It would be nice to see a discussion about the new bus terminal for greyhound. The city is putting up front $5.2 million to build a new bus terminal, that originally was scheduled to cost only $6.0 with the city's portion being $2.0 mil.
Greyhound does not put in one cent of hard cash into the deal. Instead they give the city the present terminal for $800,000.00, with no private building in Windsor except for the Royal Bank, the city will be holding this property for a long time to come.
The next part of the contribution from Greyhound will be based on ticket sales. As more and more tickets are being sold on-line and at kiosks, the city is bound to lose money on this part.
The final part is for Greyhound to pay rent but the city will be losing out on the tax revenue they get from the present bus terminal, no gain for the city.
And in the end the city who puts in the most money 60% more than Greyhound, will pay to maintain the building, and pay employees to sell tickets will only own 50%. If this is how the city does private public ownership, I can't wait to see what kind of deal we can get with the arena!!
A very bad deal.
Also the Schwatz report which the city endorsed called for a transportation hub, that would combine bus, rail and air. The city paid all that money for a report and go their own way, the wrong way.
With Via Rail looking to change the location of it's terminal it would have been better to sit down with Via Rail and Greyhound to come up with a location best suited to all. My opinion would to have it on Lauzon Parkway at the north east corner of the air port, and perhaps move the air port terminal there as well. But this location is only one to be considered.
And the major question is why does Transit Windsor need a terminal, has a study been done that asks the users if they need one. In my experience of riding the buses in Windsor very rarely do I catch a bus at the terminal, all my transfers are at a street bus stop. What Transit Windsor really needs is more buses, more frequently and on time, that would ensure greater ridership.
This council's misguided in their tax and spend mentality. With Ford Motor reducing it's Windsor labour force by 50% permanently, we should be looking for ways to reduce spending not increase it. Does anyone remember the early eighties in Windsor, when the bankers ended up with a lot keys on their desks from residents who gave up?
Anthony (Tony) Blak
2461 Lincoln Road
Windsor, On
Day 519-971-8295
Evenings 519-254-8202
Candidate Councillor Ward 3
