Yup, a place in Canada is SOUTH of somewhere in the contiguous US...gotta love geography and its anomalies! This means that the "South Detroit" mentioned in Don't Stop Believin' is really just Windsor! Steve Perry has said, "I tried north Detroit, I tried east and west and it didn't sing, but South Detroit sounded so beautiful. I loved the way it sounded, only to find out later it's actually Canada." The lyric "streetlight people living just to find emotion" came from Perry watching people walking in the streets of Detroit at night after a concert in 1980! That aside, as weird as it is to see an ordinary city bus service cross the US-Canada border, this bus is very much a lifeline for the people of these two cities, so it's nice that it exists! The Detroit-Windsor tunnel is the second-busiest crossing between the United States and Canada after the Ambassador Bridge (also in Michigan). The tunnel was completed in 1930 at a total cost of approximately $25 million (around $460 million in 2023 dollars). It was built by the Parsons, Klapp, Brinckerhoff and Douglas firm, the same firm behind the Holland Tunnel! It was the third underwater vehicular tunnel constructed in the US following the Holland Tunnel and the Posey Tube (between Oakland and Alameda). It was also the world's third tunnel between two nations, and the first international vehicle tunnel! The other two were rail tunnels, the St. Clair and Michigan Central tunnels, both Michigan as well!
Yeah, many people are surprised when I mention Canadian places that are further south than US cities - even though Ontario protrudes very far south into the US. Like, the southermost point in Ontario is located further south than the Oregon/California border. When looking at the 49th parallel (the long straight-line border separating the Canada from the US), Canada still extends like 800km further south from it.
The 49th parallel only becomes the border west of the Great Lakes. All of the major cities in Canada in the eastern time zone are south of points in the contiguous US.
As a Windsor native now living abroad, I'm glad to hear the tunnel bus is running again. It was shut down during the pandemic, when the border was closed
Because there's no Shengen-type agreement over here. Even a few communities that straddle the border, especially since 9-11, there've been more headaches and hassles.
@@raakone We also had this long before Schengen and the EU. For sure there was a passport control, but it still was normal to take a bus ortrain to a neighboring city in another country
There's a library on the Vermont/Quebec border with a line on the floor showing the Canada/US border. The entrance is on the U.S. side. Canadian visitors must follow the sidewalk back to Canada. To cross the border you got to use a Customs/Border Patrol Office. If you don't do this and you're caught, you won't be shot but you risk being expelled from the country and you might not be let back in. That's a risk I wouldn't take. I've read the fire departments have crossed the borders without going through customs to help with a big fire, but that's about it. While the border is basically undefended (it's thousands of miles/km) I doubt there will ever be a Schengen type of agreement between the U.S. and Canada. It's just too political of a topic to ever happen.
I remember getting on an ordinary transit type bus at Vienna airport and we went to Bratislava bus station, no passports and for about $10 including bags. I remember that border as the iron curtain, we did not even notice it! Singapore to Malaysia train service, controls in Singapore station before you got on.
As someone born and raised in Windsor, I’ve never heard someone sound so excited to be there lol. As a sidenote, the new bridge being built will add a pedestrian and cycling route for crossing the border, something that these very car-centric cities have needed for a long time.
There are probably some people that would say the same about Detroit being from there. But would it be nice to visit both cities regardless of excitement? Yes
Too bad the new bridge is off in Timbuktu lol, I doubt those of us who don't have cars will bother when the tunnel bus is connected pretty centrally to the city's existing transit by comparison.
I've lived in Metro Detroit for 27 years, and always drive when I need to go to Windsor. I've always wondered what the Tunnel Bus is like and now I know. Thanks, Miles!!
i love how when you get asked by the border guard what you plan on doing in the us you can just respond "oh i'm going to go to target" and they'll be fine with it
If you live in the Niagara Falls area on the Canadian side, you would have said "I'm going to the Factory Outlets on Military Rd" On a typical weekend 75% of the cars on their parking lot bear Ontario licence plates. I'm not sure if things remain the same since a passport is now required to cross the border.
I spent two winters in Osoyoos, BC. My motel less than 2 miles from the American border. US Customs: Reason for entry? How long do you expect to be here? Me: Just getting fuel and returning to Canada. Canadian Customs: How long were you in the US; did you buy anything? Me: Less than a half hour. Bought fuel for the pick-up.
A transit-oriented indoor water park...you love to see it! The Detroit waterfront skyline does look wonderful! This reminds me of the fact that you can go all the way to San Ysidro on the US-Mexico border on the San Diego Trolley, which makes it possible to get to Tijuana by just light-rail and walking. This also reminds me of how El Paso once had an international trolley system! Historically, the cities of El Paso and Ciudad Juárez relied on a unified streetcar system across the Rio Grande which initially consisted of horse and mule-drawn trolleys and were replaced by the first electrified street cars in 1902. In the 1920s, the streetcar system was made up of 52 miles (or 83 km), with over two million using the service! However, the increasing availability of cars led them to abandon most of its streetcar infrastructure in the 1940s, with the exception of the international line, which was renewed with 20 PCC streetcars from San Diego in 1950. In May 1974, the last remaining cars in use made their final trips. They were taken to a desert area by the airport, where they eventually rusted and decayed. A new El Paso streetcar system was built in 2018, with two loops, 27 stops, and refurbishing PCCs from the previous system.
Being an older guy, well before 9/11, passports weren't required and they rarely even asked for any kind of i.d. I have a friend who grew up in Windsor and he said that as a kid he would take the bus to Tigers games with nothing more than a library card. Now living near the WA-BC border, like most regular crossers along the border I carry a NEXUS card, which sort of makes it like the old days. Crossing the river between Detroit and Windsor is always a bottleneck even with a NEXUS lane, but between Vancouver and Seattle it's all freeway so on a busy summer weekend the border can get clogged up. But with a NEXUS car you bypass literally hundres of cars and barely come to a stop at the actual border post. The Europeans commenting are correct. I too have spent much time there and have been on many buses and trams that cross within the Schengen zone where there are no checks whatsoever. It's ironic that back in the day the Can-US border was more like the Euro borders are now, and we're supposed to be good buddies her in N. America. However, I also remember driving across borders in Europe in the past when it was a slog, especially across the old "Iron Curtain.
I had a small ranch in Whatcom Co Wa. and worked for decades in Vancouver. One week I crossed the border nine times in 1983. Those halcyon days are long gone, and everyone on both side has lost their sense of humour (humor i the USA). With Free Trade I remember good, services, and EVENTUALLY the goal was PEOPLE free to move. That didn't happen.
We used to go to Buffalo quite often in the 80s just to go to the bars because beer was cheap and they took Canadian money at par, plus it was a change of scenery and I was never asked to show ID at the border, ah the good old days.
@@kenlompart9905 We had a border bar on Marine Drive in White Rock, BC (Charlie Don't Surf!!) and young women would come up to Canada as the drinking age was 18. These little hotties were usually the HS "cool group" and well on their smoking way to either marry a millionaire or have their rear end out on the stroll pretty quick. Bouncers wouldn't check I. D. and I was in my early twenties, and suddenly realized these Seattle girls were probably as young as 15, but all dolled up to look older. We left, they stayed for evening crowds!!
@@HeronPoint2021you sure you didn’t mean the OB (Ocean Beach Hotel)? Was a peeler bar by day, nightclub by night. I worked a brief stint there after Expo86. U21 Americans were indeed coming up to party, primarily from Western Wa U, Bellingham, and many of those had homes further south. Honestly I never knowingly came across girls as young as you say and that’s disturbing to consider. The OB did “card” (check ID’s) and the drinking age in BC has always been 19 as far as I know. In my lifetime anyhow.
I use my US passport card going into Montreal and Ottawa from the United states. God willing hoping to using it when I go to Toronto as well in late January
I can remember back in the 1970's it was $1.25 to go into Canada we took the tunnel bus to Windsor to play hockey in the park there & sometimes you could get a ride & Happy Trails
You can also go from Chicago to Detroit on Amtrak # 350 transfer with Q-line,Tunnel bus,Crosstown 2 then continue on to Toronto on VIA rail # 79 in one day. And in opposite direction to the same day.
@@FrankBullitt390 From New York. Amtrak operates a line that goes from New York City to Toronto. There is a rail tunnel from Detroit to Windsor, but that is freight only.
I sure miss The International. Now, that was a cool train. It would have any possible combination of Via and Amtrak consists. Usually a Via locomotive. Maybe pulling LRCs. Horizons. Amfleets. Superliners. Sometimes Via and Amtrak cars together. The cafe staff were typically Via and Amtrak staff working side by side.
@@monabiehl6213I’m sure there are, but people commuting from Windsor to Detroit is much more common. Detroit has a much bigger job base, so that explains some of it. However, salaries in the U.S. are considerably higher than in Canada which probably explains the rest.
