An aging fleet of buses, delays in getting parts and construction detours are adding up to service delays at Transit Windsor.
AM800 News received a Facebook message from one regular transit rider who is frustrated with service interruptions.
Transit Windsor Executive Director Pat Delmore says delays happen when repairs can't be completed in time.
Pat Delmore, executive director of Transit Windsor, attends the regular meeting of the Environment, Transportation and Public Safety Standing Committee on September 27, 2017. (Photo by Ricardo Veneza)
Delmore says the Transit Windsor fleet is an average of 10-years-old, but many have spent more than 20-years on the road. "When you have an older fleet, those buses will break down. One of the things we're currently also experiencing is some backlog with parts that are required from the manufacturer and some longer than normal delays in getting those parts."
"Letting people know about the delays is a major challenge," says Delmore. We've got mechanics in here right now, they are working on them and we are trying to move those buses out as soon as they're safe to put on the road. That becomes a challenge and we don't always know until that very last moment whether we have a bus or don't we? It's certainly one of the challenges we have in that we're not able to communicate that to our riders."
Delmore says out of the 112 buses in the fleet, between 85 to 90 are needed every day for peak service.
He says two dozen new buses will be added to the fleet in the spring, taking the oldest ones out of service.