Lennox and Addington County council has approved up to $184,000 in community transportation funding for the town of Greater Napanee. Council approved staff to use the funds to expand upon the town's partnership with Deseronto Transit.
The county received $433,544.05 from Ontario's Community Transportation Project and was, originally, going to use the funds on a joint project between the town of Greater Napanee and Loyalist Township. The two municipalities had developed a partnership in 2021 to provide community transportation. But after further evaluation, it was determined that the project was not feasible. Each municipality then agreed to develop their own project using the remaining funding.
The enhanced partnership with Deseronto Transit would see fixed routes operating from 4:45 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday. This would include stops at Lennox & Addington County General Hospital, Baker & West Street, Market Square, Camden Variety, No Frills, and Wal-Mart.
Staff noted in their report the many socio-economic benefits of providing public transportation. For residents with no vehicle, it can help provide access to essential services, employment, skills training, and social networking.
Deseronto Transit has been operational for the past 14 years, mainly servicing the Greater Napanee area. The service is funded by fuel tax from Greater Napanee, Tyendinaga Township, and the Town of Deseronto. With the added funding, Greater Napanee looks to upgrade the service to provide more consistent public transportation for residents. Coun. Terry Richardson noted his support for the enhanced partnership.
"We're excited about it too, to be able to introduce a transit system within our community which partners with our neighbouring community in Deseronto. And hopefully if things pan out with this, and I do believe they will, that maybe we have the ability to extend it maybe to our partners to the east as well. So, we're excited about it, and we're hoping that everything's going to work out, but it's a good opportunity for both us and our partners in Deseronto," said Richardson.
Greater Napanee is now developing a plan to inform residents of the new bus routes and schedules. For a successful transition, staff noted they want to ensure all residents are informed on the new routes and the change from on-demand services. Signage will also be created to clearly mark stop locations and display route times.
Listen to the story below;