PORTERS
LAKE, NS, July 10, 2024 /CNW/ - MusGo Rider Eastern
Shore will purchase five new vehicles after a combined investment
of $445,933 from the federal and
provincial governments.
This was announced by Parliamentary Secretary Darrell Samson, the Honourable Kent
Smith, and Colin Cameron, MusGo
Rider Board Chair. MusGo Rider Cooperative is a non-profit
organization that provides affordable transportation to residents
living on the Eastern Shore of the Halifax Regional Municipality.
It operates two branches: MusGo Rider Eastern Shore and MusGo Rider
Valley-Sheet Harbour.
With this investment, MusGo Rider Eastern Shore will purchase
four hybrid vans, including one that is wheelchair accessible, and
one electric vehicle. Three of these vehicles will replace three of
their gas vehicles while the other two will help them expand their
pre-booked door-to-door transit service. These new vehicles will
not only reduce MusGo Rider's greenhouse gas emissions but also
help ever more residents between East Preston, Lawrencetown and Ship Harbour easily get around their
community.
Quotes
"Organizations like MusGo Rider make our communities stronger by
making the lives of rural Nova Scotians better. We are proud to
partner with this organization to help even more people on the
Eastern Shore get around safely, comfortably, and affordably, and
to support MusGo Rider in reducing their carbon footprint as they
do so."
Darrell Samson, Parliamentary
Secretary to the Minister of Rural Economic Development and
Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities
Agency and Member of Parliament for
Sackville–Preston–Chezzetcook, on behalf of the Honourable
Sean Fraser, Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and
Communities
"Many Nova Scotians depend on community transit, especially in
our more rural communities. Improving access to these services is
important to ensure people can get where the need to, when they
need to. The Province is proud to support organizations like MusGo
Rider to provide this much needed service in their community."
The Honourable Kent Smith, Minister of Fisheries and
Aquaculture and Member of the Legislative Assembly for the Eastern
Shore
"A huge debt of gratitude to the Federal, Provincial and
Municipal governments for recognizing the importance of affordable
public transit to residents of our rural communities on the Eastern
Shore and for supporting MusGo Rider's commitment to transitioning
to more environmentally friendly transportation solutions in order
to reduce our carbon emissions."
Colin Cameron, MusGo Rider
Board Chair
Quick Facts
- The federal government is investing $356,746 in this project through the Rural
Transit Solutions Fund (RTSF), and the Government of Nova Scotia is contributing up to $89,187. Federal funding is conditional on the
signing of a contribution agreement.
- The RTSF helps Canadians living in rural and remote areas get
around their communities more easily. It supports the development
of rural transit solutions, including new transit service models
that could be replicated or scaled up.
- The RTSF's Capital Projects stream helps cover capital costs
like the purchase of vehicles or digital platforms, as well as
support for the purchase of zero-emission vehicles. Eligible
applicants were able to seek contributions of up to $3 million to help cover the capital costs of a
new or expanded transit solution (e.g., purchase of vehicles or
digital platforms), and up to $5
million to support zero-emission transit solutions (e.g.,
for the purchase of a zero-emission vehicle(s)). This stream closed
on February 28, 2024.
- The RTSF's Planning and Design Projects continuous intake
remains open. Through this stream, eligible applicants can receive
a grant up to $50,000 in support of a
communities' projects to plan and design a new or expanded transit
solution for their communities. Some examples of eligible Planning
and Design Projects activities are assessment of routes and modes
of travel, feasibility studies, public and stakeholder engagement
and surveys.
- A minimum of 10% of RTSF's funding is allocated to projects
that benefit Indigenous populations and communities.
- One in five Canadians live in rural communities. Rural
communities in Canada account for
nearly 30% of the nation's gross domestic product.
- The RTSF complements Canada's
strengthened climate plan: A Healthy Environment and a Healthy
Economy. Through the plan the federal government has committed to
providing federal funding for public transit in support of making
clean and affordable transportation available in every
community.
- Since 2015, the federal government has committed over
$30 billion for public transit and
active transportation projects. These historic investments have
resulted in close to 2000 projects across the country.
- The funding announced today builds on the federal government's
work through the Atlantic Growth Strategy to create well-paying
jobs and strengthen local economies.
Associated Links
Rural Transit Solutions Fund
https://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/rural-trans-rural/index-eng.html
Strengthened Climate Plan
https://www.canada.ca/en/services/environment/weather/climatechange/climate-plan/climate-plan-overview.html
Federal infrastructure investments in Nova Scotia
https://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/plan/prog-proj-ns-eng.html
Follow us on
Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn
Web: Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada
SOURCE Department of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities