Transit Windsor becomes a City department on Oct. 18: what changes
Transit Windsor becomes a City of Windsor department on Sunday, Oct. 18. Its board ends and council as a whole takes over. The City says routes and day-to-day service stay the same, and staff keep their ATU Local 616 contract.
Topics: Roads and transitCouncil and City Hall
Get these every Sunday: the free Windsor News weekly digest.
Starting Sunday, Oct. 18, Transit Windsor is no longer run by its own board. It becomes a full department of the City of Windsor.
What changes
The City says the Transit Windsor Board of Directors will be discontinued on Oct. 18 and that all parts of Transit Windsor's operations will be governed by City council as a whole. The department will sit under the City's Economic Development division. Transit Windsor staff become employees of the Corporation of the City of Windsor, and the City says it will keep recognizing Amalgamated Transit Union Local 616 and its collective agreement.
WindsorNewsToday.ca reported in April that transit reports will continue to go to council's Environment, Transportation and Public Safety Standing Committee before going to council for final approval.
What stays the same
The City says Transit Windsor's mandate and day-to-day operations remain unchanged and that service continues under the Transit Master Plan. It says it will focus on service continuity for riders during the change.
Why it happened
Council approved the new model in April 2026. CBC News reported that Transit Windsor ran a deficit of nearly $8 million in 2025. Council heard that the main causes were a drop in ridership tied to fewer international students, provincial funding below the City's targets, and a high number of employee sick days. The vote on the change was not unanimous, according to CBC News and WindsorNewsToday.ca.
What it means for riders
For now, the buses, routes and fares you use do not change. What changes is where transit decisions are made: by council and its standing committee, rather than a separate board. For transit questions, the City's general line is 311.
