Janice Lukes/Facebook)Winnipeg Transit previously provided 28 charters to school divisions to transport students from areas where schools did not have a nearby bus route. Some divisions have hired private charters to replace the routes.The transit authority said in an emailed statement to CBC News that “there are no plans to add back any school charters that were part of our previous route network.” A city spokesperson said the new transit network was designed to service schools, including those along the 557 Island Lakes-Morley route, “without the need for supplementary charters.” Transit overhaul means end of charter buses for some Winnipeg studentsWinnipeg Transit cancelled its 28 school charters after its new network launched earlier this summer. Some divisions have now hired private charters, but in others, students must find alternative means of transportation. As CBC was standing with the siblings on Friday morning, their bus came into view down the road — but it didn’t stop.”It was full,” Wyatt said, adding he might have to walk to the Sage Creek neighbourhood and catch a bus from there. “It’s crazy.” Emmett said classes start at 8:30 a.m. and the next bus wouldn’t arrive until about 8:25 a.m., leaving him no choice but to bike to school or call his dad for a lift. LRSD superintendent Christian Michalik told CBC News on Friday that the Gigian family’s experience “isn’t isolated” since school has been back in session. “Too many students, families are reporting that is their lived experience right now,” he said. Michalik said 245 families have already responded to a survey the school division sent out on Thursday afternoon, with most reporting full buses and a lack of transit capacity in the area. Christian Michalik, superintendent of the Louis Riel School Division, says 245 families have already responded to a transit survey sent out on Thursday afternoon. (Radio-Canada)The school division has been working with Winnipeg Transit to find a solution, Michalik said. If that fails, he said some affected schools may have to adjust bell times, starting later and ending later so students can make it on time. LRSD is also looking at using contingency funds to add school bus service to specific neighbourhoods on a paid seat basis.But Michalik said Winnipeg Transit officials were open to making changes. “Together, I’m confident that we can find some fixes to the needs,” he said.Until LRSD and Winnipeg Transit figure out a long-term solution, the school division is encouraging families to use active transportation such as cycling and walking, arranging a carpool, or taking transit outside of morning and afternoon rush hours. “They should have more buses instead of a few, because it’s going all the way to Sage Creek and in Island Lakes no one can get on,” Emmett said. The city said transit users can use the 311 service to send feedback, which will be used to update the network next year. “Where possible, we will make small, no-cost changes to schedules as quickly as possible in order to improve service. But even this requires a lead time of several months,” a city spokesperson said.ABOUT THE AUTHORLauren Scott is a Winnipeg-based reporter with CBC Manitoba. They hold a master’s degree in computational and data journalism, and have previously worked for the Hamilton Spectator and The Canadian Press.With files from Meaghan Ketcheson and Faith Fundal
‘I couldn’t get to school yesterday’: Transit shuffle leaves some students few options
