Winnipeg is a large, spread-out city, and it can take a while to get around. Unlike most North American cities this size, there is no urban freeway network in the city. Public transportation service is adequate to good in the inner part of the city and on main suburban roads, but only fair to poor in outer suburban areas and some bus routes run only infrequently during the evening or on weekends. Traffic jams, particularly in the downtown area, are common during the rush hour periods which are generally from 0730 to 0900 and 1530 to 1730 Monday to Friday. Much of Winnipeg's downtown real estate is devoted to parking, with ubiquitous and cheap surface lots continuing for multi-block stretches. It is worth considering renting a car, especially if any excursions outside of the city are planned.
By Public Transit
Winnipeg Transit, +1 877 311-4974 or 311 local, (http://www.winnipegtransi...) has bus routes running throughout the city. Service is generally good on major routes in the inner city but only fair to poor in the outer suburban areas. The Winnipeg Transit's website includes schedules and a helpful travel planner called Navigo. Automated schedules are available through Telebus, +1 204 287-7433. Handi-Transit, +1 204 986-5722, (http://www.winnipegtransi...) is available for disabled persons.
As of January 1st, 2012, adult bus fare is $2.45 CDN. There is a reduced fare of $1.95 for children 6-16, high school/college students, and seniors 65+ years of age, for which identification is required. Children 5 and under are free with a fare-paying adult. Drivers will only accept exact change in cash. A transfer can be requested when you pay your fare, which entitles you to ride as many buses as you like within the next 60 minutes. You may also purchase tickets at reduced rates at almost any convenience store.
There are a variety of passes available, which can also be purchased at any convenience store. Of note to travelers is the Max 5 pass, which can be used Monday to Friday, and the Superpass, which can be used from Monday to Sunday. Please keep in mind that the Max 5 is only available for adults.
Special Services
Downtown Spirit (http://winnipegtransit.co...) operates on 3 routes in the downtown area during the day, free of charge.
Park & Ride allows you to park in designated areas and then catch a transit bus.
DART provides request bus service to residents living in selected areas of South and South East Winnipeg.
Bomber FanFare allows you to ride Transit for free by showing your valid game day ticket when going to and from Bomber home games. Transit also operates shuttle services to the Bomber stadium.
Bike and Bus offers bike racks on the 60 Pembina buses during the summer free of charge. St. Vital Shopping Centre and Osborne Junction have bike lockers.
Shuttle services are offered for occasions such as the Folk Festival and the Assiniboine Race Track season.
Navigating
Highways. Winnipeg is one of the first Canadian cities of its size to have a ring road Highway 100/101, which provides a by-pass for travellers on the Trans-Canada Highway. Portage Avenue, the city route of the Trans-Canada Highway, follows regular city streets.
Street names. All streets in Winnipeg have names. Major routes will have both names and route numbers, but will almost always be called by the name. A notable exception is Route 90, which is commonly called Kenaston in the southern half of the city and Route 90 in the northern half. Many streets change names as they wind through the city, which can be extremely confusing, even to locals. The most known example is the street that is Salter in the north end of the city, but as it goes south becomes Isabel, Colony, Memorial, Osborne, Dunkirk, and finally Dakota in the south end, with no clear indication when it changes.
One-way streets. Many downtown streets are one-direction, which can make navigating downtown quite confusing. One-way streets are rare outside of downtown
No left turns. Many busy streets limit left hand turns, particularly during rush hour. This is especially prevalent downtown, but is common in the rest of the city as well.
Confusion corner. This intersection is mainly where Osborne St and Pembina Hwy meet, but other streets connect as well, and there are bus-only lanes. There are many lanes going different directions, and it can be very confusing to know which lane you need to be in, which has given the intersection the name "confusion corner".
North End. The area of the city just north of downtown is known as the north end. This is the poorest part of the city and extra precautions should be taken when traveling through here, especially at night though most crime is gang related rarely involving innocent bystanders. There is a very noticeable drop in the quality of infrastructure when you cross from downtown into the north end, but it is also a very sudden change so it is important to be mindful of your surroundings.
By taxi
Taxis are licensed in Winnipeg and every driver must have their identification visible. For security purposes, taxi drivers are protected by a shield and have video surveillance. By law, fares are non-negotiable and determined by a meter. Smoking and open alcohol are not allowed. The most common taxi model is the smaller Toyota Prius.
Winnipeg Taxicab Tariff: Starting fee: $3.50 with 72.5 metres, then $0.10 for each additional 72.5 metres + $0.10 for each 13.18 seconds of time. Whenever the taxi stops, there's a "waiting time charge" of $0.10 for each 13.18 seconds of metered waiting time. A 10 km ride works out to about $17.20 + any waiting times + tip 15-20%.
Blueline Taxi
+1 204 925-8887Duffy's Taxi
+1 204 925-0101 (http://www.duffystaxi.com)Spring Taxi
+1 204 774-8294 (http://www.springtaxi.ca)Unicity Taxi
+1 204 925-3131 (http://www.unicitytaxi.mb.ca)Vital (handicap) Transit Services Limited
+1 204 633-2022 (http://www.vitaltransitse...)Winnipeg Shuttle & LIMO XTRA SERVICE
+1 204 981-0981 (http://www.winnipegshuttle.com)