Only one route will continue for Commuter Connect Northumberland as the pilot project concludes.

Commuter Connect was launched in September 2022 with lines connecting Northumberland communities as well as from Cobourg and Port Hope to the Oshawa GO station.

At a recent Northumberland County council meeting, the recommended motion was to discontinue the public transportation service in its entirety. Council ultimately amended that motion, deciding the Durham line was essential and opted to extend it for three years.

The inter-county Northumberland line, which served travel between Cobourg, Colborne, Brighton and Campbellford, will end Nov. 30 due to low ridership and revenue. During the one-year pilot project, 513 one-way rider credits were purchased for the Northumberland line compared to 3,055 for the Durham line.

Dan Borowec, the county’s director of economic development, planning and strategic initiatives, said it’s a costly enterprise which is no different than in any municipality.

“I think personally council made a good decision to try and find middle ground for existing transportation requirements,” Borowec said, adding the project stemmed from the local loss of the VIA Rail 651 morning commuter train.

Listen to more comments from Dan Borowec below: