Windsor mayoral candidate Fred Francis identified transit improvements as one of his key priorities.
If elected, Francis says he will re-establish the Transit Board of Directors, resume tunnel bus service, and keep the 1,000 school extra bus in South Windsor until 2027.
"The political will spoke, and the majority of city council said we want to keep the tunnel bus. The people's elected representatives spoke and one person and one person only, Drew Dilkens, said that's not good enough for me and he vetoed that democratic will," said Francis.
Mayor Drew Dilkens vetoed the vote during 2025 budget deliberations using Strong Mayors legislation. During a news conference earlier this month, Dilkens said he believes that was the right decision.
"When you look back on the decision, it was the right decision. It saved city taxpayers $2.5 million, the private sector entered the business before we even exited the business, they're charging a fare lower than the fare city council was going to charge and not a single person lost their job," said Dilkens on September 10, 2026.
Francis indicated he'll take on a review of Transit Windsor routes and go after more grants from senior levels of government to increase revenue at the service.
"We're going to make sure that our Transit Windsor Master Plan objectives align with the Canada Transport Public Fund so we can get more money to help service enhancements," said Francis.
Francis also promised to cap Transit Windsor fees for two years to ensure greater affordability. His full plan can be found on his website.
Other candidates for mayor include Kat Pasquach, Benjamin Danyluk, Aaron Day, Dylon Graves, Tara Grayer, Nick Kolasky, Tristan Ty Morencie, Patrick Sutherland, and Louis Vautopic.
The municipal election is on October 26, 2026.
