In September 1971, about two weeks before the civic election that would replace Metro with "Unicity" government, 60 residents showed up to the last Metro Council meeting to protest the running of Unibus service in the Riverview area, complaining of bus traffic on Balfour, Maplewood, and Casey streets. From the early 1970s to the early 1980s, at the behest of Metro, a shuttle service to Birds Hill Provincial Park was instituted. Fares were 75 cents for Adults, 50 cents for Seniors. However, by the early 1980s, Winnipeg Transit said they were not making enough on the fares to pay for the shuttle, and it was cancelled in 1983. Dial-A-Bus was studied as early as 1971 as a way to transport passengers from very low density suburban neighbourhoods. With the creation of the unified City of Winnipeg on January 1, 1972, Metro Transit became Winnipeg Transit. A FREE shuttle service, DASH (Downtown Area SHuttle), operating on 5 min. headways Mon.-Fri. between 9 am and 4 pm, throughout the Central Business District of downtown Winnipeg began in February 1975. In early 1976 Winnipeg Transit's union, ATU 1505, had not signed a new contract. Workers went off the job starting January 26, 1976. The Mayor of Winnipeg and Premier of Manitoba were powerless in stopping the transit strike. The strike lasted for 47-days and ended after ratification by the Union on March 12. Council voted 41-1 (out of a nominal 50 members) the day prior to agree to the new 17-month contract. Councillor Florence Pierce (ICEC - Glenlawn) was the only Councillor present who voted against the new contract. The effects of the strike left many people stranded or unable to travel to work or for medical appointments. The issues were mainly wage and work scheduling-related. The Board of Commissioners had stated that if the ATU wins a pay increase, certain routes may be cancelled and a 10 cent far implemented on the D.A.S.H. (now Downtown Spirit) route and Dial-A-Bus service to St. Norbert & Ft. Richmond cancelled. Added Mr. D. I. MacDonald: It may be necessary to review the level of transit service provided, due to the rapid escalation of transit costs, to the point where the transit deficit is now a major budget item. In the late 1970s Winnipeg Transit paid an outside design firm to create a new logo for the transit department, although it wasn't until two or three years later when bus stops begun to feature the new design.