To see her husband in Michigan, this student pays over $100. She wants Windsor's Tunnel Bus back

Even though University of Windsor student Nikita Padhi's husband lives a half-hour away in Michigan, limited options to cross the border have left her paying more than she expected to go back home. 

At the very least, Padhi said, she pays $140 in cab fares per round trip from the school in the southwestern Ontario city into downtown Detroit, where her husband picks her up. It's a steep price compared to Windsor's public bus service — which charged $10 round trip — through the Detroit–Windsor tunnel. But the service isn't available. 

Transit Windsor's Tunnel Bus, which the company said is the only public transit cross border service in North America, was an accessible and affordable option for many Windsorites crossing into the United States. The service has been suspended due to COVID-19 since March 2020 and the company said the bus will remain idle as long as certain vaccination measures remain in place.

"I don't travel frequently because the cost comes in between," said Padhi, adding her husband is their only source of income at this time. 

"I wish I had other options where I don't think much about that [cost] and I can travel any time I want." 

Initially, Pradhi was hopeful the Tunnel Bus service would resume, but her hope is fading as the route remains on pause for its 30th month. 

Since her husband has an expired Canadian visa and Padhi doesn't have a car, the only way she can cross the border is using a cab. 

I completely sympathize with those who have had the service in the past and now don't have it available to them.- Tyson Cragg, Transit Windsor executive director

The pricey cab fare limits how often she goes back home, said Padhi.

Last year, she did the Windsor-Detroit commute between 12 and 15 times. Here's the cost breakdown and comparison:

• Round trip cab rides: $1,680 to $2,100 at $70 each way. 
• Tunnel Bus: $120 to $150 at $5 each way. 

As for carpooling, Padhi said the timing doesn't always align with her schedule. 

Is the Tunnel Bus dead? 

Tyson Cragg, executive director of Transit Windsor, told CBC News that the Tunnel Bus hasn't been removed, but remains on pause due to continued COVID-19 measures at the border. 

"If we were able to run it today, we would have it in operation," Cragg said. 

The transit service said as long as it remains mandatory for people entering Canada to submit a form through ArriveCAN and show proof of vaccination, the Tunnel Bus won't be resurrected. 

According to Cragg, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) told the company that if it wants to operate the cross-border route, it is responsible for immediately returning passengers to the U.S. who have not fulfilled the mandatory COVID-19 requirements. 

But, Cragg said, this could lead to delays. While the service always returned people to their country of origin if they forgot essential travelling documents, like passports, Cragg said that was a rare occurrence. 

"A lot of our ridership are seniors. They're people that are potentially lower-income people. ArriveCAN relies on you having a smart phone or some type of device to get passage back into Canada, people don't have that," he said. 

If ArriveCAN remains permanent, Cragg said the company would have to look at adapting to it. 

In an email to CBC News, the CBSA said Transit Windsor is responsible for returning travellers back to the United States if they "do not meet the criteria for entry and/or do not submit their information through ArriveCAN." 

For travellers who don't have a smartphone or mobile data, the CBSA said people can submit a form using any device or ask family and friends for help. The traveller then needs to ensure they have a copy of their ArriveCAN form, CBSA said. 

CBSA said 90 per cent of people who cross into Canada using land borders complete ArriveCAN.

'Really no other option' 

"It's really disheartening that Transit Windsor has decided to not resume the service," said Anahita Jamali Rad, a core organizing member of advocacy group Activate Transit Windsor-Essex. 

"There's really no other option out there, there's no shuttle, no ferries, all the other options are much more expensive and much less accessible." 

While Jamali Rad understands the ArriveCAN challenges, they said one option is for Transit Windsor to hire another person who can check that the requirement is fulfilled. 

Before the pandemic, Cragg said the Tunnel Bus wasn't a highly demanded service and cost six to seven per cent of the operating budget. He said it accounted for two per cent, or more than 203,000 rides, of their overall ridership in 2019. 

Cragg said the company hasn't heard much from the public about wanting it back. At this time, he said they're looking at having it be a service for special events, where the company knows who is travelling ahead of time and their fulfilled requirements. 

"I completely sympathize with those who have had the service in the past and now don't have it available to them."