The City of Stratford is getting a major investment to help improve its transit system.
Mayor Dan Mathieson welcomed Perth-Wellington MPP Randy Pettapiece and Federal Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna to the Stratford Transit Garage on the morning of February 26th, 2020 to unveil $4 million in funding for the project.
Mathieson said it's a very exciting project.
"What these allow us to do, what these investments to improve is not only the fleet we have and emissions, so hopefully cutting down on fuel costs, while also improving accessibility and bringing in things like the on-demand service, better tracking of the buses and a better ridership demographic," he said.
The investment will be for five new buses, two new mobility buses, another additional bus to help with increased ridership, eight new accessible bus shelters, and a new on-demand software GPS system for riders on Sundays to increase ridership.
The system was recently piloted in Belleville, Ontario by a Toronto based tech company, and the results were very positive from transit users there. Essentially, riders on Sundays can use an app on their phone to request routes they want to use that day, and the buses will be able to smart-plan routes to best serve those customers that want to ride that day.
In terms of the investment breakdown, the federal government is investing $1.6 million, the province is putting up $1.4 million and Stratford is contributing $1 million to the project.
Federal Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna said investing in rural and urban transit systems is a major key for her.
"Transit matters. It matters for people's lives, it's about how people get around, how people get to work and how they get home to see their families. Announcements like this make a huge difference," she said.
Perth-Wellington MPP Randy Pettapiece said not only will this investment help people with disabilities or without vehicles, but it will also help with the job market.
"We're in a position here that's actually a good position to be in where we have more jobs than people to fill them. Certainly one of the issues there is transportation, and this is not a new thing. I've been hearing for all the years that I've been a member [of Parliament] for this area that transit is an issue," said Pettapiece.
The Stratford transit fleet will be equipped with an automated voice and signage system that alerts riders when each stop is approaching. Users will also be able to track their bus locations using the new software on a smartphone app.
The federal government is providing its share of the funding through the Public Transit Infrastructure Stream, which is part of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Plan or ICIP. Through that plan, the federal government has earmarked over $180 billion over 12 years to invest in public transit projects. The Stratford project is already underway and will continue through 2021.
L-R: Stratford Mayor Dan Mathieson, Federal Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna and Perth-Wellington MPP Randy Pettapiece together in the Stratford Transit Garage announcing 4 million dollars in collective funding to improve Stratford's transit system. February 26th, 2020 (Photo by Ryan Drury)