Two local mayors are speaking out following a decision to end a regional transit service.
Essex mayor Sherry Bondy and Kingsville mayor Dennis Rogers spoke with AM800's Kyle Horner after Leamington council decided to end a transit service running between Leamington to Windsor (LTW) in the spring of 2026.
Leamington council voted in favour earlier this week to cancel the service as of April 30, 2026.
The LTW service starts in Leamington at the Nature Fresh Farms Recreation Centre, stops at the Kingsville Arena Complex, makes a stop at the Essex Centre Sports Complex, before ending at St. Clair College.
Leamington council heard from administration that the service is no longer sustainable for the municipality to operate on their own as provincial funding for the service expired and Essex County council rejected an additional funding request.
Both Bondy and Rogers says they're concerned about what this could mean in the future for a regional transit service connecting all county municipalities.
Bondy says this feels like a nail in the coffin for regional transit.
"The Leamington to Windsor route was one of the big trunk lines in Windsor and Essex County that we could build upon, now with this crumbling before our eyes, I wonder if regional transit is actually feasible in any area to grow in the county. If we can't make this one happen, then how are we ever going to say get a bus from Harrow, or Colchester, or Essex to Windsor."
Rogers says Kingsville gave funding earlier this year to help the service.
"About 100 people a month was the average for us of Kingsville residents that utilize it, so council looked at the ridership, and we looked at the dollars, and we thought the amount we were contributing was a pretty high value for the low number of people that are utilizing it. But, limited resources, smaller municipality... we've got to find dollars for other items. So it's just... unfortunately it just didn't make the table."
Rogers adds that this service is cost prohibitive.
"Every single municipality is looking at infrastructure funding because at the end of the day the core responsibility of a municipality is our infrastructure... roads, bridges, culverts. All 440 municipalities in this great province now are finding ways to be able to fund there infrastructure. So, a lot of times, that trumps everything else that goes in the community."
Both Kingsville and Essex contributed $20,000 towards the service when provincial funding ran out back in March, but Leamington staff did not approach them for future conversations.
Bondy and Rogers say they hope conversations can continue to see if something can be done before the service officially ends.
-with files from AM800's Kyle Horner and Dustin Coffman