The Windsor–Detroit border is one of North America’s most important transportation corridors, and discussions about its future often focus on freight movement, trade volumes and the infrastructure required to accommodate trucks and private vehicles.
The Gordie Howe International Bridge has largely been framed through this lens, and is designed to add capacity to one of the continent’s busiest commercial crossings. Although construction is complete, the opening remains delayed while Canadian and US authorities continue negotiations over operational and regulatory arrangements.
Chuck Andary, Interim Chief Executive Officer and Chief Legal Officer, Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority (WDBA) said:The Gordie Howe International Bridge will be a vital economic link for Canada and the United States. As we work towards an opening date, we are taking a collaborative approach, reflecting our shared ambition for this trade corridor.
Canada and the United States have agreed to delay the opening of the bridge, taking the necessary time to resolve any outstanding issues.
We appreciate the efforts of workers on both sides of the border to get the bridge to its current state of readiness.
However, the Windsor–Detroit corridor is not only a route for freight and motorists, with people also crossing the border for work, education, healthcare, tourism and entertainment. Despite this, crossing options without a private vehicle currently remain limited, and the Windsor–Detroit Tunnel Bus therefore serves a key role in cross-border transportation.
The Detroit–Windsor Tunnel opened in 1930, and for decades, the cross-border bus service was operated by Transit Windsor. The route was suspended in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and did not return until late 2022. In 2025, Windsor City Council voted to wind down the service amid rising operating costs and budget pressures. Transit Windsor’s regular Tunnel Bus service made its final trip on 30 August 2025, with the service officially ending on 31 August 2025.
This left the cities without a local service until October 2025, when private operator Linq Tunnel Bus launched a replacement, ensuring that travellers without access to a private vehicle could continue to cross the border by bus. The bus costs 15 CAD each way, with the fare paid using a contactless card upon boarding.
Alternatively, FlixBus also launched a long-distance cross-border coach service connecting Detroit and Windsor on 2 March 2023, with the service beginning in Ottawa or Toronto, operating less frequently than the Linq Tunnel Bus,
In the near future, the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge presents an opportunity to further broaden this conversation. Although the bridge is primarily associated with freight and road traffic, it will also include toll-free pedestrian and cycling access through a dedicated multi-use path. Combined with the tunnel bus, this creates the possibility of a more diverse cross-border transport system than has traditionally existed in the region.
The Windsor–Detroit Tunnel Bus may carry only a fraction of the travellers who cross the border each day, but its continued existence highlights an overlooked aspect of cross-border mobility. As the region prepares for the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge and the addition of a new pedestrian and cycling connection, there is an opportunity to think beyond freight volumes and traffic capacity.
Arguably, the strength of a transportation corridor is measured in how well it connects people, rather than simply in how effectively it moves goods. Ensuring that residents, workers, students and visitors have a range of practical ways to cross the border will help create a transportation network that serves the broader needs of the communities on both sides of the river.
