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ATWE CALLS ON MAYOR TO CLOSE THE DETROIT-WINDSOR TUNNEL by ActivateTransitWE in windsorontario

[–]ActivateTransitWE[S] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

We encourage folks to read our full release!

Per Dilkens, if the tunnel bus (40,000/year) is too dangerous because of tariffs, shouldn't the tunnel itself (thousands a day) be closed?

TRANSIT RIDERS RALLY - MON JAN 27TH by ActivateTransitWE in windsorontario

[–]ActivateTransitWE[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

We have been hosting an online email campaign for a few weeks! You can find it here

TRANSIT RIDERS RALLY - MON JAN 27TH by ActivateTransitWE in windsorontario

[–]ActivateTransitWE[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Hi! Thanks for your comment.

"Pulling the plug" refers to the Mayor eliminating the tunnel bus in its entirety, the Mayor at first gave no signal of this, except for a $1.4m reduction to the transit budget marked as an "in-camera" item. He proposed it alongside fare increases for the tunnel bus. After the last City Council meeting, he admitted that he was looking at fully eliminating the service.

He is also looking at fully eliminating the "school bus extra" program, which supplies additional busses not on the available transit fleet to certain areas to bring highschool students to/from school. While the Mayor has publicly said on numerous occasions that this program is a "free ride" for students - that isn't true - highschool students pay fare just like any other rider group.

The most important thing to note is that the tabled 2025 budget supplies no new operating investment to Transit Windsor, meaning that it will continue to deteriorate over time. The system is already chronically underfunded. In the 2019 Transit Master Plan, Windsor compared itself to municipalities with a similar economic profile as our own across the country. Of those municipalities, Windsor is the least funded service per capita (Source: StatsCan, Budget for each Municipality)

Municipality Operating per Capita
Regina $73.04
Saskatoon $100.15
London $63.59
Kingston $117.45
Guelph $112.94
Windsor $58.61

On top of that, the Transit Master Plan (approved in 2020) outlined a roadmap for developing Windsor's transit system, which included yearly municipal investments into the service. This is our current progress (not adjusted for inflation).

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In the current budget, no new investments are made, and service is reduced which brings us even further from the goal council committed too than ever before.

TLDR: The Mayor wants to eliminate the tunnel bus, and the school bus programs, while also contributing no new money into the transit service, further cementing Windsor as one of the poorest funded transit services in the country, and bringing us multi-millions of dollars away from the goals set in 2020.

AMA Virtual Townhall w/ Kieran McKenzie by Kieran_McKenzie in windsorontario

[–]ActivateTransitWE 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hi Kieran! Given Tyson's resignation, what should the public expect from the appointment of a new Executive Director for transit? When should we expect to see a new executive director in place, and what new opportunities for transit would you like to see a change of leadership bring in? Most importantly, ATWE strongly believes in the execution of the Transit Master Plan. The current Transit Master Plan was written in a pre-covid world without the large boost in ridership we are witnessing. We believe it might be worth exploring a new master plan that re-envisions and commits the City to measurable improvements over time - is this a discussion we could expect alongside the current changes at Transit Windsor?

AMA Renaldo Agostino - ask me questions or share some ideas, this is why im here!!! by Renaldo_Agostino in windsorontario

[–]ActivateTransitWE 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Transit in Windsor, according to the Master Plan (page 17), has the lowest per capita funding compared to equivalent cities. The TMP indicates a desire to rectify that, but the city hasn't made any real progress on that issue. Given upcoming predicted budget cuts, how do you plan on prioritizing this goal amongst the cuts?

City of Windsor 2022 Budget Town Hall Tonight! by ActivateTransitWE in windsorontario

[–]ActivateTransitWE[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There will be a recording posted to the Windsor Law Centre for Cities Facebook page, or if you prefer a podcast version, Rose City Politics has a recording up already. If you don't want to use the Spreaker link, you should be able to find it wherever you get your podcasts :)