Björn Rådström, P. Eng.
Manager of Service Department
Winnipeg Transit
Winnipeg Transit Manager of Service Department Björn Rådström always loved city life. To this day he loves exploring other cities to see them on a pedestrian scale. He didn’t, however, always know that public transportation was in his future. His love for city life and the vital role transportation planning has in shaping a city seemed the ideal match.
While an undergrad, Rådström was awarded a Centennial Scholarship from the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA), and wrote a technical manual for Winnipeg Transit called “Designing for Sustainable Transportation & Transit in Winnipeg,” which won the TRB Communication in Transportation Award in 2008.
Rådström began working as the transit planner for Winnipeg in 2007 and was part of several technical advisory committees for Winnipeg’s city master plan and steering committee member for the Transportation Master Plan, all which helped produce important documents that leads the direction of the region.
As a member of the core project team that oversaw the design and construction of Stage 1 of the Southwest Transitway, Winnipeg’s first bus rapid transit (BRT) corridor. He was project manager of the first phases of the Southwest Transitway Stage 2 and Pembina Highway Underpass Project, a $590 million BRT project. He guided the project through planning, design, funding applications and the P3 Request for Qualifications.
Rådström was promoted to Manager of Service Development in 2012 and managers a team of 15 that is responsible for planning, schedules, marketing, communications and passenger information for Winnipeg Transit.
He currently serves as president of the Institute of Transportation Engineers Manitoba Section, a member of the national board of the Canadian Institute of Transportation Engineers, a member of the CUTA Integrated Mobility Task Force, a member of the CUTA Technical Advisory Committee and regularly lectures to engineering students at the University of Manitoba.
“Transit plays such a vital role in shaping of the city and everybody’s ability to do what they need to do, live their daily lives. Whether it’s service planning or infrastructure planning or strategic planning, it all adds a real legitimate concrete impact on people’s lives and the future of the city.”
Fun Fact: Björn was awarded the ITE Young Professionals Award in 2010.
