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Winnipeg Free Press
2 days ago
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
Scaling back plans for transit garage could hurt riders in future: report
Within about five years, the decision to scale back Winnipeg Transit's new north garage could leave more riders behind as full buses pass them by. A report deems an increase in 'pass-ups' to be the key risk of city council's decision to reduce the scope of the new facility, now known as the Oak Point Garage. The project's scope was clawed back to keep its cost at $200 million instead of increasing it to $305 million, which reduced maintenance and storage space. 'The biggest risk to the (Winnipeg Transit Master Plan) from the smaller scope of (the garage) is the potential for pass-ups on Primary Transit Network lines. This would happen due to a lack of sufficient 60-foot articulated buses in the fleet,' writes Bjorn Radstrom, Winnipeg Transit's manager of service development. RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS FILES The smaller, cheaper facility is slated to replace the current garage on Main Street, which is in poor condition. The smaller, cheaper facility is slated to replace the current garage on Main Street, which is in poor condition and cannot fit articulated buses or newer ones with rooftop air conditioners, Radstrom writes. Shrinking the scope of the new facility means Transit can only store 127 of the longer, articulated buses, while the service estimates it would need between 150 and 200 within the next 10 years, the report said. Transit may also need to request 'significant capital funding within five years' to either expand the Oak Point Garage, which is expected to open in 2028, or retrofit the existing Fort Rouge Garage, Radstrom said. 'By 2030, I would say the risk is getting to be pretty high that we would be experiencing more pass-ups than we would want,' he said, during an interview Thursday. It's difficult to tell how much pass-ups could increase in the next few years, since ridership levels could change, but adding more 60-foot buses could serve growing demand with a limited impact on operating costs, Radstrom said. 'You're not paying for an extra bus operator. It's a much more efficient way to (transport more people) but we need the maintenance space and the storage space for (the buses) … If ridership keeps growing, there's a crunch,' said Radstrom. Pass-ups tend to be highest in September when students return to school, he noted, with full buses passing up waiting riders 2,615 times in September 2024. There have been 410 pass-ups during this month so far. The chairwoman of council's public works committee said council can't afford to increase the budget and scope of the north garage right now. 'We don't have the money,' said Coun. Janice Lukes. Lukes (Waverley West) said council has invested a lot of money in Winnipeg Transit, including a $124-million subsidy this year. The councillor said federal and provincial interest in public transit indicates funding to expand the garage could become available. 'I'm very optimistic that we'll be able to do an expansion to the garage at some point in the future … We are committed to making transit better and we have time to figure out an expansion,' said Lukes. She stressed the risk of a surge in buses lacking enough space for riders is still years away. Mayor Scott Gillingham also noted the city has made major investments in transit lately, including a new primary transit network that's set to take effect Sunday. 'We're investing more in transit than we ever have … We only have so many dollars to invest in that garage at this time. In the future, there may be opportunity, if need arises, for us to expand that garage. But let's keep in mind, these are good days for transit,' said Gillingham. An advocate for transit riders said the switch to a new primary transit network could alleviate a lot of the delay pass-ups cause, though the risk of experiencing more of them is a concern. Wednesdays Sent weekly from the heart of Turtle Island, an exploration of Indigenous voices, perspectives and experiences. 'With frequent service, a pass-up will be less devastating than it used to be. Instead of waiting 40 minutes … (it) will probably only mean waiting less than 15 minutes (on the most frequent routes). However, the whole point of the system is that more people use it, that they can rely on it … (and) because the new system relies on transfers as part of almost every trip, missing a bus could potentially mean missing a connecting bus,' said Kyle Owens, president of Functional Transit Winnipeg. The network will use a spine-and-feeder concept, where direct spines along major corridors are supported by a network of feeder routes. Owens said there's also a risk the city will pay even more to expand the new north garage in the future, since construction prices typically rise over time. X: @joyanne_pursaga Joyanne PursagaReporter Joyanne is city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. A reporter since 2004, she began covering politics exclusively in 2012, writing on city hall and the Manitoba Legislature for the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in early 2020. Read more about Joyanne. Every piece of reporting Joyanne produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Time of India
17-06-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
European truckmakers stockpile to deal with Chinese rare-earths crunch
Gothenburg (Sweden): European truckmaker Volvo Group has been seeking alternative sources of rare earths and Daimler Trucks has been building inventories to deal with supply issues linked to Chinese export curbs, saying lessons had been learned from the chip crisis. The automotive industry currently fears that the supply of rare earths, which are needed for magnets, will be hurt by recent export regulations in China. Since April, exporters have had to apply for new licences, which are only slowly being approved. China dominates the market for the raw materials, which are used in various components from electric motors to window mechanisms in cars and trucks. Play Video Pause Skip Backward Skip Forward Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration 0:00 Loaded : 0% 0:00 Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 1x Playback Rate Chapters Chapters Descriptions descriptions off , selected Captions captions settings , opens captions settings dialog captions off , selected Audio Track default , selected Picture-in-Picture Fullscreen This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Text Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Caption Area Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Drop shadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like New Container Houses Serbia (Prices May Surprise You) Container House Search Now Daimler Truck's CEO Karin Radstrom told reporters on Tuesday on the sidelines of a conference in Gothenburg that, as with the chip crisis during the Covid-19 pandemic, the group was boosting inventory levels rather than relying as heavily on a just-in-time strategy. "With everything that's going on in the world right now, this seems to be a good and necessary strategy," Radstrom said. Live Events She said the situation is currently a major focus for Daimler, which it is closely monitoring. "So far, we seem to be getting what we need," she added, saying there have been no production outages so far. Volvo Group's CTO Lars Stenqvist also noted "a little bit of turmoil" around rare-earth supply, and said in the long term, there had been "a clear move" to be less dependent on the minerals. Stenqvist, who also said the group's output had not been affected, emphasised like Radstrom that there had been many lessons learned from the chip crisis. "We learnt during the semiconductor crisis a few years ago that we maybe have had a history of working too much with the tier 1 suppliers," he said. "We are never hesitating to go down in the value chain, down to tier 2, 3, 4, 5 if necessary." "During that (chip) crisis we learned how to navigate down to the mines, and that is what we also need to do when it comes to rare earth metals and minerals," Stenqvist added.
