Huron Shores Area Transit System Looking For Funding From Municipalities
by Bob Montgomery
Lambton Shores CAO Steve McAuley and Mayor Doug Cook made a presentation to Bluewater council this week regarding the future of the Huron Shores Area Transit System.
McAuley pointed out, the provincial funding for the transit system expires on March 31st and they're hoping for some support from their member municipalities in putting together a plan that would extend the life of the service. They've applied to the province for help under the Ontario Transit Investment Fund but haven't had a response from the province yet. He also doesn't see that as the solution because that fund is really only meant for new systems or gap fillers and it only offers five-million dollars spread over the entire province. By the time major urban centres get their share, there won't be much left for the smaller rural systems.
McAuley says they're also making presentations to all of their municipal partners to encourage them to continue the program. He adds the gas tax program is available for transit, but that requires all of their municipal partners to be on board and contribute to the system.
McAuley says at this point they're reminding their member municipalities what they do, reminding them of the success they've had and showing them what a path forward might look like. At this point they're not sure that path forward will be what they have right now. It could be anything from not having a system to having a modified system or if all of the funding comes in they could continue with the system they have. If you compare the Huron Shores Transit system to other rural systems, they are by all measure a successful system. He concedes their system still does run a deficit, but adds, there's a deficit with most services that municipalities and governments offer and that has to be made up with taxpayers money. The difficulty for councils is how much taxpayer money is enough. Without the additional provincial funding, it will likely be too much for all of the councils. They really need the province to step up more than they have if they want to keep it going.
