PAUL Zalac had a good excuse for being late at the first of 10 workshops hosted by the city's rapid transit task force last night — he missed his bus. The 26-year-old bus rider from West Kildonan missed his connecting bus to the Holiday Inn in St. James where the workshop was being held.

"What I hate the most is waiting for the bus," said Zalac, who joined about 60 others for workshop.

Its purpose is to assess the transit system's strengths and weaknesses, said city councillor Russ Wyatt, who is heading the task force. "We want to maximize the use of existing resources and come up with recommendations that have public support," he said before the participants broke into small discussion groups.

Zalac opted to park his car in November and ride the bus to save money. After depending on transit to get around, Zalac said he has some complaints about the system and wanted to share them last night.

The ride home after the workshop would take him almost 90 minutes. But if the city improves transit — by increasing the frequency of buses and express service — it will have been worth the trip, he said. Wyatt said the city must have rapid transit. The snowy, slippery roads show just how much it's needed, he said. "You can see what kind of mess we have on some of our major routes."

Dick Gillanders, a retired Presbyterian minister, said he wants to know if Mayor Sam Katz agrees that Winnipeg has to have a rapid transit system. "And where are the free rides for seniors?"

The mayor has said he will deliver on his promise of free transit rides for seniors during non-peak traffic periods in the coming year.

Meanwhile, a teen who met with the mayor to discuss a rapid transit proposal said he and his fellow students don't believe the mayor is that interested in rapid transit. "He didn't seem that engaged," said St. Paul's High School student Lee Haber, 17. The Grade 12 student showed up at the workshop armed with maps and a headful of facts about Winnipeg's system and how other cities are tackling transit issues. Haber said he is a "concerned citizen" and isn't giving up on having a better transit system. "Winnipeg should have a system it can be proud of."

Penny Horeczy, who is in her 40s, remembers when the city had high hopes for its transit system. "I'm as old as the idea Stephen Juba had for a monorail system," she laughed. She drove to the workshop because she has some serious concerns about transit's future.

She returned to Winnipeg after living in Edmonton for several years and is worried the city may try and privatize part of its transit system like the Alberta city did. Horeczy said that ended up costing Edmonton taxpayers more in the end.