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Town getting nearly $350K in gas tax money for transit

The latest funding announcement is one of several upper-level government grants allocated to Collingwood's public transit system in the last year
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A Collingwood bus waits for riders during a morning run. Erika Engel/CollingwoodToday

The Town of Collingwood will be getting another $347,662 for its public transit system thanks to the Ontario gas tax program. 

The province's ministry of transportation announced $375 million in funding through the program today being allocated to 109 municipalities, promising the cash would flow "as soon as possible in 2021." 

Provincial gas tax revenue is given to municipalities to operate and expand public transit. The tax-funded grants are determined by the number of liters of gasoline sold in the province during the previous year. Municipalities offering public transit in their community receive two cents per litre of the gas tax revenue collected. 

The funding can be used to extend service hours, buy transit vehicles, add routes, improve accessibility or upgrade infrastructure. The Town of Collingwood has plans in place nearly all of those options. Staff announced this week a town-wide transit study is underway, and they are looking at funding for a study into accessible public transportation options. They will also take delivery of two new buses this spring, thanks to funds previously awarded through the Canada Infrastructure Program. 

Collingwood staff reported, during a meeting earlier this week, transit ridership is down by 50 per cent for the year

Collingwood's public works and transit coordinator, Kris Wiszniak, said most transit systems in Canada saw an 80 to 85 per cent drop in ridership at the beginning of the pandemic with a recovery in the summer to a 40 to 50 per cent drop in ridership. 

"It's important to note that the town does have access to provincial funding to help offset the loss in revenue attributed to COVID-19," said Wiszniak. 

The funding he referred to is the province's Safe Restart agreement funding. In phase one of the program, the Town of Collingwood received $915,328 from Ontario, of which $161,328 was specifically to offset lost revenues and increased costs for transit services. In the second round of funding announcements, the Safe Restart program allocated another $566,000 to Collingwood, which included $151,000 for transit specifically. 


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Erika Engel

About the Author: Erika Engel

Erika regularly covers all things news in Collingwood as a reporter and editor. She has 15 years of experience as a local journalist
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