Transit Windsor

Transit Windsor is a company that provides public transportation in the city of Windsor, Ontario. Transit Windsor provides transportation to more than 6 million passengers each year, covering an area of 121 square miles (310 km²) and a population of 218,000. Transit Windsor operates a cross border service between the downtown areas of Windsor and Detroit via the Tunnel Bus, as well as service to events at Detroit's Comerica Park, Joe Louis Arena, Cobo Hall and Ford Field.

History

Transit Windsor was started on November 1, 1977 with 90 transit buses, one double-decker bus from England, three highway coaches, and two suburban buses. Before 1977, the company was called the Sandwich, Windsor & Amherstburg Railway Company or the "SW&A".

1872 to 1939

SW&A started in 1872, using horse-drawn streetcars. In 1920, SW&A switched to electric streetcars. However, the company began phasing out streetcars during the 1930s and began using motor buses. The streetcar service ended altogether in 1939.

Remains of the streetcar network can be found at the intersection of Sandwich and Mill streets, where the crosswalks of Sandwich street still retain their original streetcar rails from 1939. Also a business on University Ave.(formerly London Street) called "the Junction" is one of the original streetcar barns that was used by SW&A before they ended use of the streetcars.

1940s to 1960s

In the 1940s, SW&A was running Fords and twin coaches.

During the 1950s, they stopped the River Canard line (1951), the 6 mile Tecumseh route (1956), and the Amherstburg line (1958).

In the 1960s they ran 14 routes:
1. Crosstown, 2. Dougall Avenue, 3. Erie Street, 4. Highway No.2, 5. Lauzon Road, 6. Malden Road, 7. Howard Avenue, 8. Ottawa, 9. Pillette, 10. St. Mary's Academy, 11. Sanatorium, 12. Sandwich East, 13. Tecumseh-Drouillard, 14. Wellington-Campbell

1977 to present

After changing to Transit Windsor in 1977, the company began operating GMC New Looks and GM highway coaches.

In the 1980s, Transit Windsor bought 30 ft (9.1 m) and 40 ft (12 m) Orion 01.501 and 01.508 buses and 40 ft (12 m) GM New Looks. The company also purchased GM Classics and MCI Classics, as well as an Orion 05.501 demo.

In 1997 they purchased their first Low Floor buses, the Nova Bus LFS. Low floor buses are the only 'brand new' purchases that have been made since then.

There are 9 buses in Transit Windsor's roster that are second-hand buses from other transit systems. 515 and 523 from Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT), 554 from St. Thomas Transit, 499 (Demo unit) from MTA New York City Transit and NJ Transit, and 565-569 from Durham Region Transit.

On Sunday, June 24, 2007, both Transit Windsor and Greyhound began using the newly constructed Windsor International Transit Terminal (WITT).^[1] The new facility was built to replace the former bus station which was in disrepair. The routes that run through WITT include the Transway 1A, Transway 1C, Central 3 West, Ottawa 4, Dominion 5, Dougall 6, Walkerville 8, Parent 14 and the Tunnel Bus. The terminal is located at 300 Chatham Street West behind the Art Gallery of Windsor.

2008 Operating Profile

Annual Fuel Usage: 3.2 million litres
Annual Distance: 5.6 million km
House of Service: 254,000
Passengers Carried: 6.3 million

Fleet

Hybrid Buses

The 18 diesel-electric hybrid buses are the first alternative fuel buses for the City of Windsor's transit system, highlighting its focus on reducing greenhouse gas (GHG), reducing particulate matter emissions and improving fuel economy.

The purchase of the new hybrid buses was made possible through partnership funding from all levels of government. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities' (FCM) Green Municipal Fund contributed $2.4 million through grants and loans, while the Government of Ontario contributed over $7.2 million in funding to the City through the Ontario Bus Replacement Program (OBRP) and Gas Tax Program. Additionally, the City of Windsor contributed $1.8 million for the purchase of these alternative fuel vehicles.

The following improvements are achieved with the addition of 18 hybrid buses:
- 17.3% of total fleet is using alternative fuel
- 70% of the fleet is fully accessible, with A/C and bike racks
- Average age of fleet reduced to nine years, which is in line with MTO standards. Prior to the new 18 buses the approximate average age was 13 years.

The unveiling of the hybrid buses was staged to coincide with the annual summer schedule.

Buses

As of July 2008 the fleet consisted of:

Notes

- 501-504, 511, 514, 522, and 527 are all retired.

- All of the buses are 40 ft (12 m) long, with exception to the Eldorado National E-Z Rider IIs, which are 30 ft (9.1 m) long

- Nova LFS buses 549-553 and DE40LFRs 601-618 are the only buses in the fleet with rear destination signs

- 912 is decorated in SW&A livery

- Buses used exclusively for Caesar's Windsor shuttle service are not included in this list.

Routes

Notes

The Transway Express only runs weekdays in the morning going westbound.

The Central 3 West runs Monday-Saturday nights and Sundays when the Central 3 does not run.

The South Windsor 7, Lauzon 10, and Parent 14 do not run on Sundays.

References

• Transit Windsors' long history

External links

• Transit Windsor homepage
• The Daily Commute: Tunnel Bus Blog