Transit Windsor is pointing to fewer international students attending post-secondary schools in the city as a major factor in decreased ridership during the first half of 2025.
A report going to the October 29 meeting of the Transit Windsor Board of Directors shows that in the first two quarters of 2025, Transit Windsor total ridership was 4,383,770, down 13 per cent compared to the same period in 2024.
The report says the decline was anticipated due to the federal cap on international student enrollment introduced in September 2024.
Transit Windsor Executive Director James Chacko says this decrease is a trend that's being found province-wide.
"That is specific to the reduction in the number of international students that we now see at both St. Clair College and the University of Windsor and how that ridership decrease in international students is impacting Transit Windsor as a whole. But this is something that transit authorities or properties are experiencing throughout all of Ontario," he says.
Chacko says it's difficult for transit to increase ridership for a group that no longer exists or is available.
"We're going to continue to look at other avenues to increase ridership in other areas, but the reality is that student ridership makes up a large percentage of the overall transit ridership, and the international students were making up a solid percentage of the student ridership," he says.
In late September, St. Clair College reported a 23 per cent decrease in fall enrollment compared to 2024 for the Windsor and Chatham campuses.
The drop is attributed to the fall of international students attending the school, down just shy of 3,000 compared to 2024.
Chacko says they are monitoring the routes, usage, and how the international student numbers materialize for the 2026 academic year.
"We continue to try to promote Transit Windsor as a great way for people to get around the City of Windsor, and while we'll see this decrease in international students continue, how do we look at making that up with increasing ridership in other demographics?," he says.
The Transit Windsor Board of Directors will meet Wednesday, October 29 at Windsor City Hall.