Riders push back against proposed $1.4M Transit Windsor cut

As someone who relies on the bus to get around the city, Zachary Balogh says he is "livid" about Windsor's 2025 budget proposal to cut $1.4 million from Transit Windsor.

"Students, whether it be international or domestic, whether it be seniors, they all depend on transit," said Balogh. "It's an essential service."

Details of the $1.4-million cut have not been made public, as the document outlining Windsor's proposed budget lists it as an "in-camera item" – meaning it will be discussed behind closed doors by Windsor's mayor, city councillors and administration.

What is known is that the proposed budget includes a 3.2 per cent fare hike, set to take effect on April 1.

It also considers a potential 50 per cent increase in fares for the tunnel bus and special event services, raising the cost to $15 each way.

According to Balogh, raising fares is unacceptable given the frequent delays riders already experience.

"When one bus doesn't show up, I don't think the right response from Transit Windsor is to put out another bus 40 minutes later or tell people they have to wait for the next one," said Balogh.

"I know you have buses in the [transit] garage. Just send them out right away."

But according to the president of the transit workers' union, more than half a dozen buses are sitting idle in Windsor's transit garage because barriers separating drivers from passengers were not ordered on time.

"It's rather alarming," Amalgamated Transit Union International vice-president Manny Sforza said of the proposed $1.4-million cut.

"Transit Windsor has actually seen an increase in ridership over the last two years."

While presenting the budget last Friday, Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens said the city is reviewing the costs of maintaining the tunnel bus service as one way to keep the tax hike low.

"There's a review of the tunnel bus and the implications of having a service like that and the expense associated with that service," Dilkens said Friday, adding the City of Windsor bears the cost of subsidizing the service, even though it is used by people in other regions such as Detroit and Essex County.

A bus stop for the Transit Windsor 25 bus route is seen on September 7, 2022. (Sanjay Maru/CTV News Windsor)

"It's not a service for Windsorites but, just like the E.C. Row, Windsor pays the fare of this subsidy. That's not right."

Transit Windsor drivers fall under federal labour laws because the tunnel bus crosses an international border. Those laws entitle drivers to 10 paid sick days, mandated by the federal government.

Dilkens has said this has made operating the transit service significantly more expensive.

According to Sforza, the City of Windsor should have anticipated the need to allocate funds for the mandated sick days, as the federal policy was announced in advance.

"We thought this issue of the ten paid sick days was behind us. Clearly, it's not," said Sforza.

"The mayor has been talking about the tunnel bus and the 10 days in the same sentence. ATU is not going to just sit back idly and let the mayor and city council deprive transit riders of a long service that they've had."

In a statement, advocacy group Activate Transit Windsor Essex (ATWE) said residents deserve "far more transparent communication" about the details of the proposed $1.4 million cut.

"If a service elimination is being discussed, transit riders deserve to be told without needless obfuscation," said ATWE member Joshua Sankarlal.

The group noted that the tabled budget includes an additional $2 million in collected fares, tied to an increased service plan with multiple route and frequency enhancements.

However, the budget also states these improvements are funded by eliminating "school bus extras," bringing the net cost of transit investments to zero.

"Council's own reporting tells us that folks are more dependent on transit than ever before," said fellow ATWE member Nate Hope.

"We cannot stress the needs of riders if the most the city is willing to invest is $0, while also proposing undisclosed cuts to the tune of $1.4 million."

Residents will have an opportunity to express their concerns about the proposed 2025 city budget at a council meeting on Jan. 13.