PR-Transpo is receiving extended funding from the Ontario government.

On Monday June 28, Minister of Transportation Caroline Mulroney announced $975,000 will go toward the service in Prescott-Russell from 2023 to 2025. The new funding will carry on from the $2 million the province granted to PR-Transpo for 2018 to 2022.

The funding for PR-Transpo was part of an announcement of up to $14 million in extended funding for 38 communities providing transportation services in unserved and underserved regions across Ontario through the Community Transportation Grant Program. PR-Transpo is receiving the largest amount of extended funding among 10 services receiving grants across Eastern Ontario.

“Supporting local public transit is a priority for our government,” said Mulroney, who was visiting Prescott and Russell for the announcement.

PR-Transpo is owned and managed by the United Counties of Prescott and Russell (UCPR), but is operated under an agreement with Leduc Bus Lines of Alfred. When the service began in October 2019, it offered regular routes and stops connecting most towns and villages across the UCPR. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, service was suspended before being revived on June 15, 2021, on an on-demand basis.

“We know that our municipal partners have faced big challenges over the past year,” Mulroney said, adding local transit will play a significant part in post-pandemic economic recovery. “This is especially important now, as Ontario reopens and we return to our normal routines.”

UCPR Warden Stéphane Sarrazin said PR-Transpo service will remain on an on-demand format, even with the extra provincial funding. He highlighted the Blaise Transit software used to schedule rides for PR-Transpo on-demand users.

For the transit funding announcement, Mulroney was also joined by Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) Jim McDonell and Carleton MP Goldie Ghamari.

To find out more about PR-Transpo and how to download the Blaise Transit app, go to http://en.prescott-russell.on.ca/services/pr_transpo .