Riders react with anger, disappointment over Windsor mayor's plan to veto tunnel bus service

A planned veto of the tunnel bus has been met with anger and disappointment — on both sides of the border — after Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens announced the decision earlier this week amid threats of tariffs from the United States. 

More than 500 people have responded to Dilkens' Facebook post announcing the veto, many accusing the mayor of using the dispute over proposed tariffs as cover for an unpopular move he was planning to make anyway.

One Canadian rider has launched a petition to save the bus, while residents of Detroit told CBC they were unhappy with the decision.

And the international vice president of the transit workers' union called the move "outrageous."

"Council has spoken," Manny Sforza said. "He was hiding behind the threat of tariffs [Monday]. And as we all know, that was paused. Yet he's continuing with his plan to veto the vote."

The future of the tunnel bus dominated debate over this year's city budget after Dilkens proposed cutting the service to help keep property tax increases below the rate of inflation. 

Money might go toward extending school bus extras, Dilkens said

Speaking to reporters Monday, Dilkens acknowledged he had seen reaction to the decision on social media and that vetoing council's decision had been on his mind prior to the Trump tariff announcement, but the U.S. president's decision "put it over the edge."

"I just cannot rationalize having taxpayers in the City of Windsor subsidize bringing people over to the United States to spend their money and help the U.S. economy when our economy as a country, our economy certainly here locally...is under direct attack by the president of the United States," he said. 

While Trump had not yet paused the tariffs at the time of his comments, Dilkens said he recognized it was a possibility but would proceed with the veto rather than be without the option if the tariffs are imposed at a later date.

He said he would look at using the money from the cancellations of the service to temporarily continue the school extras program until the end of the year to give the Windsor-Essex school boards more time to deal with the cuts to the special service for students, he said.

Councillors had voted to double the tunnel bus fare from $10 to $20 rather than eliminate the service in an effort to address its costs, but Dilkens said he was concerned that doubling the fare would reduce ridership and leave a similar-sized hole in the Transit Windsor budget. 

One Michigan resident said he'd be happy to pay double the fare to travel to the city each month to eat poutine at a local pub and visit his aunt in Toronto.

Michael Linblade estimated that he spends $300 to $500 during his monthly trips to Canada, which he has been making ever since he was a child.

"I can't really afford a car, and if I did, I would've been using it to go over to Canada a lot more often than every month," Linblade said.

"I feel disappointed that he decided to not subsidize the tunnel bus."

Service important for entertainment, work, family

A Mississauga resident and sometimes visitor to Windsor has launched a petition to spare the bus.

Alim Nathoo lived in Windsor from 2011 to 2013 and last took the tunnel bus in August when he crossed the border to visit the Detroit Historical Museum.

"I believe that this service is very important because there [are] a lot of people who come from outside of Windsor-Essex that also rely on the tunnel bus to go to baseball games, to go to hockey games, to go see the Detroit Lions," Nathoo said.

The service is also important to people who cross the border to work and visit family, he said.

Asked why Windsor taxpayers should subsidize a service that helps Canadians spend money in the U.S. at a time when the country is threatening its economy, Nathoo urged diplomacy ahead of service cuts.

Union promises action

Sforza with the Amalgamated Transit Union said the union will take action if Dilkens goes through with the veto. 

He accused the mayor of trying to kill the service because the cross-border nature of it makes Transit Windsor subject to federal law requiring the payment of 10 sick days per year. 

"Quite frankly, he has tunnel vision," Sforza said. 

Dilkens can veto decisions of council as a result of strong mayor powers granted by the province, but council can overturn the veto with a two-thirds majority if it acts within 15 days.

Couns. Jo-Anne Gignac, Ed Sleiman and Mark McKenzie voted against the council amendment that saved the bus, and McKenzie said at the time he wanted it to continue operating, but he felt the fare needed to be higher than the $20 increase included in the amendment. 

Any override of the veto would only reinstate council's previous decision and would not reopen the question of how much the fare should be.

The proposal to save the tunnel bus raised the tax levy increase from a proposed 2.99 per cent to 3.15 per cent.