Residents have been asking to be involved in the rural transit system since it started

Heather Wright/The Independent

Rural transit is coming to Plympton-Wyoming.

The town will soon partner with Lambton Shores, Bluewater and Kettle and Stony Point with the Huron Shores Transit System.

The buses began running the roads of North Lambton in 2020, taking residents into Sarnia for school and medical appointments and bringing workers to jobs in communities such as Grand Bend. Last year, over 25,000 people used Huron Shores Transit.

Plympton-Wyoming Mayor Gary Atkinson says his residents have been keeping a watchful eye on the project, particularly those who live close to Forest.

“We’ve had people for, well, ever since it started, who have been coming to us wanting to be involved,” he said.

Plympton-Wyoming CAO Adam Sobanski says the town started talking to Lambton Shores – the municipality which runs the system – for about a year-and-a-half, expressing an interest to be involved.  April 8, Lambton Shores council gave the green light for the town to be involved. 

It won’t be a free ride however.

The rural bus service was originally set up with a $3 million grant. That grant is running out. So Lambton Shores hopes to secure $2 million per year for the next five years through the Ontario Transit Infrastructure Fund.
That fund will cover only half of the operational costs. 

The rest will come from the provincial gas tax grant and the communities which use the system.

Last month, Lambton Shores put up $50,000 to keep the service running while the municipality worked out the details of the grant. Officials said at that time the transit system may need to explore “opportunities to potentially expand.”

Sobanski says while nothing is official yet, Plympton-Wyoming will contribute $8,300 per year for the next five years. 

“As the town will be providing public transit services, we will be eligible for the public transit portion of the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund. That grant will be directed towards funding the Huron Shores Transit System,” he says in an email to The Independent.

That’s far less than the other partners; Lambton Shores will provide $72,000 per year while Bluewater has committed to $42,000 per year to keep the Huron Shores system on the roads. The group is also seeking funding from the Kettle and Stony Point community.

While some of the details have been worked out, Sobanski says there is still more to be done.

“I will be meeting with Lambton Shores to work out the details on the start date and potential stop locations in the next week or so,” he said. 

Mayor Atkinson says the group is leaning toward a stop near the 402 for easy access.

Sobanski adds Lambton Shores is still waiting for conformation that the system will continue to receive provincial support in addition to the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund and he says  “All signs are positive at this time.”