The union representing Transit Windsor workers is sounding the alarm to potential bus shortages in Windsor-Essex this winter.
The Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 616 says the bus service now has 10 out of 15 repair hoists out of service, with only five hoists remaining to repair 117 buses.
ATU International Vice President Manny Sforza says the union has been warning Transit Windsor officials about the situation for the past two years and says it's a situation that was totally avoidable.
Sforza says it takes about one year to repair a hoist.
"The real challenge right now is with the limited number of hoists that are working which is only five out of the 15, it's going to be extremely difficult to repair the daily numbers that are required to put out full service," says Sforza.
He feels there won't be enough buses operating in the community.
"We have the operators to drive them that's another ridiculous part of this scenario but it's important to remember these problems started two years ago when the first hoist started to get locked down for safety reason," he says.
"No plan was put in place, were they going to fix the hoists, they brought in a few temporary ones, portable ones and you can't get the same work done on those," says Sforza. "So it's just a downward spiral."
He says there doesn't seem to be any accountability.
"Was this done intentionally, is this just total mismanagement, it's really shocking," he says. "I said earlier in the year that this is one of the worst run transit properties I've dealt with in 35-years and just when we had hoped things could improve, they've actually got worse. It's just unbelievable."
Sforza says the union and community need answers now and feels taxpayers deserve better than this.
He says the union wants to work with the city and Transit Windsor officials to find solutions to the problem.
AM800 news has reached out to the city for comment but has not heard back.