Yahoo
17-06-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Daimler Truck says rare earth supply concerns have led to more inventory building
GOTHENBURG, Sweden (Reuters) -Obstacles to the supply of key raw materials from China have prompted truckmaker Daimler Truck to increase its inventories in the short term, CEO Karin Radstrom told reporters after a conference in Gothenburg on Tuesday. Radstrom said the chip crisis during the COVID-19 pandemic had already shown that vehicle manufacturing could no longer rely as heavily on just-in-time deliveries. The German truck manufacturer had since increased its inventory levels, for example of semiconductors, even if this tied up more capital, she said. "With everything that's going on in the world right now, this seems to be a good and necessary strategy," Radstrom told reporters. The automotive industry currently fears that the supply of rare earths, which are needed for magnets, will soon dry up due to new export regulations in China. Since April, exporters have had to apply for new export licences, which are only slowly being approved. China dominates the market for the raw materials, which are used in everything from electric motors to window mechanisms. Radstrom said the situation is currently a major issue for Daimler's purchasing department, and the company is closely monitoring the issue. "So far, we seem to be getting what we need," Radstrom added, saying there have been no production outages so far.
Reuters
17-06-2025
- Automotive
- Reuters
Daimler Truck says rare earth supply concerns have led to more inventory building
GOTHENBURG, Sweden, June 17 (Reuters) - Obstacles to the supply of key raw materials from China have prompted truckmaker Daimler Truck ( opens new tab to increase its inventories in the short term, CEO Karin Radstrom told reporters after a conference in Gothenburg on Tuesday. Radstrom said the chip crisis during the COVID-19 pandemic had already shown that vehicle manufacturing could no longer rely as heavily on just-in-time deliveries. The German truck manufacturer had since increased its inventory levels, for example of semiconductors, even if this tied up more capital, she said. "With everything that's going on in the world right now, this seems to be a good and necessary strategy," Radstrom told reporters. The automotive industry currently fears that the supply of rare earths, which are needed for magnets, will soon dry up due to new export regulations in China. Since April, exporters have had to apply for new export licences, which are only slowly being approved. China dominates the market for the raw materials, which are used in everything from electric motors to window mechanisms. Radstrom said the situation is currently a major issue for Daimler's purchasing department, and the company is closely monitoring the issue. "So far, we seem to be getting what we need," Radstrom added, saying there have been no production outages so far.
Yahoo
17-06-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Daimler Truck says rare earth supply concerns have led to more inventory building
GOTHENBURG, Sweden (Reuters) -Obstacles to the supply of key raw materials from China have prompted truckmaker Daimler Truck to increase its inventories in the short term, CEO Karin Radstrom told reporters after a conference in Gothenburg on Tuesday. Radstrom said the chip crisis during the COVID-19 pandemic had already shown that vehicle manufacturing could no longer rely as heavily on just-in-time deliveries. The German truck manufacturer had since increased its inventory levels, for example of semiconductors, even if this tied up more capital, she said. "With everything that's going on in the world right now, this seems to be a good and necessary strategy," Radstrom told reporters. The automotive industry currently fears that the supply of rare earths, which are needed for magnets, will soon dry up due to new export regulations in China. Since April, exporters have had to apply for new export licences, which are only slowly being approved. China dominates the market for the raw materials, which are used in everything from electric motors to window mechanisms. Radstrom said the situation is currently a major issue for Daimler's purchasing department, and the company is closely monitoring the issue. "So far, we seem to be getting what we need," Radstrom added, saying there have been no production outages so far. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
