Provincial Gas Tax Funding Will Help Operate and Expand Local Public Transit Services
“We are immensely grateful to the provincial government for their generous allocation of $6.8million in gas tax funding. This critical investment will empower us to enhance our region’s infrastructure and better serve our residents.” – Jim Bradley, Chair of the Regional Municipality of Niagara.
A News Release from the Constituency Office of Niagara West Conservative MPP Sam Oosterhoff
Posted April 25th, 2024 on Niagara At Large
A portion of gas taxes collected from the pump have been used to fund municipal transit systems through successive governments in Ontario for many years now.
(A Brief Foreword from Niagara At Large reporter/publisher Doug Draper – For those who may not know, this parcel of money for Niagara’s transit system is not a special gift of funding being being awarded here by the Ford government. In Ontario, money collected from gas taxes – money, by they way, that is collected from each and every one of us every time we pump gas into a car or any other gas-driven vehicle – has been routinely and annually distributed to municipalities across the province that operate transit system for many years now. Here, just for an example, is a link to a newspaper story about gas tax funds going to transit system from 2015 when the former Ontario Liberal government was still in power –https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/ontario-gives-municipalities-333-million-from-gas-tax-to-fund-public-transit/article27227965/o . So it is not clear why Niagara Regional Chair Jim Bradley is gushing with words of gratitude here as if the gas tax funds allotted to transit this year is some kind of a magnanimous gesture on Ford government ‘s part.)
ST. CATHARINES, Niagara – The Ontario government is supporting the newly consolidated Niagara Region Transit system with a $6,845,789 investment from the 2023-24 Gas Tax program. The funding can be used to expand service hours, increase routes, purchase new vehicles and improve accessibility to increase transit ridership.
“This investment is fantastic news for transit riders across Niagara,” said Sam Oosterhoff, MPP for Niagara.
“Under the leadership of Premier Ford, we continue to invest in local transit to drive economic growth, make travel more convenient and connect people to the things that matter most to them.”
The Ontario government is investing almost $380 million across the province to help 102 municipalities improve local transit through the Gas Tax program. This year’s Gas Tax program includes a one-time additional $3 million to ensure municipalities can continue to support and grow their transit systems.
Niagara Regional Chair Jim Bradley,
“We are immensely grateful to the provincial government for their generous allocation of $6.8million in gas tax funding,” said Jim Bradley, Chair of the Regional Municipality of Niagara.
“This critical investment will empower us to enhance our region’s infrastructure and better serve our residents. On behalf of Regional Council, I wish to thank the province for this funding that will be used to directly support public transit across Niagara.”
“Provincial gas tax funding continues to be the best tool in our arsenal to continue to invest in transit services in Niagara and funding the expansion of those services that residents have told us clearly they want to see,” said Mat Siscoe, Mayor of the City of St. Catharines and Chair of the Niagara Transit Commission.
“I appreciate, once again, the provincial government’s contribution to moving our region forward.”
On January 1, 2023, the Niagara Transit Commission launched a newly consolidated regional transit system, serving riders across Niagara.
“No matter where you live, Ontarians deserve access to fast, reliable and affordable public transit,” said Hon. Prabmeet Sarkaria, Minister of Transportation.
“Our government is helping municipalities improve their transit systems now and for decades to come.”
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