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

The 418X, anew Transit Windsor express route that connects east and west Windsor,is launching next week, and some residents believe the new servicewill 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.

Cyn Stevens shares their view.

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

The 418Xstarts at Htel-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 Avenuebefore 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.

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 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

Ciavagliasays ATWE wants to see a second garage for buses added to the service's infrastructureas 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 approveda $100-million upgradefor 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 moneywill be usedto expand the current garage.

"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."