Niagara Regional Council votes in favour of one transit system for all of Niagara

Niagara Regional Council held a special meeting Nov. 25 that pushed a proposal to combine all existing municipal transit systems into one system. 

The Regional council voted in favour of the proposal. It is the first stage in the triple majority process needed to transfer responsibility for public transit to the Region.

On the week of Dec. 6, all of Niagara’s 12 local municipalities will vote on the proposal. A majority of those councils must vote in favour of the plan for it to move forward.

Niagara Regional chair Jim Bradley says he is confident that it will move forward. 

“I’m optimistic that is going to happen, because I could see how much enthusiasm there was among regional council members and those who made presentations to council last night unanimously were in favour of proceeding with a regional transit system,” said Bradley.

The Region says the  “Moving Transit Forward” proposal is based on 10 years of research, experience, consultation and feedback. 

Bradley says he does not anticipate any job loss as a result of the change. He says the expansion of the service may create positions that need to be filled. 

The Region says a survey earlier this fall collected feedback from over 2,200 residents across Niagara. Over 79 per cent of respondents approved the proposal.

The municipalities involved in the plan would include Fort Erie, St. Catharines, Welland and Niagara Falls.