Did the streetcar use the same bridge as today? It seems too narrow to support both tracks and vehicles. Sadly, neither Calais nor St. Stephen have any form of public transit today (though there are a few daily busses from Calais to Boston).
Having a system like this in San Diego/Tijuana would be awesome. I know that the Blue Line station at San Ysidro is right at the border and you can walk across but imagine how cool it would be to take transit across the border. I think that they are studying an extension from San Ysidro to Downtown Tijuana. It would be so cool to take the trolley there but the logistics would be weird
Extending the trolley into Tijuana actually in the MTS master plan. Lots of hurdles to conquer first though, I'm sure. There's a few news reports here on TH-cam about it.
Back in my college days in the '70s I drove a cab in Buffalo and I'd get the occasional fare into Canada, usually Fort Erie right across the bridge but one time it was halfway to London, Ontario. I also one time had a pick up at the Fort Erie racetrack, and going into Canada the customs guy was skeptical, why didn't he just take a local cab back? I had to call my dispatcher on the radio to confirm it. The guy was waiting at the track just like he said he would and we went back to Buffalo. The agents on both sides were usually understanding. I should add that all of my fares to Canada were falling down drunk!
Back in 2013, my wife and I were traveling from the suburban Toronto city of Oshawa (where we lived at the time) to San Francisco, then up to Vancouver. We had the bright idea we would take the Via train from Oshawa to Windsor, then Amtrak from Detroit to Chicago to continue our westbound journey. We got on the Tunnel Bus in downtown Windsor. My wife knew we were going to Detroit, but she didn't know this city bus would actually take us there. The bus went through the tunnel, stopped at customs and the driver opened the doors. My wife said, "Are we in DETROIT?" I guess she was amazed we weren't being shot at or mugged. Anyway, we had a few hours to kill (if you'll pardon the pun). We got on the People Mover, had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe, then hopped on the Woodward bus to get to the Amtrak station. It was actually a fun day. We had a good time.
Next time you're out in the PNW, you should do Seattle to Vancouver (BC) using only public transit (busses only if you really want to suffer). There's city busses that go to both sides of the I-5 border crossing so it should be possible, although much longer than greyhound/amtrak/flixbus
I tried to plan this before, but I actually couldn't find a TransLink bus on the Canadian side that was reasonably close to either Peace Arch or Pacific Highway. The closest one to Peace Arch is still like a 20-30 min walk from what I could tell. Not an issue on the US side, there are regional transit authority buses that go from Blaine to Bellingham that you could quite easily catch.
The furthest south Translink buses go is 8th Ave, a mile north of the Peace Arch crossing on I-5/99. So you'd probably have to go via Abbotsford, cross at Sumas, and get to Bellingham on a Whatcom county bus system from there. And then hop on express buses with transfers at Mt Vernon, Everett, and then Seattle.
The only time I ever used the Tunnel Bus was back in the summer of 1984, and they were using full size GM Fishbowls at the time. A friend and I were in the middle of a 2 week vacation where we were riding Greyhound from NYC to Pittsburgh-Dayton-St Louis-Chicago-Milwaukee-Detroit. Then we took Grey Coach from Windsor to Toronto and from Toronto to Buffalo Airport, where we took People Express airlines to Newark Airport. This coming July will be the 40th anniversary of that trip!
My hometown of Rimini is the closest Italian city to the Republic of San Marino and there is an international bus line connecting it to the capital of the small country. However, until a few years ago, even a normal urban bus line, n°7, crossed the border to serve an industrial park. Sadly it has now been cut back and stops a few meters from the border. Another urban bus line, n°16, also stops a few meters from the main border crossing. Both line allow you to connect to San Marino's own internal bus network (lines 4 and 7 respectively) just by walking a few hundred meters across the border. It would cost less to go from Rimini to San Marino that way compared to the direct international line, however San Marino's bus lines are rather infrequent: outside the main historic centre the country is an undefined sprawl of warehouses and low density residential areas which makes it extremely car-centric. Also, being in Europe, the border is open, it's just a sign on the road, and international local public transport services are totally normal in most border regions of the continent.
San Marino is on my bucket list, partly because the capital looks cool, but mostly because it's a micronation...I believe it has the highest car-to-human ratio of any country in the world, though.
@@MilesinTransit Some of my friends work there and say that they know families that own some three or four cars, including a family car to buy groceries and a sports car to show off on special occasions! The whole cultural region of Romagna, which includes San Marino and Rimini, is known for its love for motor sports: at the moment for example three MotoGP pilots were born here, and a fourth is from a town just outside of it. That said, a less romantic explanation for this record is economics: as San Marino has a lower tax rate than Italy, many companies are based there, and give company-owned cars to their mostly Italian employees as a benefit. As all these cars have Sammarinese number plates and the country is so small, they end up inflating the statistics. Also many people in Rimini have double citizenship, and usually drive San Marino-registered cars because of the lower taxes. Fuel is considerably cheaper there too. If you ever plan to visit Italy and San Marino please let me know: it would be a huge pleasure to be your guide. I live between Rimini and Rome, which is a city with beautiful monuments but with an..."interesting" public transport system, that nonetheless would be really fun to explore.
@@MilesinTransit if you make it to Europe you have to check out the tram system in Strassbourg (France) and take a tram ride to Kehl (Germany). The tram just goes over a bridge to the other side of the river and that's it. Two tram stops, in between an international border, no passport checks, no duty-free, same currency, slightly different traffic rules and a two completely different languages.
Basel's tram network extends across both its borders, so you can hop on a tram in Germany, transfer in Switzerland and hop off in France all on the same municipal transit ticket
Downtown has received a ton of investment recently and it’s a desirable place to live for the first time in decades. Admittedly, you still don’t have to go super far out of the core to find some really rough areas.
I rode that bus around 50 years ago. I was visiting my sister in Windsor and decided to take the bus to Detroit. That was my first time in Detroit. My 2nd and last time was when I changed planes in the Detroit airport almost 12 years ago.
I used to ride this bus very frequently (except for the COVID years) as a university student from 2018-2022. Don't use it as much now that I've purchased my own car but its still very convenient when I want to just spend time over only in Detroit for a couple hours. Basically, I remember the prices going from 5 CAD to 7.50 CAD when they resumed service in Fall of 2022, and then the price went up again in July 2023. In addition, the schedule also got downgraded, service used to run very late at night, and every 30 minutes a bus would depart the Transit Centre for the US. Now, the amount of buses servicing the route has been cut in half (buses leave hourly instead of 30-min basis) and the service ends at 9:40 PM (when the last bus leaves Mariner's Church in Detroit to return to Canada)
@@nixcails I mean yeah, I want one and could afford one. But in all seriousness, the Windsor bus system is only gaining more and more ridership as many new immigrants and international students come to Windsor from around the world. This has resulted in greater demand from the city buses, and in return, more buses from the fleet are reserved for these city lines, reducing the buses on the tunnel line. In addition, inflation and devaluation of the CAD with respect to USD - along with the coming of the new Gordie Howe bridge threatening to draw usership from the Tunnel and the Amby bridge - has caused the tolls and licensing fees for the bus to increase, which is unfortunately been kicked down to the passengers of the Tunnel Bus.
The Loop L in Chicago offers the best service for passengers to just about every part of the city. Canadians have talked about it since it was completed in 1897! 😊
You are my most favourite US transit youtuber. I just love the fact that these videos are more vlog styled and they actually show how the public transit works in practice. Also hello from Czechia!
every new video affirms my search through every miles in transit video to find the beginning of running editing jokes like CANADIAN DOLLARS one day I'll find that and POOR BID
The executive engineer of the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel was Burnside A. Value, the engineer of design was Norwegian-American engineer Søren Anton Thoresen, while fellow Norwegian-American Ole Singstad consulted, and designed the ventilation. Ole designed the Holland Tunnel's ventilation, the world's first mechanically ventilated tunnel. When Thomas Edison thought it was impossible to ventilate the Holland Tunnel, Ole said "Hold my beer". His idea was to design a circular tunnel with an automatic ventilation system where four ventilation buildings, two on each side of the Hudson River would house 84 immense fans that would provide a change of air every 90 seconds, keeping air quality well within established safety limits. The Detroit-Windsor Tunnel has three main levels. The bottom level brings in fresh air under pressure, which is forced into the mid-level, where the traffic lanes are located. The ventilation system forces vehicle exhaust into the third level, which is then vented at each end of the tunnel. Ole also designed the Lincoln Tunnel, Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, and Queens-Midtown Tunnel. In 1946, the Triborough Bridge Authority under Robert Moses took over tunnel construction and Ole was sidelined as Moses favored bridges over tunnels.
I used this bus back in 2011 as part of my Canada & US trip. Customs wanted to go through all my luggage, but the bus driver didn't like how long it took so he told them to get it over with and made them pack my bags back up. Was definitely a memorable experience.
I wish we had a city bus between El Paso, Texas and Juarez, Chihuahua Mexico.... There was a tram ( street car ) that use to go between El Paso and Juarez many years ago.. We still have got the old trams in downtown El Paso..
