'It’s not the kind of investment that we need to see in transit': Mixed reviews for proposed transit subsidy
A multimillion dollar funding boost for transit service in Windsor is being met with mixed reviews, with some saying more is needed to go beyond maintaining the status quo.
On Wednesday, the city announced a proposed $63 million plan in new capital projects over the next decade and a $16.3 million operating subsidy in 2022.
It included 24 new buses on order, scheduled for delivery in mid-to-late-2022 and making the 518x route, which travels from Tecumseh Mall to Devonshire Mall to St. Clair College, permanent.
“We already knew that we were buying more buses. We already knew that we were renewing the fleet,” says Ward 3 councillor Rino Bortolin, who worries new investment is being deferred due to pandemic circumstances. “I understand people have struggled over the pandemic, but we also have to understand that the municipality offers the best public services that people rely on, and those public services need to evolve and keep pace.”
Bortolin sits on the Transit Windsor Advisory Committee and tells CTV News he believes the increases to the Transit Windsor budget are due to increased fuel and labour costs and not new services, concerned new route implementation like the 418x route is being deferred due to the pandemic.
“We’re using excuses of the pandemic and ridership being down as an excuse not to invest in transit,” Bortolin adds, “This capital budget we’re proud that we’re spending $63 million dollars over 10 years on transit. We’re spending over 500 million, half a billion dollars on roads in that same 10-year period. So, have we had the discussion that if we increase ridership on transit, we might be able to save 10 per cent off of those roads? No."
Bortolin says he’s frustrated that the previously committed 418x route that would bring riders from Tecumseh Mall to the west-end terminal and by the Lancer Centre, is not being recommended this year.
“That was one of the first things identified that needed to happen to implement our master plan,” he says.
Activate Transit Windsor Essex members agree that more is needed to make services not only reliable, but desirable.
“It’s not the kind of investment that we need to see in transit,” says Julian Villafuerte. “There’s a lot of catching up that the Windsor system needs to do in order to be a dependable and attractive system for the people.”
Villafuerte says the funding in the city’s 2022 proposed budget isn’t enough to see the 10 year transit masterplan implemented successfully, adding the already approved 418x route needs to become reality, calling it the “backbone” of the plan.
“That was in the transit master plan. That’s what the city committed to in 2019 to deliver that in 2022,” says Villafuerte. “So, if that’s not delivered in 2022, we’re officially starting to veer off from the plan which is not a good thing.”
Bortolin believes there’s broader economic discussions to be had with enhancing transit services now. “Once we do come out of the pandemic, what services are we offering not just to get back to 100 per cent but then to gain 20 per cent, 30 per cent, 40 per cent, 50 per cent more ridership?”
2022 budget deliberations take place on Dec. 13, 2021.
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