Greater Sudbury is receiving $2.62 million from Ontario's gas tax program, the province announced this week.
Sudbury is one of 107 communities receiving the funds, which are a portion of gas taxes the province collects at the pumps. The share that each municipality receives is based on a formula of 70 per cent ridership and 30 per cent population. Municipalities that contribute financially to public transit services are eligible for funding.
The largest cheque went to Toronto ($185 million), while the smallest went to Machin in northwestern Ontario ($8,684).
Transportation Minister Jeff Yurek said in a news release the goal of the program is to boost ridership on municipal transit.
“More public transit will cut through gridlock and get people moving,” Yurek is quoted as saying in the release.
This year, the province is giving $364 million in gas tax funding to communities representing more than 92 per cent of Ontario's total population.
The program provides municipalities with two cents per litre of gas tax revenues. Municipalities who accept the funds must use it for public transit capital and/or operating expenditures, at their own discretion, including upgrading transit infrastructure, increasing accessibility, purchasing transit vehicles, adding more routes and extending hours of service.
In the last 15 years, the city has received more than $35 million from the fund.
