If you're catching the bus in St. Catharines in the new year, you may not notice anything different. At least, not right away. But, behind the scenes changes are happening to help improve the day-to-day lives of the people living and St. Catharines and help drive economic growth in our community.
On Jan. 1, 2023, the Niagara Transit Commission launched Niagara Region Transit, a new consolidated transit system in the region. Niagara Region Transit is the result of an effort from Niagara Region and the 12 local municipalities to connect all of Niagara by combining the existing public transit systems from across Niagara into one transit operator.
Access to safe, affordable and environmentally-friendly public transportation helps creates more opportunities for businesses, residents and visitors.
The new Niagara Region Transit facilitates better access to jobs and services in Niagara, opening up new options for residents in neighbouring municipalities, and new markets for businesses. In addition, it will provide residents with more sustainable and environmentally-friendly public transit options which will help our local environment by reducing traffic congestion and greenhouse gas emissions.
Although riders will not experience any changes to bus routes, schedules, OnDemand and specialized transit services, they might see a change in fare prices and technology helping to align transit fares and services across Niagara.
Having one transit system will prepare Niagara for the future by ensuring transit options can scale up to meet the needs of our growing population and job market. One transit system also supports the expansion and connectivity of GO Transit service to the region.
More from the blog
Major investments jump-start both ends of the Welland Canal
New energy is being channeled into the Welland Canal by major government investments in Port Colborne and St. Catharines.
Largest Great Lakes fleet makes home port in Niagara
At the core of many of the products Canadians take for granted are the fingerprints of Canada’s largest Great Lakes shipping fleet. Algoma Central, headquartered in downtown St. Catharines, owns a fleet of 84 ships, 29 of which carry domestic cargo. Those ships carry an outsized share of cargo through Niagara’s Welland Canal. In 2022 alone, 41% of the domestic tonnage that passed through the Canal was carried by Algoma.
Apply now for 2023 Digital Main Street grants
Eligible brick-and-mortar small businesses in St. Catharines can apply for $2,500 digital transformation grants from Digital Main Street.
FedDev Ontario invests $4 million to increase production at St. Catharines manufacturer
The Honourable Filomena Tassi, Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), announced an investment of nearly $4 million for St. Catharines-based FBT Inc., a family-owned advanced manufacturer of precision machine components and parts, for upgrades that will to increase its machine components and parts production by 75 percent, create 40 skilled jobs and support domestic manufacturing capacity for southern Ontario’s leading EV manufa...