Bruce County Transit (Image provided by Bruce County)
Bruce County is going to look at extending transit services from Wiarton to Owen Sound for the rest of the year.
Council will consider making this extension at its meeting this week after Grey County’s Committee of the Whole approved on Feb. 22 it would end the transit route on Sept. 2.
Bruce County staff are recommending using over $26,000 from the Business Sustainability Loan, which was supposed to be used for the now completed Transit Demand Study, to pay half the amount needed to continue the route until the end of 2024.
This extension would be in partnership with the Town of South Bruce Peninsula, which already approved the other half of operating the route.
The route was originally funded in 2022/23 between Bruce County, the Town of South Bruce Peninsula and Grey County to travel between Wiarton and Sauble Beach. Grey County, however, has decided not to include funding for the route in its 2024 budget.
A report from Director of Transportation and Environmental Services Adam Stanley says, “Grey County’s service model proposal attempts to balance preserving some service everywhere while directing the greatest service to those routes which have had the strongest ridership.”
Bruce County will be talking with Grey County and South Bruce Peninsula to determine options to continue the service in 2025.
Council will consider supporting this extension at its meeting on March 21 at 9:30 a.m.