El Paso had a streetcar in to Juarez, San Diego had one in to TJ. The really interesting one was Washington, D.C. where parts of some lines in to Virginia were segregated. All the transit companies in the south actually hated enforcing segregation and they had their own legal battles against it, not brought up in history lessons.
We have a similiar citybus running from Frankfurt(Oder)(Germany) to Slubice(Poland). Line 983 Starts at the train station in Frankfurt Oder has several stops in Frankfurt before crossing the border into poland has a loop with several stops in Slubice before crossing the bridge back into Germany, no border control thanks to the schengen agreement. (i dont know the ticketprice because i have a monthly pass for local transit within germany("Deutschlandticket") and even though the line leaves germany the ticket is still valid :) Sadly Germany introduced stationary border controls two days ago so this might change :(
I remember when the fares were 25 cents for adults and 10 cents for children. The bus stopped on the Woodward Avenue side of Campus Martius. From there is was just a couple of blocks to the JL Hudson department store. It used to be a weekly trip for my mom, aunt, cousin and me in the mid 50s and early 60s. All we needed was a birth certificate to cross the border. Once I was old enough to go on my own, if I didn't see anything of interest in downtown Windsor, I'd hop on the Tunnel Bus without giving it a second thought. The variety of stores was unlike anywhere outside of Toronto and the exchange rate was around 10 cents on the dollar. I did not recognize anything around the Transit Windsor Bus Station (left Windsor in 1999). The columns at the Detroit end of the tunnel brought back memories, as did the view of the Penobscot Building.
There are other buses that cross the international border between Canada and Québec (only folks in Canada will understand it!) OC Transpo has a number of Ottawa buses that cross into Québec and STO has a number of buses that cross from Gatineau/Hull into Canada at Ottawa ! No customs ... yet ! There are a number of rules that allow transfers from one to the other but I'd have to re-read the web site to get the actual conditions. (only for certain types of trips/transfers).
In Ottawa/Gatineau, any form of valid transfers is accepted on the other system, and vice-versa. The transfer agreement has basically been in place for approximately 50 years now. It started as a project funded by the NCC. The funding eventually ended, but the systems kept the agreement in place.
I've taken the Tunnel Bus several times. I'm surprised it's so expensive now. Probably my favorite trip had to be back in 2008. The U.S. Customs officer did his usual questioning. He finished up by asking me, "Are you carrying a bomb?" Now, I couldn't have heard that properly. He didn't ask if I was carrying a bomb. So I said, "I'm sorry, sir. Could you repeated that?" He said, in Universal American English (loud and slow), "ARE YOU CARRYING A BOMB?" I Looked at him for a second or two, then I said, "No, sir. No I'm not." He said, "Fine. Get back on the bus." The Windsor Transit driver was holding the office door for me. I said, "'Am I carrying a bomb!' Jeezuzkryst, that's the stupidest G D question..." The driver put his finger over his lips and said, "Shh! Shhh! They can still call you back!" I told him I was a GO Transit driver up in Toronto. He said I should have told me that when I boarded. He would have put his hand over the farebox.
Two things I noticed: 1:09 - that schedule looks exactly like BC Transit, looks like they both used the same template. 2:27 - even the next stop voice is exactly the same as BC Transit NextRide 1.0, the voice is Microsoft Zira (US).
If you lived in either Singapore or in the southern tip of peninsula Malaysia,ie, Johor Bahru you can ride city buses to and from each city, morning to midnight.
My favorite cross border bus connection is between Austria, Switzerland and Italy: At the swiss customs station Martina cunfin a swiss domestic bus and one each from Italy and Austria meet at the same parking lot every hour. So you can change between all three countries and depart with the next bus a few minutes later
There's a Liechtenstein bus that starts in Sargans Switzerland, traverses the whole country of Liechtenstein, ending up in Feldkirch Austria. So three countries, two borders.
I have taken that bus but only from Liechtenstein to Feldkirch, not all the way from Sargans. I live in Austria, a short drive from the Liechtenstein border.
I wonder how many other cross-border city bus routes there are. I know Singapore shares a few routes with Malaysia (there used to be just one route). There probably are some in Europe but I guess without customs control, it makes it so much easier.
There's public bus service in the Iguazú falls tri-country borders where Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina meet. It links the cities of Ciudad del Este (Paraguay), Foz do Iguaçu (Brazil), and Puerto Iguazù (Argentina).
ปีที่แล้ว +1
Taken that bus once, it was cool to see that on the paraguayan side the headline of the bus was just a big "B R A S I L" written on it :)
4:41 That’s 3 of the 5 Detroit transit operators. Still missing D2A2 (Detroit to Ann Arbor, by RTA) and the QLine (streetcar by non-profit M1 Rail). Because regional cooperation, you know?
cool! you should try the cross border public buses between Singapore and Malaysia (Johor Bahru) Its an experience during rush hour. People traveling for work and school.
I heard about the Windsor bus to Detroit. Thanks for the video. Usually, I take the train to Niagara Falls and cross the border on foot. Last time I took the train one way across the border into Canada. The border guard looked through all my belongings like he was searching for drugs or something. Very embarrassing. I haven't been back to the States since they started requiring passports.
@@MilesinTransit i’m afraid I don’t know the name of it but I did see an episode of border security: Canada’s front line they had to hold a bus because one of the passengers crossing through had questionable material or something like that and he was kept in secondary inspection. So it came across the border too
I took the tunnel bus back before COVID (when it cost about half what it does now) as part of a mostly train trip that took me round-trip from Chicago to Toronto (via Buffalo on Amtrak and via Windsor/Detroit on VIA/Amtrak). It is a really cool service. When I took it most of the passengers were commuters who lived in Canada and were going to work in Detroit. They could really use a similar service in Juarez/El Paso or Tijuana/San Diego.
Ask any Detroiter about this bus and they will look at you like you’re crazy! I was in Detroit back in the summer of 2019 and someone at the airport told me about a bus that goes underneath Lake Michigan into Windsor, Ontario. It was my first time in Detroit (minus layovers for connecting flights), was staying downtown for 4 days. We must of asked everyone about this tunnel bus and no one heard about it. Looked online, nothing. Finally, on our last full day, someone told us to visit a hotel & ask for this worker & he should be able to get us the bus schedule. Finding where the bus was another headache because there’s no large signs and no one can help because they never heard of it! Bus was late (I figured out why on the trip back), it was only $5 one way & immigration will stamp your passport if you ask! On the way back, we sat on the bus for 40 minutes on the US side, just waiting for immigration to allow the bus to continue! The bus driver was a guy in his early 30’s, duel citizen but lived in Windsor. He told us that people don’t know about this bus service and it’s usually people that go to the Casino on the Canadian side & college students that go to school in the US but live in on the Canadian side. The bus route is like a huge circle with multiple stops in Detroit & Windsor. We go back to our hotel & I gave the front desk the schedule for the tunnel bus - which absolutely confused them at first! The one guy was shocked there was this option (you can’t take an Uber) but excited. The other woman was actually telling me that there wasn’t a bus option, even after telling her I just took it! Also, every Uber driver we spoke to had no idea but our Uber driver back to the airport was really excited to learn about it. **There was a lot going on during our visit: Democratic Primary Debates at Fox Theater, US Teachers Union Convention, NAAPC Annual Convention, Phillies were playing the Tigers ⚾️ (they rarely played against each other in the regular season, so there was a lot of people from Philly there to see the games.) I mention this because visitors would’ve taken advantage of this option to visit Windsor for a couple of hours. With that said, people in Detroit were so friendly and helpful. They also take great pride in their city
4:40 to answer your question, that is two companies... DDOT (Detroit Department Of Transportation) is the green sign, and SMART is the red sign and FAST routes. The LTD sign is for SMART as well
This is a convenient way for us to go from Detroit to Toronto. Tunnel bus from Detroit to Windsor, Windsor city bus to train station, and Via Rail to Toronto.
Awesome! I wanted to try the Tunnel Bus when I last went to Detroit, but I didn't have time to do so, especially with the limited schedule. I too was curious about how the border crossing would be handled!
Quite a lot of public transport does this in Europe. Dk Bus Dunkerque 20 runs from Dunkerque, Hauts du France [Duinkerke/ Dunkirk] to Adinkerke, Vlaams, Belgïe whilst the Strasbourg trams cross the River Rhine into Këhl, Germany.
DK'Bus serves Adinkerke (De Panne station) alright, but with a local busline that doesn't serve Dunkerque proper since a few years, now, line 20 only goes as far as Leffrinckoucke, where you need to change onto either bus C1 or C2, both serving Dunkerque with frequent intervals. On the flip side, DK'Bus is free to use. More international buses in the area are Brugge-Breskens, run jointly by De Lijn and whatever operator has the concession in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen, since very short, there's a bus between Hazebrouck and Poperinge, the MWR bus runs between Mouscron, Wattrelos and Roubaix, some of the Lianes bus routes from Lille cross into Belgium a few times a day...
