Windsor's getting a new express bus route. Riders think it will help address overcrowding

Transit Windsor has added a new route, the 418X, to its network. Transit riders, activists and the service's executive director all believe it will help with overcrowded buses.

418X route will begin service on Monday, June 26

TJ Dhir · CBC News · Posted: Jun 20, 2023 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: June 20, 2023

A bus passing through a moving metal gate — A Transit Windsor bus heading into the service's garage. Transit Windsor is adding an express route to its network on Monday. (TJ Dhir/CBC)

The 418X, a new Transit Windsor express route that connects east and west Windsor, is launching next week, and some residents believe the new service will help with overcrowded buses.

"The 1C [route] is very crowded because of the [number of] international students increasing by the day," said Dev Vaghani, saying the addition of the 418X route is the best decision made by the current administration. "Whenever we travel on the 1C, we have to stand because we don't get a seat."

Vaghani's friend agrees, saying overcrowded 1C buses can cause them to show up late for their classes.

"I think it's good because some passengers [will] go onto other routes and it saves some seats for other people," said Parshav Rajput.

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Cyn Stevens shares their view.

"The city is getting bigger and bigger and I think the bus routes are really good," she said.

Two men wearing white polo t-shirts standing beside each other looking to the left at a bus stop — Parshav Rajput, left, and Dev Vaghani, right, are international students who rely on Transit Windsor to get to and from their classes. They both believe the new 418X route will help lessen the crowds on 1C buses. (TJ Dhir/CBC)

The 418X starts at Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare (HDGH) in the west end and makes its way around Sandwich and through the University of Windsor on College Avenue. It then heads south on Crawford Avenue before turning left on Tecumseh Road. The endpoint of the route is the bus terminal at Tecumseh Mall in the east end.

Transit Windsor's schedule for the route says a one-way trip between HDGH and Tecumseh Mall will take 42 minutes. Westbound service begins at 6:30 a.m. and ends at 5:30 p.m. Eastbound service begins and ends 15 minutes later. Buses run every half hour on the route.

The route does not run on weekends.

The route is similar to the 1C route that Vaghani and Rajput both say does not meet the needs of Windsor residents, especially during peak hours when the buses are full and occasionally have to skip stops because of the crowds.

The 1C route, where buses run largely every 10 minutes, goes through downtown with a stop at the Windsor International Transit Terminal. A one-way trip between HDGH and Tecumseh Mall on the 1C takes 59 minutes, according to Transit Windsor's schedule.

A woman with white hair wearing sunglasses, a white t-shirt, a pink jacket and grey pants sitting on a bench at a bus stop — Cyn Stevens is a Transit Windsor rider who believes the new 418X route will help people get around the city faster. (TJ Dhir/CBC)

The 418X is the second express route operated by Transit Windsor, with the 518X running between St. Clair College and Tecumseh Mall. Stevens says the addition of the second express route is a good thing.

"People in the far east, if they were going to St. Clair College, [it] would take forever going downtown and then transferring," she said.

"This route will be good for people."

A man with brown hair wearing a blue shirt and glasses sitting on a bed — Gabriel Ciavaglia is an organizer with Activate Transit Windsor-Essex (ATWE). Although he likes the addition of the new 418X route, ATWE wants to see a second garage to help house buses. (Jennifer La Grassa/CBC)

A transit advocacy organization agrees.

"This has been part of our mandate released in 2021," said Gabriel Ciavaglia, an organizer with Activate Transit Windsor Essex (ATWE). "To see this implemented lets us know that we're able to get this box checked on our mandate to truly improve the community."

The 418X route will begin service on Monday.

The continued push for a second garage

Ciavaglia says ATWE wants to see a second garage for buses added to the service's infrastructure as the service expands.

"I think we're going to be getting to that bottleneck point again soon," he said. "When we want to get more and more buses on the road, there's only so many places to store it. There's only so much water you can wring out of the towel, so I think at some point we need to focus on getting that garage in place."

Last year, council approved a $100-million upgrade for transit but nixed a plan to build a second transit garage.

Transit Windsor executive director Tyson Cragg acknowledged the strain adding routes and buses puts on the one existing garage, but says the new money will be used to expand the current garage.

A bald man wearing glasses and a brown suit standing next to a public transit bus — Executive director of Transit Windsor Tyson Cragg acknowledged the strain the existing fleet and network puts on their one garage, but stressed that funding from the city has allowed them to upgrade and expand the existing garage. (Jason Viau/CBC)

"I'm confident that those expansions are going to serve us well for the years to come," he said.

When pressed on whether a second garage will be needed, Cragg again focused on upgrading the existing one.

"Either an expansion or a new facility [is needed] and is something that, as we continue to grow, will be an inevitability," he said. "But with the funding that's been allocated to this facility, I think we'll be able to do some great things with that."