There has been a lot of talk over the last couple of years about getting serious about Regional Transit, a unified transit system in Niagara. Unfortunately it has become a bloated mess and the original goals have been confounded by differing opinions about direction. I know many graduates of Brock University like myself were hoping for one thing - an affordable Region-wide pass.
An affordable region-wide transit pass. This could be a very easy goal that doesn't involve changing any of the organizations, in fact it also means that the legal conundrum about the region getting involved in transit (a service that was delegated to the cities when the region was founded). Of course it would be grand to get a Coach Canada Subsidy for Grimsby from the region, and it would be nice to service NOTL and Wainfleet - but these are currently the complications that are getting in the way of maintaining ridership.
There is a tax credit, the rates are already pretty low compared to other transit systems, but it is not competing well with the two biggest sources of competition - personal automobiles and walking/cycling. It is great when people are able to travel by their own power - but for the people with visual impairments that limit their ability to drive, and the unemployed who need to go farther to work when they cannot afford a vehicle on low wages and few hours this system is failing. With a stable pass for inter-municipal travel these people could access funds from local charities or Ontario Works which will not buy multiple passes so that the people can work in St. Catharine (More jobs) and live in Welland (lower cost of living).
I was a student, I was unemployed, and I am a cyclist in the warmer months. I have personally felt the successes and failures of an indifferent transit reform. And before any politician tries to use the successes as a scapegoat for tighter municipal budgets or cutting services I want people in Niagara to know that they could have made it possible for transit to make more money and chose not to for another year.
