London, Ont., and St. Thomas will be receiving boosts to their public transit systems following the latest allocations of the provincial government’s gas tax program.
The latest round of funding from the program will see the province allocate $375.6 million to 107 municipalities that deliver public transit to 142 communities. These communities represent more than 92 per cent of Ontario’s population, according to the province.
On Wednesday, Elgin-Middlesex-London MPP Jeff Yurek announced that London’s share of the pot would be $11,147,133, with St. Thomas receiving $422,877.
This year’s funding from the gas tax program was determined by the number of litres of gasoline sold in Ontario during 2021.
The funding total also included an additional one-time investment of $120.4 million from the provincial government, to make up for reduced gas sales last year. The Ontario government credits the reduction to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“Supporting public transit systems is more important than ever as communities struggle to maintain service levels during COVID-19,” said Yurek in a release attached to Wednesday’s announcement.
Ridership levels are one of the clearest indicators of COVID-19’s impact on public transit.
The latest levels on record for London Transit, which were shared during a London Transit Commission meeting in late November, showed ridership levels have been well below normal levels since March 2020.
Only in July 2021 did those levels start to inch past the 50 per cent mark, before reaching just under 60 per cent of pre-pandemic ridership levels in September, October and November of that year.
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