At minimum, Padhi says she pays $140 in taxi fares per round trip from school in Windsor, Ont. in downtown Detroit where her husband picks her up. It’s a steep price compared to Windsor’s public bus service — which charges $10 round trip — through the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel. But the service is not available. Transit Windsor’s Tunnel Bus, which the company said is the only public cross-border transit service in North America, has been an accessible and affordable option for many Windsorites crossing the United States. The service has been suspended due to COVID-19 since March 2020, and the company said the bus will remain idle while certain vaccination measures remain in place. “I don’t travel often because expenses come in,” said Padhi, adding that her husband is their only source of income at the moment. “I wish I had other options where I don’t think about it too much [cost] and I can travel whenever I want.” Initially, Pradhi had hoped that the Tunnel Bus service would resume, but her hope is fading as the service remains on hiatus for the 30th month. Since her husband has an expired Canadian visa and Padhi doesn’t have a car, the only way to cross the border is to use a taxi. I totally sympathize with those who had the service in the past and now don’t have it – Tyson Cragg, executive director of Transit Windsor The expensive taxi fare limits how often he returns home, Padhi said. Last year, he traveled between Windsor and Detroit between 12 and 15 times. Here is the cost breakdown and comparison:
Roundtrip taxi rides: $1,680 to $2,100 with $70 each way. Tunnel Bus: $120 to $150 with $5 each way.
As for carpooling, Padhi said the timing doesn’t always line up with her schedule.
Is the tunnel bus dead?
Tyson Cragg, executive director of Transit Windsor, told CBC News that the Tunnel Bus has not been removed, but remains on hold due to ongoing COVID-19 measures at the border. “If we could run it today, we’d have it up and running,” Cragg said. The transit agency said that as long as it remains mandatory for people entering Canada to submit a form through ArriveCAN and show proof of vaccination, the Tunnel Bus will not be resurrected. According to Cragg, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) told the company that if it wants to run the cross-border route, it is responsible for immediately returning passengers to the US who have not met the mandatory COVID-19 requirements. A note located at the Transit Windsor Central Bus Terminal states that the Tunnel Bus will be suspended as of March 19, 2020. In addition to the Tunnel Bus, Transit Windsor has resumed full service as of September 4, 2022. (Jennifer La Grassa /CBC) However, Cragg said this could lead to delays. While the service always returned people to their country of origin if they forgot essential travel documents such as passports, Cragg said this was a rare occurrence. “A lot of our passengers are seniors, they’re people who are potentially lower income people. ArriveCAN relies on you having a smart phone or some type of device to get back to Canada, people don’t,” he said. . If ArriveCAN remains permanent, Cragg said the company should consider adapting to it. In an email to CBC News, the CBSA said Transit Windsor is responsible for returning travelers back to the United States if they “do not meet the entry criteria and/or do not submit their information through ArriveCAN.” For travelers who don’t have a smart phone or mobile data, the CBSA said people can submit a form using any device or ask family and friends for help. The traveler must then ensure they have a copy of the ArriveCAN form, the CBSA said. The CBSA said 90 percent of people crossing into Canada using a land border complete ArriveCAN.
“Really no other choice”
“It’s really disappointing that Transit Windsor has decided not to continue the service,” said Anahita Jamali Rad, a key member of the advocacy group Activate Transit Windsor-Essex. “There’s really no other option out there, no bus, no ferries, all the other options are much more expensive and much less accessible.” Anahita Jamali Rad is a key organizing member of the advocacy group Activate Transit Windsor-Essex. He says Transit Windsor could consider hiring an extra person to make sure users have ArriveCAN filled out on their phone as well. (Jennifer La Grassa/CBC) While Jamali Rad understands the challenges of ArriveCAN, they said one option is for Transit Windsor to hire another person who can verify that the requirement is being met. Before the pandemic, Cragg said the Tunnel Bus was not a high-demand service and cost six to seven percent of the operating budget. It said it accounted for two percent, or more than 203,000 rides, of their total traffic in 2019. Cragg said the company hasn’t heard much from the public about wanting it back. Right now, he said they’re looking at it being a service for special events, where the company knows who’s traveling earlier and their fulfilled requirements. “I totally sympathize with those who had the service in the past and now they don’t have it,” he said.
