Windsor-Detroit tunnel bus service expected to resume if border restrictions lift
According to Transit Windsor, Tunnel Bus service to Detroit is expected to resume should the federal government lift its COVID-19 vaccine border requirements on Sept. 30.
That includes the mandatory use of the ArriveCan application.
“Those are our primary impediments for running the tunnel bus,” said Tyson Cragg, executive director of Transit Windsor. “Obviously ArriveCan and mandatory vaccination for re-entry into Canada.”
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.
“So assuming those conditions or restrictions are lifted, it would allow us to return the tunnel bus back to operation,” Cragg said.
“It sounds quite exciting for us to get back to providing that service. A very unique service in North America. There's no other transit agency on the continent that provides a similar service to it. So it does mean a lot to us.”
Windsor resident Christopher Baldwin told CTV News it would be great to see the bus running again.
“I think it's time to bring it back,” he said. “Maybe go watch a baseball game or even just a concert downtown.”
Jillian Baldwin agreed, noting many utilize the service when they go to Detroit.
“I think it absolutely should be back,” she said. “It's just a wonderful way to go to baseball games, hockey games. Yeah! Absolutely bring it back!”
“We've definitely missed it,” said Lynnette Bain, vice-president of destination development with Tourism Windsor-Essex Pelee Island.
Bain told CTV News that soon couldn’t come soon enough for the bus to resume service, explaining its absence since the pandemic’s onset has delayed the region’s return to normalcy.
“It just really reduces that spontaneity, that level of spontaneity when people are maybe visiting Detroit internationally and they want to have a two-nation destination experience,” Bain added. “We know that COVID will be around for years and we're dealing with that on the health side. But on the life side, people are getting back to normal. They want to cross the border freely.”
“There's some planning that we need to do.”
Meanwhile, Cragg suggested it could still take a couple of months for service to start again, assuming the federal government drops border restrictions at the end of September.
He said it's an administratively and technically complex service to run because it requires approval and participation from various regulatory authorities.
“It's going to take us some time to get people trained and orientation, contact made with CBP and CBSA,” Cragg explained. “Just to make sure that everybody is on the same page in terms of us resuming.”
“We don't want to rush the resumption of it. We want to do it properly. We want to get people trained. So I would say in terms of resumption, you're probably looking at some time in November.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Attempt to have murder charge quashed against alleged serial killer dismissed by judge
A motion filed by the man accused of killing four Indigenous women in Winnipeg to have one of those murder charges quashed has been dismissed by the judge – weeks before the start of his trial.
Government proposes new policy for federally regulated employees to disconnect from work
In their 2024 budget, the federal government wants to amend the Canada Labour Code, so employers in federally regulated sectors will eliminate work-related communication with employees outside of scheduled hours. If implemented, this would affect roughly 500,000 employees across the country.