The announcement of an influx of provincial funding to the Simcoe County coffers is planned to make it easier for residents get to medical appointments and run errands county-wide and beyond.
Simcoe County’s cut of the provincial Community Transportation Grant Program, which works out to $445,450, is earmarked to go toward the development of a ride-sharing portal where residents and agencies can sign up for a lift.
“We’re excited that we’ve been offered this funding,” said Jamie Moran, director of Ontario Works with the county and chair of the Community Transportation Working Group. “We really feel there is a niche here and an opportunity to really grow the portal to meet a segment of the population’s needs that isn’t met by municipal transit.”
The Community Transportation Working Group includes community agencies such as the Simcoe-Muskoka branch of the Canadian Red Cross, Helping Hands in Orillia and Community Reach in Midland. The portal that connects the groups will be expanded with the province’s funds and will facilitate ride sharing between agencies, but can also be used by residents who might have difficulty using regular public transit.
“For example, Red Cross might be taking someone from Simcoe County to the City of Toronto for a medical appointment. They might be taking someone one way and come back with an empty ride. The portal will allow the agencies to post rides that they might not be able to fulfill within their individual agency, that can then be picked up by other transportation agencies,” said Moran.
“This is very unique to the County of Simcoe. We’re not aware of this portal being available anywhere else in the province,” he added.
The county applied for the funding through the Ministry of Transportation. Previously, residents wanting to use the ride-sharing service would be required to contact the local agencies to sign up. Once the portal is up and running, residents will be able to sign up directly online.
“There are a lot of technical requirements to expand the usage of the portal so that residents can log in and use the system,” said Moran.
“It’s for residents who might have specific mobility issues. They may need to take oxygen with them. These agencies really meet those needs,” said Moran.
The provincial government announcement indicated that it will provide municipalities across Ontario with $30 million over five years to support local transit and inter-community bus service in areas with little or no public transit. All recipients of the funding had to apply, and the chosen applications allow for funding of 45 different projects in 40 communities.
“This investment will improve the quality of life for many people in our communities that are currently under served by transit. Whether it’s seniors, students or others, access to transit helps people get where they need to be and live active, independent lives,” said Jill Dunlop, MPP for Simcoe North in a press release.
Since the inception of the program in 2015, more than 28,000 people have used new services to make more than 105,000 trips.
