Presbyterian College > Academic Web Server > Jon Bell > Transit > (Cities | Types) > Detroit > Tunnel Bus

Detroit, Michigan / Windsor, Ontario:
Tunnel Bus

Description

Detroit and its sister city Windsor, Ontario are connected by the Tunnel Bus which is operated by Transit Windsor via the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel underneath the Detroit River. This is the only international urban transit bus operation in the United States, as far as I know. (A streetcar line connected El Paso, Texas with Juarez, Mexico until the mid 1970s.)

When I rode this route a few times c. 1980, the Windsor end of the route was just past the tunnel portal. After getting off the bus, one went through Canadian customs and immigration checks, and then exited onto Ouellette Street in downtown Windsor. Nowadays the bus continues to the Windsor casino (a major traffic generator), but I don't know whether passengers still have to get off the bus for customs and immigration.

Returning to Detroit, I remember a U.S. inspector boarding the bus and questioning the passengers; only those who needed further checks had to get off. The situation may be different now.

Pictures

These two pictures were taken at the Detroit entrance to the tunnel in June 2000.

[picture] A bus stops at the passenger pickup point just before the toll plaza. The bus also loops through downtown Detroit, but the timetable warns that because of traffic delays in the tunnel or in downtown Detroit, part of the loop may be truncated, so that Windsor-bound passengers are recommended to board here if possible.

[picture] A few seconds later, the bus passes through the toll plaza.

This page was last updated on 15 February 2003, and reviewed on 24 January 2008.

Presbyterian College > Academic Web Server > Jon Bell > Transit > (Cities | Types) > Detroit > Tunnel Bus

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