As a European who grew up in the Schengen Area and only encountered his first border control at the age 11 or so. I will never be able to understand why the US and Canada don’t have a customs Union. Until then an international border was simple a small sign on the road.
@@value4363 The US is paranoid about terrorists coming in, and in Canada there are major concerns around guns. Also, the countries are quite large, and for Americans especially, most live far from Canada so would see little benefit. American society is also very insular and I think there is generally little incentive or desire to even travel to a foreign country. You can go to a border city in the US like Buffalo and Detroit where you can literally see Canada and find most people have never even been there, and many are only vaguely aware of Canada's existence.
One country has legal weed, the other doesn’t. Plus guns, plus different standards for meat and dairy. It’s easier to get a visa to visit Canada than it is to visit USA
Interesting video. Ill be crossing that border in less than 2 weeks, however not by the Tunnel Bus. Im looking forward to travelling from US to Canada and back.
Reminds me of going from El Paso to Juarez and back though there you walk the bridge over the Rio Grande and you are right in downtown on the other side. I think it cost 50 cents bridge toll.
I've taken this bus before. As part of a big North American Road Trip. I had a GreyHound Discovery Pass and was gonna use it to go all around the US, especially the South cause it was Jan-Feb and the North is cold! But I was the only passenger on the bus with lots of luggage. Most of the other passengers were going to the Auto Show. Yes, I could have taken a Greyhound Bus into the US but, like you, I was a lil overly excited about crossing an international border in a City Busl. US CBP got sus and searched me. Almost didn't let me in. But did, eventually. Cause I wasn't doing anything wrong. Come to think of it, this would not have been the first time I took a city bus accross an international border. I previously took an SBS bus back to Singapore from Johor Bahru, Malaysia. Paid cash in Malaysian Ringgit instead of using my EZ-Link card cause it was cheaper! (I had taken a special private cross-border bus to JB, so I'd say that doesn't count.)
The town I live in, Gorizia (Italy) has a hourly international bus to the neighbouring town of Nova Gorica (Slovenia)! It makes several stops in the centres and at the railway stations of both towns, and for some reason requires a special ticket - which likely limits its potential quite a bit. The buses used vary between Italian and Slovenian ones. There is a railway line between the two stations as well, but passenger trains haven't run since the 90s - right now it's only used for freight. However, sometimes special international heritage trains (using coaches from the 30s!) are organised. I posted a video recently about one of those trains - riding it was such a lovely experience!
@@MilesinTransit Yess! The schedules on the international bus are bad - I think you can walk the entire route in 1h30 - but there's a more frequent bus that stops right before the border which is very convenient to transfer between the Italian and Slovenian stations In theory by 2025 there will, finally, be rail service between the two towns again. The news coverage on this has been very patchy, but the idea seems to be to run trains from Venice using some new tri-mode trains. Will be interesting to see if/how that'll play out
I used to live in Detroit and go to Windsor by bus all the time to play bingo and just to get away. Less stressful city. That the bus is running every 1 hour is ODD because of the casino. I wonder if that's why? Maybe Detroiters aren't going to Windsor to gamble anymore? Also the sports games, esp. hockey attract people from Windsor. It's very strange that the bus would run every 1 hour.
Reminds me of my vacation in Detroit. I thought aboht taking the tunnel bus to Canada, but was afraid of any problems re-entering the US since I travel on an EU-Passport.
Similar buses exist in the Igaucu Falls area (technically still America, but South America), with there being regular local buses (40 BRL if i remember correctly?) between Foz do Iguacu in Brazil, Puerto Iguacu in Argentina, and Ciudad del Este in Paraguay. Trans-border city buses also exist in Singapore (and Hong Kong to some extent)
about a decade a few friends and I went down to Tijuana to check out the buses there. After spending a few hours there, it was time to come back. The CBP officer asked the usual questions. I looked at my friends looked at the officer " Sir we came here to ride buses". My friends laughed out of control, and the CBP officer had this confused look on his face but let me through anyways. lol
Wow, interesting to see how the border crossing works on Transit Windsor! The Windsor transit terminal is a hub I travel through pretty often, and unfortunately I still don’t get the opportunity to cross that freaking border…
There is a similar commuter city bus at the Peru-Chile border, Tacna to Arica. I used that to get into Chile without paying visa fees as I would have had to do if I'd flown in (and probably if I'd taken a regional intercity bus). I must have been the only tourist on that packed commuter bus that day.
![Stroads are Ugly, Expensive, and Dangerous (and they're everywhere) [ST05]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ORzNZUeUHAM/mqdefault.jpg)
![Stroads are Ugly, Expensive, and Dangerous (and they're everywhere) [ST05]](/img/tr.png)
Yup, a place in Canada is SOUTH of somewhere in the contiguous US...gotta love geography and its anomalies! This means that the "South Detroit" mentioned in Don't Stop Believin' is really just Windsor! Steve Perry has said, "I tried north Detroit, I tried east and west and it didn't sing, but South Detroit sounded so beautiful. I loved the way it sounded, only to find out later it's actually Canada." The lyric "streetlight people living just to find emotion" came from Perry watching people walking in the streets of Detroit at night after a concert in 1980! That aside, as weird as it is to see an ordinary city bus service cross the US-Canada border, this bus is very much a lifeline for the people of these two cities, so it's nice that it exists!
The Detroit-Windsor tunnel is the second-busiest crossing between the United States and Canada after the Ambassador Bridge (also in Michigan). The tunnel was completed in 1930 at a total cost of approximately $25 million (around $460 million in 2023 dollars). It was built by the Parsons, Klapp, Brinckerhoff and Douglas firm, the same firm behind the Holland Tunnel! It was the third underwater vehicular tunnel constructed in the US following the Holland Tunnel and the Posey Tube (between Oakland and Alameda). It was also the world's third tunnel between two nations, and the first international vehicle tunnel! The other two were rail tunnels, the St. Clair and Michigan Central tunnels, both Michigan as well!
I always assumed by "South Detroit" he was referring to the mean streets of Downriver, like Lincoln Park or River Rouge or something.
There’s not really a north Detroit either. The ‘sides’ of Detroit are east side, west side, southwest side, and downriver.
Yeah, many people are surprised when I mention Canadian places that are further south than US cities - even though Ontario protrudes very far south into the US. Like, the southermost point in Ontario is located further south than the Oregon/California border. When looking at the 49th parallel (the long straight-line border separating the Canada from the US), Canada still extends like 800km further south from it.
I've been through the Holland Tunnel in New York which was built around the same time.
The 49th parallel only becomes the border west of the Great Lakes. All of the major cities in Canada in the eastern time zone are south of points in the contiguous US.
As a Windsor native now living abroad, I'm glad to hear the tunnel bus is running again. It was shut down during the pandemic, when the border was closed
they reduced the hours unfortunately which sucks but TW is currently shprt on drivers.
planned chinese military pandemic weapon
As a European ... it's odd to see that bus or train services crossing borders is so rare or special in other places ...
Because there's no Shengen-type agreement over here. Even a few communities that straddle the border, especially since 9-11, there've been more headaches and hassles.
@@raakone We also had this long before Schengen and the EU. For sure there was a passport control, but it still was normal to take a bus ortrain to a neighboring city in another country
@@raakone obviously; Here it's super easy to travel across borders, EU and non EU. As some places you won't even recognize that you pass a border
There's a library on the Vermont/Quebec border with a line on the floor showing the Canada/US border. The entrance is on the U.S. side. Canadian visitors must follow the sidewalk back to Canada. To cross the border you got to use a Customs/Border Patrol Office. If you don't do this and you're caught, you won't be shot but you risk being expelled from the country and you might not be let back in. That's a risk I wouldn't take. I've read the fire departments have crossed the borders without going through customs to help with a big fire, but that's about it. While the border is basically undefended (it's thousands of miles/km) I doubt there will ever be a Schengen type of agreement between the U.S. and Canada. It's just too political of a topic to ever happen.
I remember getting on an ordinary transit type bus at Vienna airport and we went to Bratislava bus station, no passports and for about $10 including bags.
I remember that border as the iron curtain, we did not even notice it!
Singapore to Malaysia train service, controls in Singapore station before you got on.
As someone born and raised in Windsor, I’ve never heard someone sound so excited to be there lol.
As a sidenote, the new bridge being built will add a pedestrian and cycling route for crossing the border, something that these very car-centric cities have needed for a long time.
It's pretty insane to me you can't cross the border on foot or by bike...
There are probably some people that would say the same about Detroit being from there. But would it be nice to visit both cities regardless of excitement? Yes
The Ambassador Bridge USED to have that. I rode my bike to Windsor a few times.
Too bad the new bridge is off in Timbuktu lol, I doubt those of us who don't have cars will bother when the tunnel bus is connected pretty centrally to the city's existing transit by comparison.
