Riders say overcrowding remains an issue on Transit Windsor buses

Transit Windsor rider Zariah Meggo, seen on July 29, 2024. (Sanjay Maru/CTV News Windsor)

Two-thirds of Windsor’s primary and secondary transit routes exceed the threshold for overcrowding, according to a report heading to Windsor’s transportation standing committee.

“I’m bumping into people, and people are bumping into me. I’m not comfortable with people invading my personal space,” said transit rider Zariah Meggo. “People can be rude, and they don’t give up their seat for the elderly. If they see someone with a baby buggy, they won’t move for them.”

The report, written by Transit Windsor executive director Tyson Cragg, indicates that “boardings per service hour” (BSH) should target 35. Any number above that is considered an overload.

In 2023, all three of Transit Windsor’s primary routes — the Transway 1A (54), Transway 1C (45) and Crosstown 2 (48.2) — were above the overcrowding threshold.

During the same year, three of five secondary routes — Dominion 5 (52), Dougall 6 (50) and Walkerville 8 (40) — also surpassed the overcrowding target.

According to transit advocate Nate Hope, overcrowding continues to be a major issue.

“We shouldn’t have to watch a bus pass us while we’re waiting or be packed in like sardines,” said Hope.

Transit advocate Nate Hope on July 29, 2024. (Sanjay Maru/CTV News Windsor)

Acting city engineer Mark Winterton said 19 new buses have been ordered and are expected to arrive this fall.

“We are experiencing some growth-related challenges and ask people to be patient,” said Winterton.

Currently, the Transit Windsor fleet consists of 119 buses.

According to the report, 25 per cent (29 buses) are at or past “their useful life.” This has led to an increase in service disruptions and a decrease in the distance at which these faults occur.

Between 2025 and 2028, Winterton said Transit Windsor will bring in 17 more buses.

“Boardings per service hour” (BSH) data for 2023 (Source: City of Windsor)

“In some ways, unfortunately, we've had to be reactionary to the growth and increased demand for transit service,” said Winterton. “We've been, in certain elements, a victim of our own success, and we're now trying to move forward and address this.”

Winterton added this work is yielding some significant successes for the transit service this year.

For the first six months of 2024, Transit Windsor operated 97.9 per cent of its “planned revenue service hours.”

More specifically, out of 151,145 planned hours, Transit Windsor operated for 147,998 of them.

Expressing optimism for the service’s future, Winterton pointed to recent transit investments of more than $100 million from all three levels of government to address the aging fleet, bus maintenance, and service reliability.

“I think this is a pretty positive report. While there are challenges, we have a path forward,” said Winterton. “I think you’re going to see improvements in transit over the next several years.”

Hope, however, believes Windsor’s transit system should never have reached this point.

“You can't just have record low investment and then say, 'Oh, we made record high investments.’ It's because you've been lacking the years before,” said Hope.

A link to the full transit report can be found on page 11 of this document.