LONDON, ONT. -- Ontario is providing over $11.5M in funding to Elgin-Middlesex-London municipalities through Ontario’s Gas Tax program.
According to a release from MPP Jeff Yurek’s office, the province is providing a total of $375 million in gas tax funding for 109 municipalities that deliver public transit to 144 communities across Ontario.
The province will flow the funding as soon as possible in 2021.
“This is excellent news for our communities, said Jeff Yurek, MPP. “Funding for public transit will help make it easier to get where you need to go while supporting economic recovery in our region.”
Local allocations are as follows:
- City of St. Thomas- $419,784
- Municipality of West Elgin- $30,563
- City of London- $11,145,262
Minister of Transportation Caroline Mulroney said supporting transit systems is more important than ever as municipalities across Ontario struggle during the pandemic.
“This funding will help ensure people have access to safe, reliable transportation to get to work or pick up essential items like a prescription,” said Mulroney.
Funding for the Gas Tax program is determined by the number of litres of gasoline sold in the province during the previous year.
Municipalities supporting public transit services in their community receive two cents per litre of provincial gas tax revenue collected. This funding can be used to extend service hours, buy transit vehicles, add routes, improve accessibility or upgrade infrastructure.
Kelly Paleczny, Chair of Ontario Public Transit Association and General Manager of the London Transit Commission says this funding is crucial.
“Ontario has placed immense value on public transit to help frontline workers get to and from work each day throughout the pandemic,” said Paleczny.
