UNDERSTANDING THE NIAGARA REGIONAL TRANSIT COMMISSION

On Jan. 2, 2023, I had a call asking when the buses would begin running in Grimsby. I realized at that moment an explanation of the Niagara Regional Transit Commission was in order.

Before 2023, transit in Niagara was a mix of services provided by several levels of government to provide connections and support mobility for residents to travel to the destinations or services they required.

In late 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Intermunicipal Regional Transit Working Group collaborated with the various transit systems, which ultimately led to a one-transit system that serves all of Niagara — the Niagara Regional Transit Commission.

All cities and towns contribute to the Intermunicipal Regional Transit through the regional levy assigned to each municipality and include the combined services for Niagara

Regional Police Service, public health, community services, as well as other agencies, boards and commissions.

With the change to the Niagara Regional Transit, the 2023 transit special levy is calculated by the intermunicipal budget of $1.27 million (based on assessment) and the allocated amount to each municipality is by service hours. For Grimsby and Lincoln, this is about $407,000, coming to a total of $1.68 million, or about $124 per household. This transit special levy will appear on tax bills as a separate charge (like waste management).

The new service standardizes hours of operation across Niagara while combining specialized and on-demand services. Larger centres such as St. Catharines, Niagara Falls and Welland continue with conventional transit with smaller municipalities engaging an alternative service where the demand for service was less, but still had a need for transit services.

In West Niagara, which includes Grimsby, Pelham and Lincoln, West Lincoln and Wainfleet, there is the OnDemand service. Residents in West Lincoln and Wainfleet can schedule rides outside of their community, whereas the others can stay within their municipality or book anywhere else in Niagara.

Grimsby is the largest user of this service with more than 12,000 rides between August 2020 and May 2021. There are 14 vehicles that offer OnDemand service for West Niagara with hours of operation from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday to Saturday.

The OnDemand ride share program allows residents anywhere in Niagara to book a ride. For efficiency, the ride may be shared with others going to a similar location at a similar time. Rides are booked through the NRT OnDemand app or by calling into the NRT office.

Rides cost a set rate of $3 each within your municipality. If you travel out of your municipality, your ride will cost $6, but covers a trip regardless of how many municipalities you cross. Likewise, if you need to transfer onto a NRT bus, you ask for a transfer from your OnDemand driver and your bus fare is covered. The biggest downside to the program right now is if a rider needs to get to Hamilton region.

There are still some bugs in the service, but they are regularly evaluating the service and looking for ways to improve service.

For more information, visit nrtransit.ca.