North Grenville is getting funding from the provincial government to put towards the municipality’s transit system and better connect residents to Ottawa. NG Transit has been in service for about a year and a half, working as an on-demand bus for residents. There is currently just one bus, but demand for NG Transit exceeded the municipality’s initial expectations. With $719,000 in funding on the way from the Ontario Transit Investment Fund (OTIF), the service will be able to expand to add a second bus with a route to the Limebank LRT Station in Ottawa’s south end. According to North Grenville Mayor Nancy Peckford, thousands of North Greenville residents commute to Ottawa for work. The municipality has a population of just under 20,000. “There is a need to commute, even in a hybrid work environment,” said Peckford. “We knew we had an opportunity here to fill in a gap.” The second NG Transit bus, expected to be operational sometime this fall, will run commuter service to the LRT station in the mornings and evenings, according to officials. “It would certainly make my commute a lot faster,” said Haleigh McKenzie, a North Grenville resident who works in downtown Ottawa. She and her husband are both public servants who typically drive to Barrhaven and take an OC Transpo bus downtown. Once NG Transit’s new route is in place, residents like McKenzie will be first in line to use it. “It would definitely be really helpful for me to get downtown faster,” McKenzie says. During other hours, it will act as a second on-demand bus for the North Grenville area. NG Transit costs adults $5.00. Youth between the ages of 12 and 19 can ride for $3.00, and children under 12 ride free. More details to come.
