Milton’s growing population will soon benefit from a major boost to its public transit infrastructure, with more than $7.2 million in federal funding secured through the baseline funding stream of the Canada Public Transit Fund.
The funding, which will be delivered over 10 years from 2026 to 2036, will provide stable financial support to upgrade and modernize the Town’s transit network.
“Expanding and modernizing our local public transit network will ensure that more residents can get to where they need to go, when they need to go, in particular, making sure that they can get to hubs like the Milton mall or transit, various schools, or increasingly, to university and college,” said MP Adam van Koeverden at Milton Town Hall Monday (Jan. 13).
Mayor Gord Krantz echoed the importance of the investment in encouraging residents to choose sustainable transportation. “Getting people like you and I out of our cars is really what this is all about. It's great to partner with the federal government,” he said.
Milton’s public transit ridership recently hit a million rides, a milestone attributed to strategic service planning and the establishment of post-secondary education facilities, such as Wilfrid Laurier University and Conestoga College.
“We have around 2,000 students in the community now, which started their classes in late 2023 right throughout 2024,” said Andy Scott, the Town’s senior director of strategic initiatives. That number is expected to grow to as many as 15,000 students once the permanent campus at the Milton Education Village is complete.
Noting the value of predictable, long-term funding, Kristene Scott, the Town’s commissioner of corporate services, said the support “will allow us to improve service, expand transit and work toward launching battery-electric buses to reduce our carbon footprint.”
In addition to fleet replacement and accessibility upgrades, the Town plans to use the funding for bus acquisitions and improving connections to active transportation routes.
The Canada Public Transit Fund, the largest public transit investment in Canadian history, is designed to provide municipalities with the resources they need to deliver long-term transit solutions.