I've lived in Metro Detroit for 27 years, and always drive when I need to go to Windsor. I've always wondered what the Tunnel Bus is like and now I know. Thanks, Miles!!
Thank you!
i love how when you get asked by the border guard what you plan on doing in the us you can just respond "oh i'm going to go to target" and they'll be fine with it
If you live in the Niagara Falls area on the Canadian side, you would have said "I'm going to the Factory Outlets on Military Rd" On a typical weekend 75% of the cars on their parking lot bear Ontario licence plates. I'm not sure if things remain the same since a passport is now required to cross the border.
They could ask nothing like other countries do... Or just business or vacation
I still see plenty of fellow Ontario people across the Niagara borders usually at the outlets or the nearby Walmart plaza.
I live in Canada and do this somewhat frequently
I spent two winters in Osoyoos, BC. My motel less than 2 miles from the American border.
US Customs: Reason for entry? How long do you expect to be here?
Me: Just getting fuel and returning to Canada.
Canadian Customs: How long were you in the US; did you buy anything?
Me: Less than a half hour. Bought fuel for the pick-up.
A transit-oriented indoor water park...you love to see it! The Detroit waterfront skyline does look wonderful! This reminds me of the fact that you can go all the way to San Ysidro on the US-Mexico border on the San Diego Trolley, which makes it possible to get to Tijuana by just light-rail and walking. This also reminds me of how El Paso once had an international trolley system! Historically, the cities of El Paso and Ciudad Juárez relied on a unified streetcar system across the Rio Grande which initially consisted of horse and mule-drawn trolleys and were replaced by the first electrified street cars in 1902. In the 1920s, the streetcar system was made up of 52 miles (or 83 km), with over two million using the service!
However, the increasing availability of cars led them to abandon most of its streetcar infrastructure in the 1940s, with the exception of the international line, which was renewed with 20 PCC streetcars from San Diego in 1950. In May 1974, the last remaining cars in use made their final trips. They were taken to a desert area by the airport, where they eventually rusted and decayed. A new El Paso streetcar system was built in 2018, with two loops, 27 stops, and refurbishing PCCs from the previous system.
Thank you glorious leader
But nothing can compare to the glorious only existing trolleybus in Pyeongyang for sure 😤😤
Being an older guy, well before 9/11, passports weren't required and they rarely even asked for any kind of i.d. I have a friend who grew up in Windsor and he said that as a kid he would take the bus to Tigers games with nothing more than a library card. Now living near the WA-BC border, like most regular crossers along the border I carry a NEXUS card, which sort of makes it like the old days. Crossing the river between Detroit and Windsor is always a bottleneck even with a NEXUS lane, but between Vancouver and Seattle it's all freeway so on a busy summer weekend the border can get clogged up. But with a NEXUS car you bypass literally hundres of cars and barely come to a stop at the actual border post.
The Europeans commenting are correct. I too have spent much time there and have been on many buses and trams that cross within the Schengen zone where there are no checks whatsoever. It's ironic that back in the day the Can-US border was more like the Euro borders are now, and we're supposed to be good buddies her in N. America. However, I also remember driving across borders in Europe in the past when it was a slog, especially across the old "Iron Curtain.
I had a small ranch in Whatcom Co Wa. and worked for decades in Vancouver. One week I crossed the border nine times in 1983. Those halcyon days are long gone, and everyone on both side has lost their sense of humour (humor i the USA). With Free Trade I remember good, services, and EVENTUALLY the goal was PEOPLE free to move. That didn't happen.
We used to go to Buffalo quite often in the 80s just to go to the bars because beer was cheap and they took Canadian money at par, plus it was a change of scenery and I was never asked to show ID at the border, ah the good old days.
@@kenlompart9905 We had a border bar on Marine Drive in White Rock, BC (Charlie Don't Surf!!) and young women would come up to Canada as the drinking age was 18. These little hotties were usually the HS "cool group" and well on their smoking way to either marry a millionaire or have their rear end out on the stroll pretty quick. Bouncers wouldn't check I. D. and I was in my early twenties, and suddenly realized these Seattle girls were probably as young as 15, but all dolled up to look older. We left, they stayed for evening crowds!!
@@HeronPoint2021you sure you didn’t mean the OB (Ocean Beach Hotel)? Was a peeler bar by day, nightclub by night. I worked a brief stint there after Expo86. U21 Americans were indeed coming up to party, primarily from Western Wa U, Bellingham, and many of those had homes further south. Honestly I never knowingly came across girls as young as you say and that’s disturbing to consider. The OB did “card” (check ID’s) and the drinking age in BC has always been 19 as far as I know. In my lifetime anyhow.
I use my US passport card going into Montreal and Ottawa from the United states. God willing hoping to using it when I go to Toronto as well in late January
I can remember back in the 1970's it was $1.25 to go into Canada we took the tunnel bus to Windsor to play hockey in the park there & sometimes you could get a ride & Happy Trails
You can also go from Chicago to Detroit on Amtrak # 350 transfer with Q-line,Tunnel bus,Crosstown 2 then continue on to Toronto on VIA rail # 79 in one day. And in opposite direction to the same day.
I've seen Amtracks from the US in Toronto so one of them goes all the way
@@FrankBullitt390 From New York. Amtrak operates a line that goes from New York City to Toronto. There is a rail tunnel from Detroit to Windsor, but that is freight only.
I sure miss The International. Now, that was a cool train. It would have any possible combination of Via and Amtrak consists.
Usually a Via locomotive. Maybe pulling LRCs. Horizons. Amfleets. Superliners. Sometimes Via and Amtrak cars together. The cafe staff were typically Via and Amtrak staff working side by side.
Quite a few people live in Windsor and work in Detroit. When I worked in Detroit, I had many colleagues that commuted on this bus daily.
Are their people who live in Detroit and work in Windsor?
@@monabiehl6213I’m sure there are, but people commuting from Windsor to Detroit is much more common. Detroit has a much bigger job base, so that explains some of it. However, salaries in the U.S. are considerably higher than in Canada which probably explains the rest.
Back in the days when streetcars were everywhere, there was an international tramway between St. Stephen, NB and Calais, Maine.
There was also one between El Paso and Ciudad Juarez!
omg thats so crazy 😧
It turns out the El Paso one lives on in bus form! www.transborde.com.mx/english/
Did the streetcar use the same bridge as today? It seems too narrow to support both tracks and vehicles.
Sadly, neither Calais nor St. Stephen have any form of public transit today (though there are a few daily busses from Calais to Boston).
And there is a Tim Horton's just across the border!
Having a system like this in San Diego/Tijuana would be awesome. I know that the Blue Line station at San Ysidro is right at the border and you can walk across but imagine how cool it would be to take transit across the border. I think that they are studying an extension from San Ysidro to Downtown Tijuana. It would be so cool to take the trolley there but the logistics would be weird
We need a migration union. Probably for the whole world too.
That would never happen. Best you could do is have Tijuana set up their own system immediately on the other system.
I would just be happy that you can easily cross the Mexican border without a car at San Ysidro
Given that the walk from the border to downtown Tijuana proper is kind of a pain, I agree, it would be cool. Definitely logistically difficult though.
Extending the trolley into Tijuana actually in the MTS master plan. Lots of hurdles to conquer first though, I'm sure. There's a few news reports here on TH-cam about it.
Back in my college days in the '70s I drove a cab in Buffalo and I'd get the occasional fare into Canada, usually Fort Erie right across the bridge but one time it was halfway to London, Ontario. I also one time had a pick up at the Fort Erie racetrack, and going into Canada the customs guy was skeptical, why didn't he just take a local cab back? I had to call my dispatcher on the radio to confirm it. The guy was waiting at the track just like he said he would and we went back to Buffalo. The agents on both sides were usually understanding. I should add that all of my fares to Canada were falling down drunk!
As a native Detroiter, it’s nice to see a transit TH-camr say some nice things about the city.
Back in 2013, my wife and I were traveling from the suburban Toronto city of Oshawa (where we lived at the time) to San Francisco, then up to Vancouver. We had the bright idea we would take the Via train from Oshawa to Windsor, then Amtrak from Detroit to Chicago to continue our westbound journey.
We got on the Tunnel Bus in downtown Windsor. My wife knew we were going to Detroit, but she didn't know this city bus would actually take us there. The bus went through the tunnel, stopped at customs and the driver opened the doors. My wife said, "Are we in DETROIT?"
I guess she was amazed we weren't being shot at or mugged.
Anyway, we had a few hours to kill (if you'll pardon the pun). We got on the People Mover, had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe, then hopped on the Woodward bus to get to the Amtrak station.
It was actually a fun day. We had a good time.
