Members of Activate Transit Windsor Essex (ATWE) are speaking out over a decision to eliminate the Leamington to Windsor (LTW) transit service.
The group says they're disappointed to see that Essex County Council rejected a funding request to keep the transit route, ultimately resulting in Leamington council voting to end the service in April 2026.
In February 2025, County Council approved up to $100,000 in funding to assist with the operating deficit of the LTW, however when approached again in October 2025, council voted 7-6 in favour of not providing additional funds.
At the October 28 meeting, Leamington council stated the service was no longer sustainable for the municipality to operate the route on its own.
ATWE says this decision is a set back for a regional transit system to start and connect all of Essex County.
Nate Hope, Founding Member of ATWE, says transit can work for everyone if there are investments made.
"Transit is one of the areas that municipalities can have the most affect on affordability that's within their power. So, we should be investing in transit to help people through these times, not to making more cuts. And we should look at what changes do we need to make to make this viable, and make things work, instead of just getting rid of things completely."
He says there needs to be a solution that benefits those living in this region.
"I know people that are living in the city that have a lot of family in the county, and if they don't drive, or if they're trying to save money because they're on a seniors income, they can't drive out there or it's expensive for a cab to go out into the county, we need a transit service that's viable that works for everyone."
Hope says they'll continue to advocate for transit service.
"We need to find ways to make this work. And we're willing to work with different municipalities, they can throw out ideas and consult us, talk to us about what our needs are... we can help bring people towards them."
The service is operated by Transit Windsor. It starts in Leamington, stops in Kingsville and Essex, before ending at St. Clair College.
Other factors for the cancellation of the service include the expiry of provincial funding, and declining ridership.