Accessibility Reporting
Under the regulations of the Accessible Canada Act (ACA), Transit Windsor falls within the regulated entities under the transportation network and is subsequently subject to the reporting provisions of the act. Within the act's framework, transportation providers must submit a multi-year accessibility plan followed by annual updates that address progress on the objectives outlined in the long-term plan. This page serves as the public repository of all reports and provides additional mechanisms for providing feedback to the City of Windsor and Transit Windsor.
Because this is the first year Transit Windsor has submitted a report under the ACA, the page provides a link to the original PDF report sent to the accessibility commissioner. The full text of the progress report for 2024 follows this. In subsequent reporting years, progress reports will be moved to a dedicated page and a link to them will be posted on this page.
2024-2027 Accessibility Plan
The multi-year accessibility plan for Transit Windsor was officially submitted to the Accessibility Commission in October 2024 and is found in the link below:
Transit Windsor Draft ACA Progress Report
December 15, 2024
General
Transit Windsor provides conventional public transportation, exclusively by bus, and serves the city of Windsor in addition to LaSalle, Essex, Kingsville, Amherstburg, and Leamington as well as a cross-border service connecting downtown Windsor and downtown Detroit. Transit Windsor operates a fleet of 119 buses operating on 20 surface routes, serving more than nine million passengers per year. Windsor has a primary terminal located in downtown Windsor and smaller terminals throughout the city. Transit Windsor’s service area covers over 300 kilometres squared and has a service area population of over 300,000. Since 2020, all Transit Windsor routes and buses have been accessible.
As a transport provider operating in the province of Ontario that provides both local transit services and shuttle services to Detroit, Michigan, Transit Windsor is subject to the Accessible Canada Act (ACA). The ACA and its associated regulations were enacted in 2019 to help create a barrier-free Canada by 2040. Members of the public, associations representing the interests of persons with disabilities, and employees of Transit Windsor are encouraged to provide feedback on the accessibility plan, accessibility progress report, and feedback process as well as to request alternate formats of these documents, as desired, by contacting:
Feedback
Transit Windsor encourages you to share your feedback on its plan, feedback process, progress reports or any other issue through any of the following channels:
311 Windsor City Services
Transit Windsor may also be contacted through its website, social media platforms, toll-free number, in person, or by ground mail.
Local Number: 311 in Windsor or 519-255-CITY(2489)
Mailing address:
Transit Windsor
3700 North Service Road East
Windsor, Ontario, N8W 5X2
Required headings: areas in section 5 of the ACA
Employment
In 2025, Transit Windsor will be reviewing, in concert with the accessibility officer where appropriate, proposed changes and additions to policies and practices related to employment. The following priorities were identified:
- Developing training priorities related to accessibility and diversity and selecting training providers to deliver both digital on-demand and in-person courses (SOP/pre-trip checks, coach condition reports)
- Refinement of language used in recruitment and selection processes and job descriptions
- Purchasing of accessibility equipment for testing and interviews as required
- Reviewing of recruitment, development, and retention practices to ensure barriers to employment are identified and addressed
- Building upon the success of past placements with agencies assisting individuals with disabilities to further expand placement opportunities
Built environment
Transit Windsor constantly monitors the accessibility of its built environment, which is provided by the City of Windsor. As budgets allow, landing pads as well as other active transportation features are added.
Information and communication technologies (ICT)
The most significant project concerning information is the modernization of existing digital bus schedule documents. Existing schedule processes output a series of PDF documents containing bus schedules and maps, but remediating accessible versions is a very cumbersome and time-consuming process. During the accessibility planning process, and in consultation with the Windsor Accessibility Advisory Committee (WAAC), it was determined that exploring the potential to port the existing projects to a web platform was the best means of creating accessible schedules. In 2025, Transit Windsor will examine the feasibility of dynamically generating bus schedules that would be posted to the existing City of Windsor website.
Communication, other than ICT
There are no planned changes to communications other than ICT at this time except for maintaining audible and visual stop indicators on the existing fleet. A potential research project may show merit that focuses on a jurisdictional study of comparable municipalities and transit providers to determine emerging best practices related to non-ICT communications.
Procurement of goods, services, and facilities
In 2025, the City of Windsor will be embarking on an initiative to develop a comprehensive diversity lens toolkit for application across all departments. The joint effort between council services and human resources will be directly applicable to Transit Windsor and allow a new perspective in the development of policies and practices related to the procurement of goods, services, and facilities.
Design and delivery of programs and services
Transit Windsor plans to enhance driver training through the purchase and implementation of the Transit Ambassador program, offered through the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA).
Transportation
While passengers arrange transportation to our facilities, Transit Windsor will continue to monitor all terminals to ensure persons with disabilities can easily access all entrances safely. The continued development of the east- and west-end terminals will incorporate the latest in accessibility features and will also be Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) compliant.
Consultations
Consultation with the general public
The draft accessibility plan was on the public website between October 3 and October 31, 2024, with the option to submit feedback on the plan via an online form available on our website, or through any of the following contact mechanisms:
Accessibility Officer (accessibility@citywindsor.ca)
Toll-free number: 311 locally
TTY line (Bell Relay Service): Type 711 for the operator or dial 1-800-855-0511.
Mailing Address
Transit Windsor
3700 North Service Road East
Windsor, Ontario, N8W 5X2
Consultation with groups representing the interests of persons with disabilities
Transit Windsor provided the Accessibility Plan to the Windsor Accessibility Advisory Committee (WAAC) for consultation and review. The Infrastructure Working Group, a subcommittee of WAAC, had the opportunity to preview, discuss, and provide feedback on the plan and meets regularly to provide guidance and advice to the administration.
Feedback
Since the implementation of its Accessibility Plan, Transit Windsor has not received any feedback related to the plan or to barriers encountered by people who have used our services. Transit Windsor will continue to explore new methods and channels of outreach to engage our communities through surveys and easy-to-use forms for comments and critiques.
Glossary
- Accessibility: The design of products, devices, services, environments, technologies, policies, and rules in a way that allows all people, including people with a variety of disabilities, to access them.
- Barrier: Anything hindering people with disabilities from full and equal participation. Barriers can be architectural, technological, or attitudinal, based on information or communications, or can be the result of a policy or procedure.
- Disability: Any impairment or difference in physical, mental, intellectual, cognitive, learning, or communication ability. Disabilities can be permanent or temporary or can change over time.