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Feds, province announce $10 million in city transit funding

Sault Transit to get 22 new buses, shelters, hi-tech equipment upgrades
2017-06-23 Sault Transit
Sault Transit buses file photo. David Helwig/SooToday

A long awaited, much needed renewal for Sault Ste. Marie’s public transit system was announced Tuesday by officials from all three levels of government. 

Sault MP Terry Sheehan, Stephen Crawford, Oakville MPP and Parliamentary Assistant to Ontario Minister of Infrastructure Laurie Scott and Sault Mayor Christian Provenzano, joined by city staff, made the announcement via teleconference.

The funding, for several municipal transit projects, includes over $5.5 million through the federal government’s Public Transit Infrastructure Stream (PTIS) of the Investing in Canada infrastructure plan, $4.5 million from the province and more than $3.4 million from the City of Sault Ste. Marie for a total of over $13.4 million.

“The purchase of 22 brand new buses to replace existing buses will result in a more efficient and reliable public transit system. The buses will also have new fare boxes and automatic vehicle locator technology which will increase the speed in which passengers board the bus, increase the accuracy in monitoring and tracking of bus locations and will be fully accessible for passengers with disabilities, which is absolutely important,” Sheehan said.

“The relocation of the downtown terminal and a new terminal in the north end will help ensure a higher quality and more convenient public transit service.”

In addition, up to 25 new local bus shelters, Sheehan said, will replace aging shelters “to protect passengers from the elements, whether it’s the scorching sun or the winters in Sault Ste. Marie.”

“Call-out equipment will be replaced and upgraded, providing next-stop capabilities and vehicle Wi-Fi on all 39 vehicles of the fleet,” an accompanying news release stated.

The funding ties in with federal government spending announcements made over the last five years for public transit projects nationwide, Sheehan said.

“Today’s announcement brings exciting news for transit users and transit services in the city of Sault Ste. Marie,” Crawford said, stating the provincial government has made a commitment to invest over $7.3 billion in transit infrastructure in Ontario over the next 10 years.

“This is really a great announcement for Sault Ste. Marie,” Provenzano said.

“We had an aged fleet, we had some aged routes, our ridership was down. We recognize transit as an important social and economic driver. Transit’s a matter of social equity, making our community more accessible, making it easier for people to move around, and it’s also important for our economy. People can have an easier time getting to work.”

“We knew we had a lot of work to do in transit. We knew we could do much better than we were doing but we didn’t have the resources. We had the will, we had the staff, we had the manpower, but we didn’t have the (financial) resources,” Provenzano said, stating his appreciation for the federal and provincial funding announced Tuesday.

“I think by the end of this council term, everybody in the community will see a significant difference in our transit system. We’ll see ridership up, we’ll see it being used more frequently, and we’ll see it being a more effective tool for the entire community.”

The federal money is new money, Sheehan and Provenzano explained, coming as a top up to previously announced provincial funding for transit.

The new and improved Sault Transit fleet will include nine 40 foot buses, five 35 foot buses, five parabuses and three community buses.

Some of the new buses need to be manufactured, some are already manufactured, the City hoping for a soon delivery of the first batch of new vehicles.

“I served with the mayor as a city councillor and at that particular time our fleet was substantially old so I’m really pleased to see this replacement of 22 buses including the parabuses...the fleet was pretty old when I was on city council five years ago,” Sheehan said, speaking to SooToday.


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Darren Taylor

About the Author: Darren Taylor

Darren Taylor is a news reporter and photographer in Sault Ste Marie. He regularly covers community events, political announcements and numerous board meetings. With a background in broadcast journalism, Darren has worked in the media since 1996.
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