Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens expects a fulsome debate later this month when deliberations start on the city's 2026 budget, and that includes discussion about a proposed fare hike for Transit Windsor.
The public can make presentations on the budget at the city council's January 12 meeting, and the budget could be approved two weeks later on January 26.
The fare hike, from $3.75 to $4, may be difficult for some of the city's most vulnerable residents to absorb, but Dilkens said the city is committed to a zero per cent increase in this year's property tax rate.
"They're concerned about affordability," said Dilkens. "They're concerned about the uncertainty coming at us from across the border in the United States, and they want the city to hold the line on taxes. When you do that, hard decisions have to be made. We have to look at everything. There are no sacred cows."
Public transit is heavily subsidized by the taxpayer already, and Dilkens said this year's budget is a fair review of how the city can maintain the service. The budget doesn't include any cuts to service, and the mayor pointed out that 20,000 hours of service were added at Transit Windsor in 2025.
He called the increase fair.
"When you look at transit fares in cities across Ontario, there are some that would be lower than us. There are many that would be higher than us. It puts us in the middle of the pack," said Dilkens. "We're just trying to align the revenues with the expenses that we see operating that service."
With files from Maureen Revait.
