A Winnipeg business owner is frustrated after learning that a bus shelter in front of his establishment — which is frequently damaged and in need of cleaning — is not maintained by the city, but instead managed by a private advertising company.

David Newsom is a co-owner of Hildegard’s Bakery, at the corner of Portage Avenue and Maryland Street.

Newsom says he frequently contacts 311 to report problems with the shelter. On Tuesday, needles and other drug paraphernalia littered the ground inside, and part of the seat had melted from a fire — damage he said has been there for weeks.

After contacting the City of Winnipeg multiple times, Newsom said he was informed the shelter is managed by Astral Media, a subsidiary of Bell Inc. He said 311 can pass along complaints, but attempts to contact the company directly have gone nowhere.

“There’s no way to talk to Astral directly, and there doesn’t seem to be any sort of accountability, at least publicly, for how good a job they’re doing at managing the bus shelter,” Newsom said.

Newsom says the conditions don’t just affect transit riders — they spill over into the area around the shelter.

“They spill out on the sidewalk … and make the sidewalk less hospitable to our customers walking in the door,” he said, adding much of the garbage he cleans up appears to come from the shelter.

He says he doesn’t have the same concerns with a city-owned bus shelter just around the corner on Maryland, which he says is cleaned more quickly after complaints.

Agreement for ads, maintenance

According to Winnipeg Transit, Astral has the exclusive right to sell advertising on approximately 140 bus shelters across the city, out of roughly 735 in total. As part of that agreement, the company is responsible for cleaning and maintenance — including removing garbage and replacing broken glass.

The city says it receives complaints about those shelters through 311 and forwards them to Astral, adding it is in “constant communication” with the company, Transit spokesperson Brandon Logan wrote in an email.

“This is a revenue-generating contract. The city receives an annual minimum revenue guarantee each year of the contract in exchange for Astral to have the right to advertise in and maintain these shelters,” Logan wrote.

The shelter outside Newsom’s business was cleaned and had glass replaced earlier in March, with additional cleanings scheduled, the city said.

But Newsom questions how proactive that maintenance really is.

“If I am a squeaky enough wheel … yes, they’re doing things … but that doesn’t make me at all confident that Astral is doing a good job,” he said.

He worries other shelters may be in a similar condition, without anyone repeatedly raising concerns.

“There’s another 139 of these … which may not have someone equally proactive being annoying about them,” Newsom said.

He also questions why a private company is responsible for maintaining infrastructure that serves the public.

“I really can’t see the business case for this,” he said. “I don’t understand how this arrangement is the most sensible way to provide bus shelters,” he said.

CBC News has reached out to Bell Media, which owns Astral, for comment.

WATCH | State of bus shelter irks owner of nearby business:

Business owner raises concerns about privately managed Winnipeg bus shelter

David Newsom, co-owner of Hildegard’s Bakery in Winnipeg, says a bus shelter outside the Portage Avenue business is often dirty and damaged. The city says a private advertising company maintains the shelter.