Transit Windsor ridership is back to pre-pandemic levels.
Executive director Tyson Cragg says during the last three months of 2022, they were hitting 100 per cent or more of pre-pandemic ridership numbers, compared to 15 per cent of pre-pandemic ridership numbers in early 2021.
"Compared to other transit systems that are still in the 70, 80 per cent range, we have come back very strongly and it's a great relief to all of us," he says.
Cragg credits several factors for the rebound including increased ridership on Saturday and Sundays, a population increase since the pandemic started along with transit use by students.
He says the students are really carrying them right now which includes students at St. Clair College and the University of Windsor.
"Windsor is unique in then sense in that our ridership is student focused or student represented. We've had great success with the Saints Pass that we introduced with the Student Representative Council at the college last year," he says.
Student ridership makes up a large part of Transit Windsor’s overall ridership, and September, 2022 was the first time since the pandemic began in 2020 that students at the University of Windsor and St. Clair College were back on-campus in large numbers.
September also marked the start of the SaintsPass, a tuition-based pass for St. Clair College students, similar to the U-Pass for the University of Windsor students.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Transit Windsor dealt with a number of restrictions that resulted in reduced service and the number of passengers that could use the bus at a given time.
On Nov. 27, 2022, the Tunnel Bus resumed service for the first time since it was suspended over two and a half years ago.
The Special Events service, which includes buses running for sporting events and concerts, remains suspended as transit is evaluating the service and working on an implementation plan to book and pay for the booking and paying for the the service.