By: Sylene Argent, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Essex Free Press
“There is a need, and opportunity, for rural transit in our community,” Lori Chadwick, Director of Development Services, told members of Essex Council during a meeting on Monday evening hosted to discuss the results of a Rural Transit Feasibility Study.
However, there is a cost for such a service.
Council received the report that detailed a plan for the Town of Essex, should it want to explore this in the future.
If a future Term of Council wishes to direct administration to explore this as an opportunity, it would need to include that as part of a future Strategic Plan of Council, Chadwick said. Exploring the feasibility, funding, and operational impact to securing rural transit is an item listed in this Term of Council’s Strategic Plan.
As a result of a resolution former Mayor Richard Meloche made during the last Term of Council, the Town of Essex applied for and received a Federal Grant in 2025 from the Ministry of Housing, Infrastructure, and Communities Canada to explore the feasibility of public transit in the Town of Essex.
Arcadis Professional Services Canada was then retained to assist the Town in completing a Rural Transit Feasibility Study, examining the unique travel needs of the diverse communities within Essex Centre, Harrow, Colchester, McGregor, and the rural areas.
The grant fully funded the study.
Mary-Lou Johnston, Project Manager from Arcadis, explained four stages were used to determine what would work for the Town of Essex in terms of rural transit, including a needs and opportunity analysis, public and stakeholder engagement, service design creation, and analyzing a financial and implementation plan.
A public survey was issued last summer, which received 560 responses, Jeremy Cohen, Transit Planner with Arcadis, explained.
“We did hear there was support for transit as part of the survey,” he relayed. “It also provided us with information in to where people live and where they want to go in the town, and outside of the Town, as well.”
Arcadis also held a day of in-person pop-up style public engagement sessions, where its reps met with around 200 residents in Essex Centre, Harrow, and Colchester. That was in addition to meetings held with stakeholders.
From those engagements, Cohen said they heard of the need for transit to provide accessible travel for shopping, tourism, and recreational trips, primarily, as well as for employment.
Community stakeholders relayed the need for frequent and reliable transit and the importance of transit to access education. They also heard of the need for strong coordination and governance to underpin the creation of such a service.
Cohen added that peer municipalities also noted the need to build consensus to get the transit system up and running.
They recommended a hybrid model, combining aspects of a fixed route and rideshare/taxi subsidy for the Town of Essex.
The fixed route portion would offer a route between Essex Centre to St. Clair College, allowing riders access to the city from that point. This is similar to the existing Leamington to Windsor Route, which will be discontinued on April 30 due to a lack of continued Provincial funding, a majority of County Council not willing to fund it, and its Leamington operator voting to cease the operation at its October 28 meeting.
Cohen envisions a partnership with neighbouring municipalities for a fixed route with LaSalle and Tecumseh to avoid service duplication, expand coverage to new areas, and share costs. The line would provide service to Essex every 90-minutes. This would include a connection to Transit Windsor at Walker Road via Tecumseh, and replacement of LaSalle Transit service through the Oliver neighbourhood, information provided explains.
It had a recommended $5 one-way fair, with discounted pass options available.
If an inter-municipal partnership cannot be achieved, Cohen said there is an alternative route from Essex to St. Clair that could run four times a day.
For the rideshare/taxi subsidy component, there would be different fares depending on the trip. The rideshare/taxi subsidy would offer a recommended $8 flat rate fare for occasional travel to key stops within the town, such as at community centres and libraries.
The subsidy would also provide an $8 discount from the municipality on occasional travel within Town boundaries, or to key stops outside of the town, such as the Route 605 connection/Walmart in Amherstburg, Erie Shores Healthcare in Leamington, and St. Thomas of Villanova Catholic Secondary School in LaSalle.
“We tried to set it up so it is affordable. It is a lot cheaper than owning and operating a car,” Johnston said.
The estimated annual operating cost for the inter-municipal service in year five – as there is a ramp-up period in the first few years to build – estimated a direct operating cost of $812,000 to the municipality, with an estimated revenue of $83,000.
If the program only services the Town to Windsor, the estimated directed operating cost is $368,000.
There would also be estimated capital costs, such as $50,000 to install 16 bus stops, including concrete pad and signpost, and the additional optional expense of $20,000 per shelter to provide enhanced passenger amenities for higher-volume locations, information in the report notes.
There are some potential funding sources, Johnstonshared.
In answering Deputy Mayor Rob Shepley on the lifespan of the report, Johnston noted it would be good for a couple of years. Inflation will change the dollar figure estimates. A little bit of work would have to be done each year to align estimates with inflation. Potential funding sources may change, as well.
The report will be provided on essex.ca so residents can view it.
Losing the Leamington to Windsor transit system was a “big punch in the gut,” as it was something that could have been built off of, Mayor Sherry Bondy added. She suggested keeping an eye on funding for transportation from the Provincial level.