The transit coordinator for Huron Shores Area Transit has set a lofty goal for 2023.
Susan Mills says she hopes they will be able to double their ridership figures from 2022 to 2023. Mills says, as of the end of October, they've had about 7,500 passengers in 2022, compared to roughly 1,500 in all of 2021.
Mills says they've also added Strathroy as one of their stops in the past year, so that passengers can ride from Grand Bend, through Parkhill and Ailsa Craig and down into Strathroy. That allows passengers to connect with Strathroy Caradoc Transit.
Mills says route 3 goes north from Grand Bend through St. Joseph, Hensall, Zurich and Bayfield and north as far as the Walmart plaza in Goderich. Mills also notes, their current funding actually doesn't cover the cost of going as far north as Goderich, but she hopes that will change.
Mills says they're eventually looking at forming networks with other systems and one connection they'd like to make is with Perth, which has a bus that goes into St. Marys.
"So if you can get a passenger from our area into St. Marys where they can pick up VIA Rail, they can then go into Toronto or Ottawa or Montreal,” she said.
Mills says the potential for Huron Shores and the eventual creation of networks is very exciting and she says she definitely gets the sense that the province is committed to continuing to fund them. They do have funding up until March 31, 2025.
More information about the system and schedules can be found on the Huron Shores Area Transit web site.