The Executive Director of Transit Windsor says the first week of the Special Events bus return was a success.
Transit Windsor re-launched its Special Events bus to Detroit on May 23, with some adjustments like riders having to book all trips in advance through a new reservation portal.
Tyson Cragg says after such a long break due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they kept their service delivery expectations low.
"We didn't expect big numbers, and that worked to our advantage because the ones that we did carry it was very smooth. We had people on site to make sure that the check-in process was smooth, so I think it went off without a hitch. The planning, all the time it took, people waiting for us to get this resumed, it was well worth it because it went off very smoothly."
The Special Events bus offers service for selected concerts or sporting events at Comerica Park, Little Caesars Arena or Ford Field.
Cragg says they only did a couple of events during the first week back.
"It was about 125 to 150 people in the first week, we only did three events and we had a fairly limited number of buses," he continued. "It was a good start for us just to make sure the technology worked, and our staff were familiar with all the stuff they had to do."
He says the special event service is done based on the resources they have available, not necessarily based on what's happening in Detroit.
"For events that are mid-day, during afternoon rush, they're going to very difficult for us to service. But certainly weekend events, events that occur after 6 p.m. like evening ball games, we're definitely going to prioritize those ones. But the ones that happen during the day they're a lot more difficult for us to service because obviously we've got the commitment to the residents of Windsor-Essex to provide that regular, fixtured service," he said.
The Special Events bus will not be running this weekend, due to the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix taking place until Sunday, June 4.
The regular Tunnel Bus service resumed late last year.
- with files from AM800's Rob Hindi