The Niagara Transit Commission met last week to receive the General Manager’s 2024 Annual Report.
Carla Stout, the General Manager, delivered a presentation on the report, noting that the report is essentially a report card on how Niagara Transit performs each year.
In terms of achieving service excellent, Stout noted in her presentation that Niagara Transit had a record of delivering on-time service 83 per cent of the time in 2024, which is four percentage points higher than the provincial average.
Stout noted that Niagara Transit is taking delivery of both new conventional buses and specialized vehicles in 2025 and hopes to see on-time numbers increase even further this year.
In terms of ridership, the report notes there has been a dramatic increase in ridership since transit in Niagara Region was amalgamated in 2022. Ridership has increased by well over 80 per cent since amalgamation.
Stout argued that more money from the Region will be needed to meet this increased demand. Funding has increased at a much slower rate than ridership.
Niagara Transit also launched a new brand in 2024, starting a transition so that all fleets that were formerly part of smaller municipalities are ultimately branded as part of Niagara Transit.
Furthermore, Niagara Transit launched new specialized operator training in 2024, which is a three-day training program that includes all operators that provide specialized service. This training includes safe vehicle operation, best practices for loading and unloading ambulatory and non-ambulatory passengers, as well as how to assist passengers with mobility, speech, visual, and development and or psychological impairments.
In terms of safety, Niagara Transit installed cameras across the entire fleet in 2024. Niagara Transit’s customer safety satisfaction scores were also higher than the Canadian average. In 2024, over 90 per cent of Niagara Transit riders said they felt safe using the service, which exceeds the 86 per cent Canadian national average.
In 2024, Niagara Transit also rolled out a new Customer Experience Department, with 13 dedicated customer service representatives introduced to improve accountability, communications, and customer support. The introduction of this service saw a 229 per cent increase in trip booking calls and a 191 per cent increase in general customer service inquiries.
In terms of what Niagara Transit plans to do next in 2025, the organization plans to finalize its first ever Transit Master Plan for Niagara. This plan will, according to Niagara Transit, guide how the organization moves forward over the next decade. This plan will be finalized in the fall.
As well, the Transit Benefit Pass will be launched in Niagara this year for the first time, on July 1. It is a low-cost, monthly pass to support those on Ontario Works, those in the Ontario Disability Support Program, or those meeting a low-income threshold. Niagara Transit estimates this will allow for roughly 50,000 additional residents to be able to utilize the service.
Finally, Niagara Transit will be harmonizing fares this year. The new fare for all trips will be $3.50, effective on July 1. Fares have not been fully harmonized yet, and this has been a goal set out since amalgamation in 2022.
Jay Goldberg is the Ontario Director at the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. He previously served as a policy fellow at the Munk School of Public Policy and Global Affairs. Jay holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Toronto.