Next time you're out in the PNW, you should do Seattle to Vancouver (BC) using only public transit (busses only if you really want to suffer). There's city busses that go to both sides of the I-5 border crossing so it should be possible, although much longer than greyhound/amtrak/flixbus
I was thinking of doing the trip with only city buses. You would have to walk across at Pacific Highway border crossing
I tried to plan this before, but I actually couldn't find a TransLink bus on the Canadian side that was reasonably close to either Peace Arch or Pacific Highway. The closest one to Peace Arch is still like a 20-30 min walk from what I could tell. Not an issue on the US side, there are regional transit authority buses that go from Blaine to Bellingham that you could quite easily catch.
The furthest south Translink buses go is 8th Ave, a mile north of the Peace Arch crossing on I-5/99. So you'd probably have to go via Abbotsford, cross at Sumas, and get to Bellingham on a Whatcom county bus system from there. And then hop on express buses with transfers at Mt Vernon, Everett, and then Seattle.
@@nnadir__ wow, that would really be a bit of a detour. Vancouver to Abbotsford by public transit alone takes potentially two hours or more.
It's possible to get all the way between Vancouver BC and Portland in one day
The only time I ever used the Tunnel Bus was back in the summer of 1984, and they were using full size GM Fishbowls at the time. A friend and I were in the middle of a 2 week vacation where we were riding Greyhound from NYC to Pittsburgh-Dayton-St Louis-Chicago-Milwaukee-Detroit. Then we took Grey Coach from Windsor to Toronto and from Toronto to Buffalo Airport, where we took People Express airlines to Newark Airport. This coming July will be the 40th anniversary of that trip!
My hometown of Rimini is the closest Italian city to the Republic of San Marino and there is an international bus line connecting it to the capital of the small country. However, until a few years ago, even a normal urban bus line, n°7, crossed the border to serve an industrial park. Sadly it has now been cut back and stops a few meters from the border. Another urban bus line, n°16, also stops a few meters from the main border crossing. Both line allow you to connect to San Marino's own internal bus network (lines 4 and 7 respectively) just by walking a few hundred meters across the border. It would cost less to go from Rimini to San Marino that way compared to the direct international line, however San Marino's bus lines are rather infrequent: outside the main historic centre the country is an undefined sprawl of warehouses and low density residential areas which makes it extremely car-centric.
Also, being in Europe, the border is open, it's just a sign on the road, and international local public transport services are totally normal in most border regions of the continent.
San Marino is on my bucket list, partly because the capital looks cool, but mostly because it's a micronation...I believe it has the highest car-to-human ratio of any country in the world, though.
@@MilesinTransit Some of my friends work there and say that they know families that own some three or four cars, including a family car to buy groceries and a sports car to show off on special occasions! The whole cultural region of Romagna, which includes San Marino and Rimini, is known for its love for motor sports: at the moment for example three MotoGP pilots were born here, and a fourth is from a town just outside of it.
That said, a less romantic explanation for this record is economics: as San Marino has a lower tax rate than Italy, many companies are based there, and give company-owned cars to their mostly Italian employees as a benefit.
As all these cars have Sammarinese number plates and the country is so small, they end up inflating the statistics. Also many people in Rimini have double citizenship, and usually drive San Marino-registered cars because of the lower taxes. Fuel is considerably cheaper there too.
If you ever plan to visit Italy and San Marino please let me know: it would be a huge pleasure to be your guide. I live between Rimini and Rome, which is a city with beautiful monuments but with an..."interesting" public transport system, that nonetheless would be really fun to explore.
@@MilesinTransit if you make it to Europe you have to check out the tram system in Strassbourg (France) and take a tram ride to Kehl (Germany). The tram just goes over a bridge to the other side of the river and that's it. Two tram stops, in between an international border, no passport checks, no duty-free, same currency, slightly different traffic rules and a two completely different languages.
Basel's tram network extends across both its borders, so you can hop on a tram in Germany, transfer in Switzerland and hop off in France all on the same municipal transit ticket
Congrats Miles, this video was mentioned in the Tom Scott newsletter that was sent out today.
That's SO freaking cool!!! I'm kinda in awe of that right now!
Nice surprise at the end. Did NOT expecr that, and had to rewind to replay! ❤
The ending 😂😂😂😂
That Was A Great Video. I Love Your Channel. Detroit looked better than I thought it would? Thanks
Thank you!
Downtown has received a ton of investment recently and it’s a desirable place to live for the first time in decades. Admittedly, you still don’t have to go super far out of the core to find some really rough areas.
I rode that bus around 50 years ago. I was visiting my sister in Windsor and decided to take the bus to Detroit. That was my first time in Detroit. My 2nd and last time was when I changed planes in the Detroit airport almost 12 years ago.
I used to ride this bus very frequently (except for the COVID years) as a university student from 2018-2022. Don't use it as much now that I've purchased my own car but its still very convenient when I want to just spend time over only in Detroit for a couple hours. Basically, I remember the prices going from 5 CAD to 7.50 CAD when they resumed service in Fall of 2022, and then the price went up again in July 2023. In addition, the schedule also got downgraded, service used to run very late at night, and every 30 minutes a bus would depart the Transit Centre for the US. Now, the amount of buses servicing the route has been cut in half (buses leave hourly instead of 30-min basis) and the service ends at 9:40 PM (when the last bus leaves Mariner's Church in Detroit to return to Canada)
That's because people keep buying cars!
@@nixcailsfortunately
Thank you for sharing this. Certainly unique
@@nixcails I mean yeah, I want one and could afford one. But in all seriousness, the Windsor bus system is only gaining more and more ridership as many new immigrants and international students come to Windsor from around the world. This has resulted in greater demand from the city buses, and in return, more buses from the fleet are reserved for these city lines, reducing the buses on the tunnel line. In addition, inflation and devaluation of the CAD with respect to USD - along with the coming of the new Gordie Howe bridge threatening to draw usership from the Tunnel and the Amby bridge - has caused the tolls and licensing fees for the bus to increase, which is unfortunately been kicked down to the passengers of the Tunnel Bus.
The Loop L in Chicago offers the best service for passengers to just about every part of the city. Canadians have talked about it since it was completed in 1897! 😊
Actually it is a very skeletal system.
We talk aboot it....
You are my most favourite US transit youtuber. I just love the fact that these videos are more vlog styled and they actually show how the public transit works in practice.
Also hello from Czechia!
Czechia, wow! Thank you so much for watching!!
@@MilesinTransit Israel is watching too (though I started when I lived in Japan)
Wow that was some pretty good Canadian behaviour at the end thanking the bus driver at the end of your trip.
Miles always does that, no matter where. ❤
Yup, practically always thank the driver if I’m not preoccupied. Rarely forget to thank the driver
I was polite to a DDOT driver (being a Toronto bus driver at the time) and he looked at me like I must have been from outer space.
Thank you for making this video. The Tunnelbus was out of service for seemingly forever due to Covid, glad to see it’s back!
Thank you for watching it!
I was just wondering a few days ago if there were any buses that went between US and Canada or US and Mexico 😂
"The US, Canada's neighbour to the north." Love it!
i thought that was an mbta bus in the thumbnail at first! i love these weird border crossings/transit oddities
Windsor and Detroit used to honor each other's bus transfers.
every new video affirms my search through every miles in transit video to find the beginning of running editing jokes like CANADIAN DOLLARS
one day I'll find that and POOR BID
th-cam.com/video/TOnXLGGAYLY/w-d-xo.html i believe this video is the first time POOR BID was ever made a running joke
Yup, that's the first poor bid! Canadian Dollars started out in this one: th-cam.com/video/_JOUyP413xE/w-d-xo.html
The executive engineer of the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel was Burnside A. Value, the engineer of design was Norwegian-American engineer Søren Anton Thoresen, while fellow Norwegian-American Ole Singstad consulted, and designed the ventilation. Ole designed the Holland Tunnel's ventilation, the world's first mechanically ventilated tunnel. When Thomas Edison thought it was impossible to ventilate the Holland Tunnel, Ole said "Hold my beer". His idea was to design a circular tunnel with an automatic ventilation system where four ventilation buildings, two on each side of the Hudson River would house 84 immense fans that would provide a change of air every 90 seconds, keeping air quality well within established safety limits.
The Detroit-Windsor Tunnel has three main levels. The bottom level brings in fresh air under pressure, which is forced into the mid-level, where the traffic lanes are located. The ventilation system forces vehicle exhaust into the third level, which is then vented at each end of the tunnel. Ole also designed the Lincoln Tunnel, Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, and Queens-Midtown Tunnel. In 1946, the Triborough Bridge Authority under Robert Moses took over tunnel construction and Ole was sidelined as Moses favored bridges over tunnels.
Singstad's firm also designed the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel
Burnside Value is a brilliant name.
EVIL Robert Moses!! There was a book written about him by Anthony Caro. The Powerbroker.
I used this bus back in 2011 as part of my Canada & US trip.
Customs wanted to go through all my luggage, but the bus driver didn't like how long it took so he told them to get it over with and made them pack my bags back up.
Was definitely a memorable experience.
That's hilarious!
I live in Windsor in 1997. Before the pandemic, the Tunnel Bus ran more frequently but you could not transfer to other Transit Windsor bus routes.
Yeah, unfortunately there's still no free transfer to other Transit Windsor routes.
@@MilesinTransit It is normal, there is no free transfers to a reservation-only bus.
@@erkinalp What? It's not reservation-only, you can buy a ticket on board.
I wish we had a city bus between El Paso, Texas and Juarez, Chihuahua Mexico.... There was a tram ( street car ) that use to go between El Paso and Juarez many years ago.. We still have got the old trams in downtown El Paso..
There actually is one, but the schedule is pretty hard to parse: www.transborde.com.mx/english/
0:20 “So we’re gonna pay in- Canadian Dollars- *Money sounds* “
THIS is the kind of edu-tainment I come to expect from this channel. You’re getting this NOWHERE else and I love it
Thank you so much!!
El Paso had a streetcar in to Juarez, San Diego had one in to TJ. The really interesting one was Washington, D.C. where parts of some lines in to Virginia were segregated. All the transit companies in the south actually hated enforcing segregation and they had their own legal battles against it, not brought up in history lessons.
Can’t wait until the Gordon Howe bridge opens and we can walk across
That would be pretty cool
We have a similiar citybus running from Frankfurt(Oder)(Germany) to Slubice(Poland). Line 983 Starts at the train station in Frankfurt Oder has several stops in Frankfurt before crossing the border into poland has a loop with several stops in Slubice before crossing the bridge back into Germany, no border control thanks to the schengen agreement. (i dont know the ticketprice because i have a monthly pass for local transit within germany("Deutschlandticket") and even though the line leaves germany the ticket is still valid :)
Sadly Germany introduced stationary border controls two days ago so this might change :(
I remember when the fares were 25 cents for adults and 10 cents for children. The bus stopped on the Woodward Avenue side of Campus Martius. From there is was just a couple of blocks to the JL Hudson department store. It used to be a weekly trip for my mom, aunt, cousin and me in the mid 50s and early 60s. All we needed was a birth certificate to cross the border. Once I was old enough to go on my own, if I didn't see anything of interest in downtown Windsor, I'd hop on the Tunnel Bus without giving it a second thought. The variety of stores was unlike anywhere outside of Toronto and the exchange rate was around 10 cents on the dollar.
I did not recognize anything around the Transit Windsor Bus Station (left Windsor in 1999). The columns at the Detroit end of the tunnel brought back memories, as did the view of the Penobscot Building.
Amazing stories, thank you so much!
There are other buses that cross the international border between Canada and Québec (only folks in Canada will understand it!) OC Transpo has a number of Ottawa buses that cross into Québec and STO has a number of buses that cross from Gatineau/Hull into Canada at Ottawa ! No customs ... yet ! There are a number of rules that allow transfers from one to the other but I'd have to re-read the web site to get the actual conditions. (only for certain types of trips/transfers).
In Ottawa/Gatineau, any form of valid transfers is accepted on the other system, and vice-versa.
The transfer agreement has basically been in place for approximately 50 years now. It started as a project funded by the NCC. The funding eventually ended, but the systems kept the agreement in place.
I've taken the Tunnel Bus several times. I'm surprised it's so expensive now.
Probably my favorite trip had to be back in 2008. The U.S. Customs officer did his usual questioning. He finished up by asking me, "Are you carrying a bomb?"
Now, I couldn't have heard that properly. He didn't ask if I was carrying a bomb. So I said, "I'm sorry, sir. Could you repeated that?"
He said, in Universal American English (loud and slow), "ARE YOU CARRYING A BOMB?"
I Looked at him for a second or two, then I said, "No, sir. No I'm not."
He said, "Fine. Get back on the bus."
The Windsor Transit driver was holding the office door for me. I said, "'Am I carrying a bomb!' Jeezuzkryst, that's the stupidest G D question..."
The driver put his finger over his lips and said, "Shh! Shhh! They can still call you back!"
I told him I was a GO Transit driver up in Toronto. He said I should have told me that when I boarded. He would have put his hand over the farebox.
What a story, wow!
Two things I noticed:
1:09 - that schedule looks exactly like BC Transit, looks like they both used the same template.
2:27 - even the next stop voice is exactly the same as BC Transit NextRide 1.0, the voice is Microsoft Zira (US).
Hey, I just did this a week ago! Was so surprised at how normal of a bus it is
I live in Windsor and regularly take the tunnel bus to Tigers' games. It's cool that this is one of your most viewed videos.
If you lived in either Singapore or in the southern tip of peninsula Malaysia,ie, Johor Bahru you can ride city buses to and from each city, morning to midnight.
My favorite cross border bus connection is between Austria, Switzerland and Italy: At the swiss customs station Martina cunfin a swiss domestic bus and one each from Italy and Austria meet at the same parking lot every hour. So you can change between all three countries and depart with the next bus a few minutes later
That's incredible!
There's a Liechtenstein bus that starts in Sargans Switzerland, traverses the whole country of Liechtenstein, ending up in Feldkirch Austria. So three countries, two borders.
Whoa, that's AWESOME!
I have taken that bus but only from Liechtenstein to Feldkirch, not all the way from Sargans. I live in Austria, a short drive from the Liechtenstein border.
Saw a video from my town and had to click. I actually do some work in those 2 tall hotels behind the St. Clair building by the bus terminal.
I wonder how many other cross-border city bus routes there are. I know Singapore shares a few routes with Malaysia (there used to be just one route). There probably are some in Europe but I guess without customs control, it makes it so much easier.
There's public bus service in the Iguazú falls tri-country borders where Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina meet. It links the cities of Ciudad del Este (Paraguay), Foz do Iguaçu (Brazil), and Puerto Iguazù (Argentina).
Taken that bus once, it was cool to see that on the paraguayan side the headline of the bus was just a big "B R A S I L" written on it :)
Thanks, I can use this next time I visit Canada
That's how I go from Singapore to Malaysia regularly - on a normal bus across the land border.
Never been to Detroit before looks beautiful
It's funny how this bus appears to be just your average commute bus.
I think that's the whole point of this video...
That is because it IS just an average commute bus.
4:41 That’s 3 of the 5 Detroit transit operators. Still missing D2A2 (Detroit to Ann Arbor, by RTA) and the QLine (streetcar by non-profit M1 Rail). Because regional cooperation, you know?
That's our Miles in Transit. I can't a city bus can go to a international border. well played windsor.
cool! you should try the cross border public buses between Singapore and Malaysia (Johor Bahru) Its an experience during rush hour. People traveling for work and school.
I heard about the Windsor bus to Detroit. Thanks for the video. Usually, I take the train to Niagara Falls and cross the border on foot. Last time I took the train one way across the border into Canada. The border guard looked through all my belongings like he was searching for drugs or something. Very embarrassing. I haven't been back to the States since they started requiring passports.
My old neighbour used to do this in the 60s to play jazz bass.
It’s not the only bus. BC and WA have one too
What bus? I'm not aware of a city bus between them.
@@MilesinTransit i’m afraid I don’t know the name of it but I did see an episode of border security: Canada’s front line they had to hold a bus because one of the passengers crossing through had questionable material or something like that and he was kept in secondary inspection. So it came across the border too
@@antoniocasias5545 i dont think that was a city bus maybe a greyhound
I took the tunnel bus back before COVID (when it cost about half what it does now) as part of a mostly train trip that took me round-trip from Chicago to Toronto (via Buffalo on Amtrak and via Windsor/Detroit on VIA/Amtrak). It is a really cool service. When I took it most of the passengers were commuters who lived in Canada and were going to work in Detroit. They could really use a similar service in Juarez/El Paso or Tijuana/San Diego.
Christof Spieler showed me one between Juarez and El Paso on Twitter: www.transborde.com.mx/english/
Before COVID it was like $4 then it went to 5 and then 7.50 and now 10!
Ask any Detroiter about this bus and they will look at you like you’re crazy!
I was in Detroit back in the summer of 2019 and someone at the airport told me about a bus that goes underneath Lake Michigan into Windsor, Ontario. It was my first time in Detroit (minus layovers for connecting flights), was staying downtown for 4 days. We must of asked everyone about this tunnel bus and no one heard about it. Looked online, nothing.
Finally, on our last full day, someone told us to visit a hotel & ask for this worker & he should be able to get us the bus schedule.
Finding where the bus was another headache because there’s no large signs and no one can help because they never heard of it!
Bus was late (I figured out why on the trip back), it was only $5 one way & immigration will stamp your passport if you ask!
On the way back, we sat on the bus for 40 minutes on the US side, just waiting for immigration to allow the bus to continue! The bus driver was a guy in his early 30’s, duel citizen but lived in Windsor. He told us that people don’t know about this bus service and it’s usually people that go to the Casino on the Canadian side & college students that go to school in the US but live in on the Canadian side. The bus route is like a huge circle with multiple stops in Detroit & Windsor.
