A city committee has approved two end dates for the Transit Windsor Tunnel Bus service, but one local councillor is against it.
The Environment, Transportation and Public Safety Standing Committee met Wednesday, with one report outlining the dates to terminate the service - the regular tunnel bus service by Aug. 31, and the special events bus by Dec. 20.
The report outlined that the Aug. 31 timeline was to align with the transit operator’s shift sign-up process.
Transit Windsor employees are still entitled to use their 10 personal medical leave days provided to them for the calendar year.
Administration explained in the report that by keeping the services running for majority of the year, it would allow the city to generate revenue to offset the estimated $1.4-million budget shortfall from those sick days.
However, committee member and Ward 9 councillor Kieran McKenzie opposed the motion, stating these services should both be available to the community for as long as possible. He added that council voted to keep the service, which was then vetoed by the mayor.
Drew Dilkens used strong mayor powers to veto councils decision to keep the service, something McKenzie said is bizarre legislation.
McKenzie said they should end on the same date, as late as possible.
“The idea is we can run the service and still be consistent with the direction that was provided by council to the end of our fiscal year, Dec. 31, then we should run it until Dec. 31 because a majority of council - an actual majority of council - voted to maintain the service.”
He said the cost of the paid sick days still wasn’t enough of a reason for him to want to cancel the service.
“If you look at the financials, the service was rebounding, tracking towards pre-COVID levels,” Kieran McKenzie said.
“We still had a way to go to get there, but to me there was a 15 per cent growth between last year and this year in terms of ridership on the tunnel bus, you don’t cancel a business when you’re in a growth trajectory and frankly, one that’s a key service that many, many people utilize and rely upon.”
Nate Hope, co-organizer of Activate Transit Windsor Essex, was a delegate at the meeting to ask the committee to cancel the services on the same day, and as late as possible.
He said it’s ironic that the city is trying to make as much revenue off the service before it’s gone.
“They’re arguing about how much this is costing, and then when it comes to a point where they have an opportunity to make some of that money back, they don’t do anything about it,” he said.
“They’re trying to end it early. Why? It makes no sense; there’s no consistency behind it.”
The report will now move to city council at a later date for final approval.
The city is projecting a revenue of about $640,000 in 2025 for the regular tunnel bus service and the special events bus.
On January 27 during city budget deliberation, council voted 7-4 in favour of keeping the tunnel bus and the special events bus but increase rates to $20 each way - a decision that was later vetoed by Dilkens.
- Meagan Delaurier/AM800 News
