Community transit options will continue throughout the Municipality of Leamington.
Councillors said it was a "no brainer decision" to extend the transit services for another two years.
Council approved of the report to enter into a Transfer Payment Agreement with the Province of Ontario for a two year extension of the Community Transportation Grant Program, authorize the entering into an agreement with Transit Windsor to provide transit services for the extension of the Leamington to Windsor transit initiative, approve the use of $200,000 in Covid-19 Recovery Funding to operate the LTW, and they also approved the Director of Infrastructure Services to execute the relevant agreements to effect.
The pricing for the services will stay the same throughout the extension.
Councillor Tim Wilkinson says he's been in support of this project since the very beginning.
"Transportation is a valuable asset, just with our own buses now rolling around Leamington, I'm a big cheerleader out there for the value in public transportation."
Wilkinson says that he can't imagine how expensive it must be for students who travel to the city for school.
"This is services that enhance the quality of life for residents in Leamington, we just don't realize it yet. The price of gas, or fuel, if I had a son or daughter who attended college I'd certainly be pushing this option."
Councillor Paul Tiessen agreed that this is a program that needs to be continued, especially since it never truly had a chance before the COVID-19 pandemic.
"It's really unfortunate the effect that the events over the last two years had on this program. Things were just taking off, and I think we have to give it another chance. And I'm certainly willing to look at extending this program. You just hate to throw out a program that was just getting off the ground."
In 2019, the Municipality of Leamington entered into an agreement with the Province of Ontario to provide a long-range transit service between the Municipality of Leamington.
This program has now been extended from April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2025.