A sizable hole in local transit options may not be in place for long.
A private operator is planning to launch a bus service in the tunnel connecting Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, in the coming weeks comparable to the one that Transit Windsor retired at the end of August.
Dhar Bhella, who owns the new service called The Linq, said he’s aiming for an Oct. 1 launch, cautioning that the date could change. He has two buses in place now and might have two more by the end of the year. He also said he has four drivers and two office staffers in place with plans to double that in the same time frame.
Schedules and pickup/drop-off locations are being refined but should be similar to what the former Tunnel Bus offered. Bhella said those details and any updated information about the launch date will be posted on the service’s website, https://thelinqtunnelbus.com/
Fares are expected to be $15 each way, which is $5 higher than the former service from Transit Windsor. It’s worth noting that had Transit Windsor continued operating the Tunnel Bus fares might have increased as well.
Bhella noted that there will not be a prebooking option initially, with payment by major credit or debit card on the bus. Cash will not be accepted. Riders will need to carry appropriate travel documents. He said the process for traveling into the United States is likely to change sometime next year, when the service will need to get preclearance for passengers.
Bhella, who owns the VIP Transporter limo service in Windsor, said he was motivated by the community to take on a replacement service for the Tunnel Bus. The end of that service had left “a little bit of a void,” he said.
Transit advocates on both sides of the international border had decried the move by city government in Windsor to slash the Tunnel Bus. The focus had initially been just on Windsor’s need to cut expenses, but eventually the bad feelings that cropped up over President Donald Trump’s tariff push found their way into the Tunnel Bus debate, too, with Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens pointing to the tariff threat as reason to kill the service.
The service, however, was seen as key for those who relied on it, many using it to access jobs in metro Detroit or attend sporting and other entertainments events. The Free Press was previously told that “preliminary 2024 numbers put the Tunnel Bus at 85,000 rides for the year.”
Contact Eric D. Lawrence: elawrence@freepress.com. Become a subscriber. Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: New tunnel bus service planned to connect Detroit, Windsor
Reporting by Eric D. Lawrence, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
