Proposed Bus Rapid Transit lanes on King Street and Wellington streets. (Supplied photo)
London is getting $204 million in federal transit infrastructure funding, but it’s not automatically for bus rapid transit.
The money, announced Monday morning, is London’s share of $33 billion in federal infrastructure funding countrywide.
“This is only the first step in the process for London’s bus rapid transit project,” said MP for London North Centre, Peter Fragiskatos.
“But this isn’t necessarily an endorsement by the government for London’s rapid transit plan,” he said.
According to Fragiskatos, the city must submit their business model to the federal government.
“We will then review the model very, very carefully before making a final decision on funding,” said Fragiskatos.
“There are elements specifically within the business model that merit close examination relating to ridership projections, and also relating to the transit travel plan that will be saved when you compare BRT to the current system,” he said.
London’s total will be exactly $204,878,184.99, and is the largest amount of money received in the region; over 12 times more than what Woodstock, Ingersoll, St. Thomas, Sarnia, West Elgin, Norfolk County and Point Edward will get combined.
Meanwhile, the province has already announced funding of $170 million, while the city’s portion is no more than $130 million.
