Activate Transit Windsor Essex is a grassroots advocacy group working for a more accessible and sustainable transportation system in Windsor and Essex County

About us

We are building a coalition of community leaders, transit riders and public transit advocates. Our goal is to amplify the voices of community members calling for a transportation system that works for everyone

Windsor was once a leader in public transit with the first electric streetcar in Canada

Windsor was once a leader in the country for public transit innovation. It was here that the 1st electric streetcar in Canada was installed to connect these communities. After World War II, Windsor developed as an auto-centric city and became known as the “Automotive Capital of Canada”. Public transit no longer plays the prominent role it once did: as of the 2016 census, only 3.3% of commuters in the Windsor CMA use public transit as their mode of getting to work, compared to 14.5% for Ontario.

After WW2, public transit was decimated for auto-centricity

There is a shift happening in our region and a growing recognition that public transit investment is necessary for the future of our region’s economic, environmental and community well-being. In 2019 the city of Windsor put out 2 ambitious plans that help address this need. Our goal is to hold leadership to account, to ensure public transit remains a priority for our region, and to organize citizen-led conversations about our collective vision for the future of public transit in Windsor

Community Mandate

In the fall of 2021, we engaged the community in an online survey to learn more about how people use public transit, what gaps and challenges they face with getting around the city, and what ideas they have for the future. 620 people, transit riders and non-transit riders alike from a broad diversity of backgrounds, participated in this survey. The results are summarized in an online dynamic report created by Ravel Insights. We look forward to the community drawing their own conclusions from these results. We present ours here.

Explore Community Mandate Data

In the News

Read articles and listen to interviews that ATWE has been involved in

January 8, 2025

Transit group disappointed with proposed budget

Media events

A local transit advocacy group is calling for more investments for Transit Windsor after the mayor tabled the 2025 budget. While the budget outlines service improvements like increased route frequency they come at the expense of other service cuts, mainly the elimination of school extra buses. The budget also highlights […]

January 7, 2025

Activate Transit Windsor Essex respond to proposed service cuts

Media events

Josh Sankarlal, from Activate Transit Windsor-Essex, joins Meg to talk about the proposed cuts to Transit Windsor in the city’s 2025 budget. Listen to the full segment here

November 25, 2024

Ridership revenue for Windsor Transit’s cross-border tunnel bus is $566K in the hole

Media events

Transit Windsor is facing a revenue deficit of more than half a million dollars this financial quarter — and diminishing usage of the tunnel bus is being cited as a major reason. Nate Hope, a founding member of the citizen advocacy group Activate Transit Windsor Essex, feels the tunnel bus should […]

October 18, 2024

Transit advocacy groups from across Canada calling upon federal government to increase funding

Media events

Transit advocacy groups from across the country are joining forces for Transit Action Week, calling upon the federal government to increase funding through the Canada Public Transit Fund. Transit advocacy groups from across the country are joining forces for Transit Action Week, calling upon the federal government to increase funding […]

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