Huron Shores Area Transit is describing 2025 as a turning point year, as the rural transit system moved from what officials call a pilot project into a permanently funded regional network connecting communities across Lambton Shores, South Huron, Bluewater and beyond, including key local stops in Exeter, Grand Bend, Bayfield and Goderich.
Transit Coordinator Susan Mills says the shift represents a major milestone in the system’s short history, and a fundamental change in how HSAT plans for the future.
"I always consider it sort of like a graduation," Mills said, explaining how the service has evolved since launching during the COVID-19 period. "Before we were a pilot project to see if transit would work in the area. And even with 2020-2021 being COVID years, I think we’ve proven that transit is needed and wanted in the area."
The 2025 annual report outlines how HSAT secured roughly $4.7 million in combined provincial, municipal, First Nation, and fare-based funding through 2030, giving the system long-term stability after several years of uncertainty.
Mills says that stability changes everything.
"Definitely an improvement," she said. "This time last year, sort of the first quarter, we didn’t know if we were even going to be around. Grants had been applied for, discussions were being had, budgets were being hashed out, but we really hadn’t received the final word."
She says that uncertainty had a direct impact on how the service operated, particularly when it came to marketing, planning and long-term expansion.
"There was a lot of uncertainty and that meant we really couldn’t promote the system," Mills said. "We couldn’t make any plans to move forward. It was sort of a pause."
With funding now secured, HSAT says it is shifting focus toward rebuilding ridership, improving infrastructure and refining service design across its three-route network.
The system delivered just over 21,000 passenger trips in 2025, a decline of nearly 18 per cent compared to the previous year. HSAT attributes much of that drop to reduced international student travel tied to changes at Lambton College, along with a temporary pause in advertising and public outreach during the funding transition period.
Mills says the decline was noticeable, but not unexpected, and largely concentrated on Route 1, which connects Sarnia, Lambton Shores and Grand Bend.
"It really has more to do with the federal cap on international students," she said. "Lambton College was the first cap was like 35 per cent, and then there was an additional cap after that. That’s where we saw a drop of about 4,000 rides on that route."
She noted that similar trends were seen across other rural transit systems in the region that rely heavily on student ridership.
"We’re not the only transit agency that experienced that situation," Mills said. "Anybody that had a lot of ridership that would be university or college students experienced the same phenomenon."
Even with the decline, HSAT says service levels remained steady, including continued connections through South Huron, Bluewater, and into Goderich, with Route 3 linking Grand Bend, Bayfield, Zurich, Hensall, and Goderich.
That Route 3 corridor is now at the centre of one of HSAT’s biggest planning questions for the next phase of service.
The system is currently examining whether the route should shift from a fixed schedule to an on-demand model, designed to better match rural travel patterns.
Mills says the idea is to improve access in areas where traditional fixed-route service doesn’t always line up with how people actually need to travel.
"We’re trying to increase service for our Route 3, which runs through Bluewater," she said. "Over the last five years, the hours of service have been somewhat artificially suppressed because we only have the two buses."
That limitation has meant service has largely been confined to specific days and afternoons, which Mills says doesn’t always work for commuters or residents trying to connect between smaller communities and larger hubs like Exeter, Grand Bend or onward to Sarnia and London.
"So what we’re trying to do is take the hours that we do have and spread them across potentially seven days," she said. "It would look like an on-demand system where you can pre-book your trip."
In practical terms, that could mean riders booking trips in advance for pickup at a bus stop (or even at the end of a driveway) with service operating more like a localized rideshare system under HSAT’s authority.
"It’s something that you can pre-book your trip and then you can travel," Mills said. "So for someone who needs to get to Exeter, for instance, or down to Grand Bend to catch Route 2, they could book that ride at a certain time window."
She says the goal is to improve what transit planners often call "first mile, last mile" service, making it easier for rural residents to connect into the broader network.
"It would mean that we would be able to service hopefully more people in more locations," Mills said. "Providing greater geographic coverage for Bluewater and therefore, with increased access, more ridership."
Beyond service changes, HSAT is also working through infrastructure upgrades across the region, including new shelters, benches and solar lighting installations funded through federal transit programs.
Stops in communities like Bayfield and Goderich are among those identified for improvements, alongside Grand Bend and Exeter, as part of a broader effort to modernize transit access points and increase visibility of the system.
Looking ahead, Mills says success will ultimately be measured not just in infrastructure or funding stability, but in whether the system can grow its ridership base and reduce reliance on municipal contributions.
"I would say success is increased advertising revenue for us to offset some of the cost of the system," she said, "so that there isn’t any further expense for our transit partners."
She also pointed to a long-term ridership target identified in the system’s original planning work.
"And also reaching our 35,000 rides per year," Mills said. "Which the original transit consultant that provided the planning for Huron Shores Area Transit said would be the level at which the system was really sustainable."
For now, she says the focus is on rebuilding awareness after a year in which marketing was significantly reduced.
"We couldn’t promote the system," Mills said. "Now we can focus back on the system and get back to building the ridership."
And for residents across the region (from South Huron through Exeter, out to Bayfield and Goderich) she says the message is simple: the system is here to stay, and it’s ready to grow.
