On Nov. 25, the Niagara Regional Council voted in favour of a consolidated transit system – a historic step for the region towards improving transit for Niagarans and NC students.
Niagara College President Sean Kennedy and NC Student Administrative Council (NCSAC) President Samantha Jemison were united in their message to the Niagara Regional Council at the Nov. 25 Special Council meeting.
“Sam and I wanted to present together to reinforce how strongly we feel about the students at Niagara College and Niagara College as an organization about the significance of the vote before you today,” said Kennedy. “We encourage all elected officials … to do the right thing, to move forward at this historic moment. The time for an integrated, regional transit system is now, and we need to move this across the finish line.”
“The time for an integrated, regional transit system is now.”
– President Sean Kennedy.
Presenting at the meeting virtually, Kennedy and Jemison highlighted how Niagarans – and students in particular – are disadvantaged by the current fractured and inefficient transit system.
Kennedy centered his argument around how transit impacts the “four ‘e’s'” – employment, the economy, equity, and the environment.
For one, a transit system which unifies the Niagara Region can help get workers to jobs, improve the labour shortage crisis, bolster the local economy and prosperity in the Region.
Kennedy and Jemison were firm that transit is an equity issue.
“This is about equity…. Ensuring that all Niagarans have an opportunity to get to appointments, to get to work, to get to school, to get to community events – even if they don’t have a car, and can do so in an integrated regional transit system that doesn’t take an onerous amount of time… and without it being a barrier for them to partake in those activities,” said Kennedy.
Jemison – who represents over 9,000 NC students – aptly compared the student experience with single-system transit in other nearby municipalities, and the lifestyle barriers that students in Niagara face with the current system. She highlights that students travelling across municipal borders to study in Niagara spend hours each day navigating the transit system, inhibiting them from holding part-time jobs, shopping locally, and partaking in community events.
“Seamless transit across municipal lines provides student and non-student riders with not only an increased quality of life but the ability to actively participate in Niagara’s economy,” said Jemison.
Jemison asserted that a unified transit system would be a key factor in retaining graduates in Niagara and bringing others back.
“Thank you very much to Mr. Kennedy and Miss. Jemison. Excellent presentation for us, and once again, succinct and to the point and gets the message across,” said Niagara Region Chair Jim Bradley.
At the end of the meeting, the Niagara Regional Council voted in favour of combining all of Niagara’s existing services into one single, integrated transit commission serving all of Niagara. This is an important first step in the triple majority process needed to transfer responsibility for public transit to the Region. Beginning Dec. 6, Niagara’s 12 municipalities will vote on the proposal. For the proposal for a consolidated transit system to pass, a majority must vote in favour.
For details on the next steps in the process, and to learn about the benefits of a unified regional transit system, visit the Moving Transit Forward website.
Read the Niagara Region’s Nov. 25 news release on transit.
To watch the Special Council Meeting, visit: youtu.be/xxIId3o8Z1A
NC timestamp at 21:00.
