Bus shortage at Transit Windsor leaving some riders to wait twice as long

People have had to wait twice as long at stops on high frequency routes this month after a "perfect storm" of issues has left Transit Windsor without enough buses to meet minimum daily standards.

The service is trying to replace by an aging fleet with new buses that are not expected to arrive for months because of industry demands.

Meanwhile, employees are working overtime to service buses inside a facility operating beyond capacity with nearly half the hoists out of service.

"We've kind of been hit by a perfect storm," said Transit Windsor's executive director Tyson Cragg.

There are 117 buses in Windsor's fleet with between 80 to 90 needed for daily service.

The rest are float buses that can be pulled in to service because of maintenance issues, a collision or an unexpected rise in ridership.

But issues with buses have become so prevalent this year that there have been mornings where Transit Windsor operated with 20 fewer buses than were needed for minimum service.

Service interruptions limiting frequency

Cragg said that it's meant people using high frequency routes with 10 minutes between buses could be waiting twice as long. 

"We try to minimize the service disruptions to the greatest degree possible where instead of you know pulling buses off route, it would simply be perhaps a frequency reduction," he said.

"But unfortunately it means that the customers have to wait a little bit longer for that bus to show up."

The issues with buses started in December.

"I mean weather has been part of it, but a lot of it is related to aging equipment and it's been related to aging infrastructure inside the facility as well," said Cragg.

"Our average fleet age right now is about 7 and a half years which in the transit industry is a little bit higher than the industry average."

He said that number would ideally be closer to 6 years adding that the design life for a bus is between 12 and 18 years. 

"The oldest buses in our fleet now are between 15 and 19 years old and those buses we've been having a number of issues with," said Cragg. 

New buses were purchased last year but parts shortages and large purchase orders by other municipalities from the same suppliers mean that the 18 buses ordered may not hit Windsor streets until mid to late 2024.

"It really is an industry problem right now with being able to get buses fast enough," he said.

6 of 13 repair hoists out of service

Windsor's buses are stored at the transit facility on the city's north end that currently operates at 120 per cent capacity and is nearly 50 years old, according to Cragg.

Late last year the service started replacing brake pads that because of a vendor issue had a shorter life cycle than expected. 

Replacing those pads requires hoisting the buses up but 6 of the 13 hoists at the facility aren't in service.

"We have a number of hoists that require maintenance or repairs and and some of those have also failed while we've been having the break part issue and the old fleet issue," said Cragg.

"That's obviously, you know, put our guys in a situation where it's a little bit more challenging to get their stuff done."

Cragg thanked his staff for working hard though what he called a difficult situation believes Transit Windsor will come out "bigger and better."

"I'm confident with the overtime, the new hoist equipment we're going to be getting in very shortly, and the new buses coming that this will be a a short term situation."

The city is also in the process of deciding how to spend $40-million in federal money that can be used on the garage that could expand the operation.

"From a capacity perspective: we have 117 buses right now. We have space inside the park 96," said Cragg. 

That leaves 21 buses outside overnight.

"That is also an issue because at -15 or -20 sometimes those buses aren't as ready to go in the morning as what you'd like them to be."

The Transit Windsor master plan approved in 2019 states that urgent improvements or a new facility would be needed to meet the planned expansion of the system. 

Council voted against a second garage in 2022 opting for an expansion instead that will be primarily funded by upper levels of government.