GUELPH – Launch of a ride sharing system in Wellington County, originally set for this spring, has been pushed back to the fall due to a delay in confirmation of provincial funding for the project.
On Jan. 25, the province announced it would proceed with Community Transportation Grant Program funding of $449,500 to develop a demand-based ride-sharing system in the county.
The funds had originally been announced last spring by the previous Liberal government, however the county halted work on the project when the grant program was placed under review by the incoming Conservatives last fall.
“That’s really, really exciting news,” said Warden Kelly Linton at the Jan. 31 Wellington County council meeting.
“We can start the process of moving toward transit options for the county.”
Councillor George Bridge, who chairs the county’s economic development committee, said news of the funding confirmation was a relief.
“This is something that we were really worried about. You go out into our riding and rural transit is a big issue,” said Bridge.
County economic development director Jana Burns said the delay means “it will probably take another six months to put together a proper service delivery model.”
News of the funding was released just prior to the Rural Ontario Municipal Association conference in Toronto from Jan. 27 to 29, which was attended by municipal councillors from across the county.
Linton said meetings with government ministers at the conference “went really good,” and stated, “From my perspective it was one of the best conferences I’ve been to.
“The government is really doing their best to listen to what we have to say.”
However, he added, “What they do with it might be a different story.”
