GOST bus keeps rolling as regional transit study nears end

WELLINGTON COUNTY – The Guelph to Owen Sound Transit (GOST) service is being extended to the end of the year as a four-county transit study continues.

The GOST service runs twice daily, seven days per week, in each direction along the Highway 6 corridor, with stops in Elora, Fergus, Arthur, Mount Forest, Durham, Williamsford and Chatsworth.

It launched in September 2020, funded by a $1.9-million provincial grant – the same funding Wellington County used to pilot its Ride Well on-demand service, which was made permanent in 2025.

Owen Sound operates GOST in partnership with private transportation company Voyago.

The GOST pilot was to wrap up last year, but the province extended its funding through March.

Service was again extended until Aug. 31, with the province covering half of the cost and Wellington and Grey counties chipping in 25 per cent each.

On July 30, Owen Sound announced the service would be extended again, this time through to the end of the year as a regional transit study nears its end.

Wellington County is spending an additional $20,000 to extend the service, on top of the $60,000 already budgeted this year.

Bruce, Dufferin, Grey and Wellington counties and the Saugeen Mobility and Regional Transit (SMART) board – the four counties and board involved in the transit study – announced the same day that interim routes would be maintained or expanded while the study finishes.

Grey Transit Route 2, between Dundalk and Orangeville, will keep operating, and Route 5, between Owen Sound and Wiarton, returns this fall. A seasonal extension of route 5 to Sauble Beach is being considered for summer 2027, pending funding.

A draft transit plan based on the Bruce-Dufferin-Grey-Wellington Regional Transit Study was expected from Dillon Consulting mid-year, but has since been pushed off.

Dillon is examining whether a regional network is possible, identifying possible routes and service levels, and evaluating the cost and opportunities for integration.

The transit study cost is $175,000, of which Wellington County has covered $25,000.

Meanwhile, the Western Ontario Wardens’ Caucus wants to establish a Rural Regional Transit Authority, the four counties are exploring a unified rideshare bylaw, and the SMART board is working through provincial legislation and grant options.

The extension keeps riders from being stranded while that work continues, county economic development manager Christina Mann stated in a report to council earlier this year.

Ridership averaged roughly 175 passengers per month shortly after launch. More than 12,000 rides were logged in 2024 and almost 13,000 in 2025.

Improvements can be made to better connect riders to other services such as Ride Well and GO, Mann noted, something the study is meant to address.

“The goal of the study is to design a transit system that’s less fragmented, and ultimately increase ease of use for residents,” Mann said, adding some form of bus service would continue connecting Grey and Wellington counties along Highway 6.

Dillon Consulting is expected to present a draft transit plan to county council before the October election. A new county council would consider final recommendations and vote on the county’s participation in a regional network in 2027.

Eighty per cent of commuters in Wellington and Guelph drove to work and three per cent took transit, according to Statistics Canada census data.

“Transit helps ensure that not having access to a vehicle doesn’t prevent you from accessing basic requirements such as work, education, health care, shopping, recreation, or community services,” Mann said.