Essex Mayor Richard Meloche admits there's not much he can do as a municipal politician about high gas prices, but a bus service might offer those in small towns in his town some relief.
Meloche plans to introduce a notice of motion tonight at Essex Town Council calling on councillors to set aside $60,000 in next year's budget. That would pay for a consultant to explore the idea of a public bus service that would run between Colchester and Windsor with stops in Harrow, McGregor, and Paquette Corners.
The motion mentions the province might fund a large portion of the cost.
Essex would be the latest municipality to talk about increasing public transit service outside the city. Tecumseh has offered busing for years, and so has Leamington. Transit Windsor has offered service to LaSalle residents since 2017. Recently Amherstburg's Town Council also signed off on a two-year pilot project.
Essex County Council explored a broader, regional service years ago, but Meloche said it wasn't workable.
"The service was very fragmented, and this was one route that was not offered," he said.
Theoretically, the bus would run from St. Clair College, up Walker Road, and down County Road 13 to Colchester before returning to the city.
Students at St. Clair College and the University of Windsor would be the obvious benefactors of such a service. However, Meloche believes residents with jobs in Windsor could benefit, and it might even help boost tourism, especially to Colchester.
"If it's going continuously back and forth, you'll have people that can take advantage of going out to the lake," explained Meloche.
Meloche's motion will not be up for debate until council's next meeting on July 4.
