Windsor transit union, tunnel bus user launch campaigns against transit cuts

The union representing Transit Windsor workers is launching a campaign against possible transit cuts – as is a regular user of the tunnel bus between Windsor and Detroit. 

The Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) has begun distributing flyers urging members of the public to protest any cuts by contacting the mayor and councillors.

It says three dozen buses have been cancelled in recent days, as new buses sit in garages waiting on measures needed to hit the road — a claim the city rejects. 

Stephanie Thompson-Tiamiyu, a regular rider of the tunnel bus, has launched a petition on Change.org protesting what's worried to be a possible discontinuation of the service. 

'It means a lot to me,' regular tunnel bus user says

She has also contacted Mayor Drew Dilkens, the coach of the Detroit Tigers and Ilitch Holdings, Inc. – the Detroit-based owners of the Tigers, the Detroit Red Wings, Little Caesars and other major brands – about her concerns.

"My father's American so all my life I've been crossing that border," Thompson-Tiamiyu said. "It means something to me, and I feel a lot of other people, if we lose it."

Thompson-Tiamiyu has a disability and relies on family support, she said. 

There's no other way for her to visit her family if the tunnel bus disappears because she doesn't own a car. 

Mayor Drew Dilkens proposed a 2.99 per cent tax increase during his budget address last week. But in order to get there from a previously-talked-about 12 per cent, the proposed budget includes cuts, including $1.4 million to Transit Windsor. 

Ridership in 2023 was nearly 9.5 million — an increase of 13 per cent from 2019's pre-pandemic levels, according to a Transit Windsor report released this past summer. However, fewer people are riding the tunnel bus.

In November, CBC News reported Transit Windsor was facing a deficit of roughly $500,000, and there's speculation the tunnel bus is on the chopping block. 

Thompson-Tiamiyu said learning of the possible cuts stressed her out, and she decided to take action to try to save the bus.

"Being a Windsorite … with descendants of my family being some of the first people to settle here with the Underground Railroad. … I am ... what I [call] a border baby, where I have one parent that's American and one parent that's Canadian," she said.

"[The bus is] a staple, and I don't think it should leave. … I think it's something that needs to be fought over."

Josh Sankarlal, a member of the local transit advocacy group Activate Transit, said he has also heard concerns about a possible loss of the tunnel bus.

Dilkens has not confirmed if the service will be stopped. But he told reporters there would be "no sacred cows."

"There's certainly an implication with the tunnel bus that city council will have to consider in terms of the cost that's associated with operating that service," he said, adding the service would be reviewed. 

But the ATU flyer argues transit is a public service: it's not meant to turn a profit. 

"It's there to get people to school, to work and to medical appointments," Sforza said. "And I think the mayor needs to be reminded of this."

The union is accusing the city of mismanaging the transit service, alleging that 36 buses were cancelled over three consecutive days in January.

Sforza said crews can't repair buses quickly enough to keep up with demand for them because there are too few working hoists. 

City rejects union's allegations

The city has seven brand new vehicles sitting idle in the transit garage waiting for safety barriers for operators because the city neglected to order them, he added. 

"Riders are waiting out in the cold. Buses aren't arriving when they should be arriving. And they're frustrated," Sforza said. 

"And the first person they run into is our transit operators. … Our members tell them, 'Look, this is not our fault. You need to reach out to the mayor and city council."

Michael Janisse, the city's communications officer, rejected Sforza's accusations, saying it takes at least four weeks to ready a new bus for service, and installing driver barriers is one of many steps involved in the process. 

They must also install fare collection systems, install and configure systems for communication and monitoring, perform mechanical inspections and test technology, Janisse said, adding the city ""[struggles] to understand why ATU continues to make these false accusations."

It's not the first time the city and the transit union have butt heads recently.

In December, the city also rejected Sforza's allegations about maintenance backlogs due to inoperable hoists, saying the city has made continued investments in the maintenance facilities at Transit Windsor, including new state-of-the-art mobile hoists and associated lifting devices.

"These new lifting devices have resulted in improved efficiency, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness and have moved Transit Windsor away from reliance on outdated technology to meet the current industry standard of mobile lifts," he said.

Sforza told CBC the mobile lifts do not permit the same range of work that can be done on conventional hoists.

But Janisse said the majority of Transit Windsor's maintenance staff have embraced the changes, and there are currently 14 repair bays available for fleet maintenance.

"Transit Windsor moves over 200,000 people per week in Windsor and Essex County, and passengers will not be stranded in the cold this winter."