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Why Tunnel Bus service is remaining idle as other bus companies run cross-border routes

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Despite other bus companies moving ahead with cross-border routes between the U.S. and Canada, Transit Windsor says it is still not feasible to resume its Tunnel Bus service.

When COVID-19 testing requirements at the border were eliminated in April, Transit Windsor announced it would keep its Tunnel Bus service idled due to the ArriveCan app still needing to be filled out by passengers before they could be permitted entry into Canada.

Windsor resident Molly Bachmeier said, prior to the onset of the pandemic in March 2020, she would use the Tunnel Bus service twice a month.

“It's definitely frustrating to see,” she said, referencing the continued pause of the Tunnel Bus.

“It was a great service that, at least in my experience, it seemed like a lot of people were using. It was really a valued part of the community.”

Meanwhile, FlixBus — which launched in Windsor by introducing a low-cost bus route to Ottawa last week — has been operating cross-border routes from Seattle to Vancouver and New York to Toronto.

According to the company’s senior business development manager Emily Deissler, FlixBus uses a “three-pronged communication strategy” to ensure all passengers have filled out their ArriveCan app before reaching the Canadian entry point.

The first is a reminder that’s listed multiple times on the booking website and on the ticket itself for passengers to fill out the ArriveCan app.

The second is a text message that’s sent to customers “very early on the morning of their departure” that contains another reminder.

The final reminder comes from the bus driver, during the ride itself.

“These drivers are saying, ‘Please remember that you need to have this filled out before we get to the border.’ At every stop, they're making the same reminder on the bus as well,” said Deissler.

“We're trying to smooth out the customer experience and really make sure they have all the information they need so they can be efficiently processed at the border.”

FlixBus adds about 30 minutes to each of its route durations to accommodate the extra time needed for Canadian border officials to check and verify each passenger’s ArriveCan app, added Deissler.

But according to Tyson Cragg, executive director for Transit Windsor, the Tunnel Bus previously departed on a 30-minute frequency.

“So if you had 30 minutes, running on the bus [to check ArriveCan apps], that bus would never be on schedule,” said Cragg.

Internal discussions have taken place to consider resuming the Tunnel Bus service for special events such as sports games or concerts, Cragg added, but “the fewer trips you make, the more expensive each trip becomes.”

“Ridership on the tunnel bus … accounts for about two per cent of our overall ridership. But it accounted for about seven per cent of our overall budget service hours. So it was an expensive service to run.”

There are also too many differences between how a “highway coach” operates compared to public transit, according to Cragg.

For starters, he said, FlixBus knows well ahead of time who will be boarding a cross-border bus — but that’s not the case for Transit Windsor.

“The public transit operating model is that you pay your fare, you get on the bus and you normally don't expect the driver to ask for your vaccination status or if you have ArriveCan completed,” said Cragg.

Discussions between transit officials have also looked at allowing drivers to ask for a passenger’s ArriveCan status before boarding the bus. But Cragg said he would like to see the service run “the way we did in the past.”

“We were running 252 trips a week across the border when the toll bus was operating, prior to early 2020. It makes it very difficult for us to run a reliable on-time service, with these measures in place right now.”

Meanwhile, Bachmeier said she just wants to see the Tunnel Bus service resumed as soon as possible.

“I know a lot of people who would visit family over there. Even if you are just trying to go to a sports game or some type of event, it was always cheaper to take the Tunnel Bus than trying to drive and carpool and work that out,” she said.

“In a lot of ways, Windsor markets itself as this city that has such close proximity to Detroit. People like to talk about how they're very much sister cities. If the only way to get there now is to have a car, I just think that's really limiting.”

According to Transit Windsor, a decision on resuming the Tunnel Bus service will be reassessed in late September.

The federal government most recently indicated requirements for travellers arriving to Canada are expected to remain in effect until at least Sept. 30, 2022.

Correction

CLARIFICATION: A previous version of this story indicated the federal government planned to lift border restrictions, possibly including the ArriveCan app, at the end of September. The federal government has not specified an end date to the use of the ArriveCan app while, in their most recent update, stating requirements for travellers arriving to Canada are expected to remain in effect until at least September 30, 2022.

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