Getting from Old Town to Glendale could be as easy as hopping on a bus as soon as next year.
Niagara-on-the-Lake could see its first scheduled bus service as early as 2026 and a community bus by 2035, thanks to the Niagara Transit Commission approving in principle a new 10-year master plan last week.
The plan outlines proposed transit changes and expansions across the region through 2035.
It was approved in principle on June 17, which means the commission supports the overall direction of the plan, but isn’t locked into specific timelines or spending, says general manager Carla Stout. Each year will depend on budget approval and ridership data.
The new regional route connecting Old Town to the outlet mall and Niagara College area could launch as early as 2026, if Niagara Region council approves the first stage of the plan when it’s proposed to the board of directors this fall.
So, the need for Microtransit, the current shared-ride transit service running in town, to connect with other routes to places like Niagara Falls and St. Catharines would be eliminated or significantly shortened.
“Ultimately, it will shorten Microtransit trips and put people on buses,” said Stout.
Stout said the regional route will be more reliable, since buses run on a set schedule, unlike Microtransit, which can’t always be depended on due to high demand.
If ridership grows, NOTL could get its own local bus service by the final, third stage of the plan, between 2031 and 2035, she said.
“Like a local bus in and around Niagara-on-the-Lake itself,” she said. “A community bus.”
But, Stout said, this is all pending budget approval — and for 2026, Niagara Transit must stay within a certain budget cap, set by the region.
The region has advised its agencies, boards, commissions and departments that their budgets can’t exceed 3.5 per cent, she said.
“Currently, my budget is $60 million,” she said. “I cannot add, for 2026, more than 3.5 per cent of $60 million.” This would equal $2.1 million.
That cap limits what can be done next year, she said.
“It will be challenging if we are to include anything from the master plan,” said Stout. “It’s really going to be up to the board and up to regional council to decide their comfortability with investment.”
The commission presented four options during public consultations in January and February, each outlining a different level of service and investment.
“Pretty much anybody who was anybody had an opportunity to have a say,” said Stout.
These four options, in order, included: minimal change with small investment; some change with small investment; major changes with the best transit access and major investment; and major changes with investment balanced across municipalities.
“What was decided on was kind of a hybrid of options three and four,” Stout said.
Some parts of the third option were popular with riders, some weren’t — and the same went for option four, she said.
Coun. Maria Mavridis, council representative for Niagara Transit, voiced support for option three when NOTL council discussed Niagara Transit’s annual report and commingled stats last month.
For the second stage of the plan, from 2028 to 2031, “there’s not a lot on the docket as the plan currently has,” said Stout.
But she said expanded regional routes and new GO station connections planned for stage two could broaden travel options for NOTL residents across the region.
The exact stops and routes for the town’s first local bus service — expected in stage three if ridership increases and funding is approved — haven’t been decided yet, Stout said.
“We’re really going to be working with the local area municipalities to understand where these routes make sense,” she said.
Draft maps in the June 17 board presentation show some possible future lines of service, but Stout said the commission hasn’t finalized the service design for local routes.
The presentation can be found on the commission’s website, at nrtransit.ca/about-niagara-transit/roadmap, then by finding “Niagara TMP – Board Presentation – Final 1” under the “documents” section of the “master plan project” page.
Regardless of the service’s design, Stout said the plan is about preparing for growth so people can get anywhere in Niagara “comfortably and quickly.”
One example of something that could still change with the plan is major infrastructure investments, she said.
“A big budget item is the expansion of garages,” Stout said. “Those are subject to budget approval.”
The region aims to expand its services in small, manageable steps that all come together, she said.
“We wouldn’t put a community bus out in a community that we don’t have a regional bus to,” she said. “We have to do it purposefully, and then we also have to do it affordably.”
A public awareness campaign with online and in-person sessions will begin in August, which Stout said will help explain what the transit plan means for each community to residents.
“Just educating the public and our ridership about what this plan looks like,” she said.
“So they can get a bit excited about it too.”
Dates, times and locations for the sessions are to come.
The commission will present its proposed 2026 budget to its board of directors in September and bring it before regional council on Nov. 27 to decide which parts of the first stage — including the new NOTL route — will be approved for funding next year.
