‘It’s not a cost recovery model right now’: Some money-losing rural transit buses get millions more from the province

Millions of dollars in funding were announced for rural bus routes in Middlesex County on Wednesday. Sean Irvine reports.

The province arrived in Middlesex County on Wednesday to announce cash for transit services between rural and urban centres.

At least one local politician tells CTV News the money is needed to keep some services, especially rural busing, afloat.

Middlesex County Warden Susan Clarke’s comment came after Ontario’s transportation minister confirmed he is doubling the amount of cash the Ford government gives to rural transit services.

“We’re increasing funding from $5 million to $10 million a year over the next three years, for a total investment of $30 million,” said Prabmeet Sarkaria inside a Middlesex County operations centre near Strathroy.

While Middlesex County learned late last year it would receive almost $3.5 million under the program, the minister officially announced the broader provincial commitment on Wednesday.

Clarke concedes that the cash injection is needed. She says regional transit buses have yet to fully catch on, years after their debut.

At that time, CTV News discovered some buses operating around the City of London were empty or had only one or two passengers.

However, 2025 Middlesex County figures show ridership is trending upward. Fourteen thousand people took a ride last year, an increase of 3,000 from 2024.

Still, the service is operating at a loss.

“It’s not a cost recovery model right now,” said Clarke. “We need the provincial assistance to make it viable.”

Sarkaria says the buildup is not unexpected.

“We always expect in the initial phase that it might be a little slower. But then we look at the year after on the build-up of it, and how it progresses,” he said.

Clarke tells CTV News that a public/private partnership is being discussed with firms that benefit from transit stops near their businesses.

But ultimately, she says an upward trend in ridership is the only path to sustainability.

“Within the next couple of years, we’d better start seeing a return on investment because that is what people expect,” she said.