We go back to our hotel & I gave the front desk the schedule for the tunnel bus - which absolutely confused them at first! The one guy was shocked there was this option (you can’t take an Uber) but excited. The other woman was actually telling me that there wasn’t a bus option, even after telling her I just took it! Also, every Uber driver we spoke to had no idea but our Uber driver back to the airport was really excited to learn about it.
**There was a lot going on during our visit: Democratic Primary Debates at Fox Theater, US Teachers Union Convention, NAAPC Annual Convention, Phillies were playing the Tigers ⚾️ (they rarely played against each other in the regular season, so there was a lot of people from Philly there to see the games.) I mention this because visitors would’ve taken advantage of this option to visit Windsor for a couple of hours. With that said, people in Detroit were so friendly and helpful. They also take great pride in their city
This is really cool. I would love to check it out sometime. Thank you. Awesome video.
Thank you!
That zoom in on Tim Hortons made this video so Canadian!
This video right here is very helpful whenever I'm considering covering Windsor Transit. All I need to get is a passport.
4:40 to answer your question, that is two companies... DDOT (Detroit Department Of Transportation) is the green sign, and SMART is the red sign and FAST routes. The LTD sign is for SMART as well
This is a convenient way for us to go from Detroit to Toronto. Tunnel bus from Detroit to Windsor, Windsor city bus to train station, and Via Rail to Toronto.
THE TUNNEL BUS!!!! i drive this route in omsi but i didnt know it still ran.
That's really cool it's in OMSI!
Awesome! I wanted to try the Tunnel Bus when I last went to Detroit, but I didn't have time to do so, especially with the limited schedule. I too was curious about how the border crossing would be handled!
Quite a lot of public transport does this in Europe. Dk Bus Dunkerque 20 runs from Dunkerque, Hauts du France [Duinkerke/ Dunkirk] to Adinkerke, Vlaams, Belgïe whilst the Strasbourg trams cross the River Rhine into Këhl, Germany.
DK'Bus serves Adinkerke (De Panne station) alright, but with a local busline that doesn't serve Dunkerque proper since a few years, now, line 20 only goes as far as Leffrinckoucke, where you need to change onto either bus C1 or C2, both serving Dunkerque with frequent intervals. On the flip side, DK'Bus is free to use.
More international buses in the area are Brugge-Breskens, run jointly by De Lijn and whatever operator has the concession in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen, since very short, there's a bus between Hazebrouck and Poperinge, the MWR bus runs between Mouscron, Wattrelos and Roubaix, some of the Lianes bus routes from Lille cross into Belgium a few times a day...
As a European who grew up in the Schengen Area and only encountered his first border control at the age 11 or so.
I will never be able to understand why the US and Canada don’t have a customs Union.
Until then an international border was simple a small sign on the road.
Guns is one of the big reasons why.
Because United States values and Canada values don’t fully align. Canada is a more inclusive and progressive country
@@thihal123And…? they are not more different than European countries… Schengen means you can travel from Warsaw to Lisbon
@@value4363 The US is paranoid about terrorists coming in, and in Canada there are major concerns around guns. Also, the countries are quite large, and for Americans especially, most live far from Canada so would see little benefit. American society is also very insular and I think there is generally little incentive or desire to even travel to a foreign country. You can go to a border city in the US like Buffalo and Detroit where you can literally see Canada and find most people have never even been there, and many are only vaguely aware of Canada's existence.
One country has legal weed, the other doesn’t. Plus guns, plus different standards for meat and dairy. It’s easier to get a visa to visit Canada than it is to visit USA
Glad you made it! I got stuck on the wrong side of the border thanks to the tunnel bus once because they closed the tunnel for repairs.
Eek, that's awful!
The Detroit - Windsor Tunnel is like the Lincoln Tunnel, but with countries. Yeah, I literally just made that up lol. Great video!
Thank you!
It's actually more similar to the Holland Tunnel! Same firm behind the Holland Tunnel built this one.
That border crossing for me was rough at 3 am
Interesting video. Ill be crossing that border in less than 2 weeks, however not by the Tunnel Bus. Im looking forward to travelling from US to Canada and back.
Keep doin what ur doin Miles, us small content creators gotta stick together. Always love content from a fellow transit head, keep at it! Love it!
Thanks so much!
I took that bus more than 50 years ago when I was in Detroit.
Wow 😮 that's 8th wonder of this world. I have been living in Canada for more than 2 decades n never heard about it. Thanks for updating my knowledge.
Reminds me of going from El Paso to Juarez and back though there you walk the bridge over the Rio Grande and you are right in downtown on the other side. I think it cost 50 cents bridge toll.
I've taken this bus before. As part of a big North American Road Trip. I had a GreyHound Discovery Pass and was gonna use it to go all around the US, especially the South cause it was Jan-Feb and the North is cold! But I was the only passenger on the bus with lots of luggage. Most of the other passengers were going to the Auto Show. Yes, I could have taken a Greyhound Bus into the US but, like you, I was a lil overly excited about crossing an international border in a City Busl. US CBP got sus and searched me. Almost didn't let me in. But did, eventually. Cause I wasn't doing anything wrong.
Come to think of it, this would not have been the first time I took a city bus accross an international border. I previously took an SBS bus back to Singapore from Johor Bahru, Malaysia. Paid cash in Malaysian Ringgit instead of using my EZ-Link card cause it was cheaper! (I had taken a special private cross-border bus to JB, so I'd say that doesn't count.)
The town I live in, Gorizia (Italy) has a hourly international bus to the neighbouring town of Nova Gorica (Slovenia)! It makes several stops in the centres and at the railway stations of both towns, and for some reason requires a special ticket - which likely limits its potential quite a bit. The buses used vary between Italian and Slovenian ones.
There is a railway line between the two stations as well, but passenger trains haven't run since the 90s - right now it's only used for freight. However, sometimes special international heritage trains (using coaches from the 30s!) are organised. I posted a video recently about one of those trains - riding it was such a lovely experience!
Ooh, that's really cool!
@@MilesinTransit Yess! The schedules on the international bus are bad - I think you can walk the entire route in 1h30 - but there's a more frequent bus that stops right before the border which is very convenient to transfer between the Italian and Slovenian stations
In theory by 2025 there will, finally, be rail service between the two towns again. The news coverage on this has been very patchy, but the idea seems to be to run trains from Venice using some new tri-mode trains.
Will be interesting to see if/how that'll play out
Nice video never saw Detroit across the river from Canada cool!
Man I love that seamless ADR ;-)
I used to live in Detroit and go to Windsor by bus all the time to play bingo and just to get away. Less stressful city. That the bus is running every 1 hour is ODD because of the casino. I wonder if that's why? Maybe Detroiters aren't going to Windsor to gamble anymore? Also the sports games, esp. hockey attract people from Windsor. It's very strange that the bus would run every 1 hour.
There are several bus services between mexican and US cities also
Very helpful to know as a Canadian never been to Detroit
Reminds me of my vacation in Detroit. I thought aboht taking the tunnel bus to Canada, but was afraid of any problems re-entering the US since I travel on an EU-Passport.
That's cool to see that, thanks for sharing!
Thank you for watching!
As someone from Detroit I was really hoping you'd do this one. Good luck on DDOT, and if you're feeling adventurous, even better luck with SMART.
Great video, Miles!
Thank you!
Similar buses exist in the Igaucu Falls area (technically still America, but South America), with there being regular local buses (40 BRL if i remember correctly?) between Foz do Iguacu in Brazil, Puerto Iguacu in Argentina, and Ciudad del Este in Paraguay.
Trans-border city buses also exist in Singapore (and Hong Kong to some extent)
Indeed there’s a city bus in Foz do Iguaçu that goes into Paraguay Ciudad del Leste, I’ve been in one of these in the past
about a decade a few friends and I went down to Tijuana to check out the buses there. After spending a few hours there, it was time to come back. The CBP officer asked the usual questions. I looked at my friends looked at the officer " Sir we came here to ride buses". My friends laughed out of control, and the CBP officer had this confused look on his face but let me through anyways. lol
Wow, interesting to see how the border crossing works on Transit Windsor! The Windsor transit terminal is a hub I travel through pretty often, and unfortunately I still don’t get the opportunity to cross that freaking border…
I am just happy that the SEPTA 127 goes to Trenton. Also [Redacted] is an as[redacted]le.
There is a similar commuter city bus at the Peru-Chile border, Tacna to Arica. I used that to get into Chile without paying visa fees as I would have had to do if I'd flown in (and probably if I'd taken a regional intercity bus). I must have been the only tourist on that packed commuter bus that day.
Whoa, that looks like a much more substantial trip than this one!
@@MilesinTransit it is, it was about an hour i think, maybe a bit more or less. Maybe more of a Detroit-Ann Arbor situation.
I'm Canadian and I've never heard about this before. Thanks Miles :)
Thank you for watching!