New bus route now connects Windsor, LaSalle
Dedicated transit service free until Jan. 1 and new route has more than 90 stops
Trying to get from Windsor to LaSalle, or vice versa? Now you can take a bus.
Tuesday morning marked the debut of transit service between the two municipalities.
From now on, buses on the new LaSalle 25 route will make regular trips between the St. Clair College campus in South Windsor and LaSalle’s Vollmer Complex.
“The beauty of this is that it’s a seamless service,” said Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens, who boarded the bus Tuesday for its inaugural ride to LaSalle.
Transit Windsor is responsible for the route. The Town of LaSalle is paying $400,000 annually for the service.
The new arrangement has been in development for years. Dilkens pointed out that the last time there was transit service between Windsor and LaSalle was in the 1970s.
“We think there’s some demand. LaSalle thinks there’s demand,” Dilkens said. “Hopefully, this is the framework that lets us expand the service further into Essex County.”
The route will operate between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday to Saturday.
One bus will be dedicated to the route most of the time, with a second bus joining the route during peak morning and afternoon hours.
The route has more than 90 stops, including the shopping centres of Malden Road and Front Road. It takes about 90 minutes for one bus to make a complete loop.
According to the Town of LaSalle, the route encompasses approximately 75 per cent of all residences in the municipality.
LaSalle Mayor Ken Antaya — who greeted Dilkens at the Vollmer Complex on Tuesday — emphasized that the bus will be free to ride for the first four months of its debut, from September to December of this year.
Passengers will be charged no fare until Jan. 1, 2018, when the bus will have the standard Transit Windsor fare of $3 per single ride.
“This is another step in the progress of the community,” Antaya said. “We’re anxious to see how the community embraces it.”
Public consultation played a significant role in the decision, Antaya said.
Regarding the cost to the town, Antaya said: “We’re not doing this for profit. We’ll determine the success of the service by the acceptance of those using it — not by the dollars and cents.”
Antaya said the buses being used for the route will be wrapped in the Town of LaSalle’s colours and decals at the beginning of next year.
“It’s been a lot of work,” added Pat Delmore, executive director of Transit Windsor. “Many months of planning, preparation and collaboration with the Town of LaSalle.
“We’re here, and the buses are rolling.”
Grade 9 student Lucy Philbin, 13, was among the route’s first legitimate passengers, along with her father Steve and her little brother Eddie. The family boarded on Tuesday morning to accompany Lucy to her first day at Sandwich Secondary School.
“I’m just testing it out,” said Lucy, who always walked to school during her elementary years. “I’m glad this has finally happened.”
As for the next step toward a regional transit system, Dilkens said he’d love to have conversations about it “with all the adjacent municipalities.”
For now, there’s been consideration of transit service to Lakeshore — specifically the manufacturing facilities on Patillo Road that employ many Windsor residents.
To see a complete map and schedule of the LaSalle 25 bus route, visit lasalle.ca and look under the Our Community menu for LaSalle Transit Service.