Winnipeg Electric Street Railway
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A Winnipeg transit bus
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| Founded | 1882 |
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| Headquarters | 421 Osborne Street |
| Service area | Winnipeg, Manitoba |
| Service type | Public Transit |
| Routes | 94 routes |
| Stops | 6,000 stops |
| Fleet | 603 buses |
| Daily ridership | 130,000+ |
| Operator | City of Winnipeg |
| Website | www |
Winnipeg Transit is the public transit agency in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is currently a bus-only transit system and it is owned and operated by the city of Winnipeg. In operation for over 130 years, it currently employs over 1,300 people and operates over 600 buses to more than 6,000 bus stops within the city limits.
Public transit in Winnipeg began in 1882 with the horse-drawn Winnipeg Street Railway Company (WSR) under the direction of Toronto businessman Albert William Austin. The WSR experimented with electric cars in 1891, but the city gave the electric rights in 1892 to the competing Winnipeg Electric Street Railway Company (WESR), headed by William Mackenzie and James Ross of Montreal. The width of Winnipeg's main streets allowed both companies to operate simultaneously. Austin's company lost 68 horses to a disastrous fire in 1893. He tried to fight for exclusive street railway rights in court, all the way to the Privy Council in London, but after losing his case, he sold almost all of its assets to the WESR for $175,000 in 1894.
Horse car operations ended the next day, except for the Kennedy Street line, which city council required to operate for another six weeks. Austin kept the Elm Park horse-car line to operate as a private venture; his company had opened the park in the 1890s to drum up business on the line during off-peak times. With the ending of a price war between the two companies, fares doubled, from 50 up to 25 tickets for a dollar, or 5¢ cash.
The WESR continued to expand its lines, its inventory of rolling stock, and its car barns. It bought the Manitoba Electric & Gas Light Company for $400,000 in 1898, changed line voltage from 250 to the standard 550 volts in 1899.
The Winnipeg General Power Company was incorporated by officers of the WESR in 1902, and amalgamated with railway company in 1904. The combined company adopted a new name, the Winnipeg Electric Railway Company (WER), and now controlled all street railway, electric power, and gas utilities in the city.
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