Route 751 restores hourly bus service in Fort Erie starting Monday

Starting Monday, residents can take Route 751 across town or to the Niagara Falls Costco through Niagara Transit’s hourly Fort Erie bus service.

The route restores fixed-bus service in Fort Erie five years after the town replaced its local buses with on-demand microtransit vans in 2021, after ridership grew beyond what the van-based system could handle efficiently.

Niagara Transit projects Route 751 will remove up to 65,000 trips a year from the van network and open more capacity for riders in Ridgeway, Crystal Beach and Black Creek.

Niagara Transit held a ribbon-cutting Friday at Fort Erie Central Fire Station before Route 751 starts scheduled service April 27.

Carla Stout, Niagara Transit general manager, told Fort Erie Radio the route was built using five years of local trip data gathered through the former on-demand system, then analyzed over several months by Niagara Transit staff and a Brock University co-op student who helped map the most efficient route.

“It wasn’t just, ‘Well, that’s what we think people want to go to.’ We actually knew,” said Stout. “Fort Erie was ready for a bus.”

Stout said Fort Erie recorded about 100,000 microtransit van trips last year through Niagara Transit Plus, and residents living within walking distance of Route 751 account for roughly 60,000 of those trips.

The route will run 16 hours a day with two buses operating hourly loops through the Bridgeburg, Old Fort Erie, Garrison, Lakeshore and Crescent Park neighbourhoods, with main hubs at the Smart Centre on Garrison Road by the Walmart, Fort Erie town hall and the Fort Erie Public Library’s Centennial branch.

Stout says Route 751 buses will switch to Route 22 at town hall and continue to the Costco in Niagara Falls, allowing riders to stay on the same bus without needing to transfer. There is also a stop at the Douglas Memorial urgent care centre in Fort Erie.

Mat Siscoe, chair of the Niagara Transit Commission and mayor of St. Catharines, said the service reflects the region’s transit growth plan.

“Residents will have a reliable route that connects them to the key shopping centres, the community hubs, the schools, the neighbourhoods, the soon-to-open South Niagara Hospital without having to change buses,” said Siscoe.

Mayor Wayne Redekop said the return is an important step forward for residents who cannot rely on private vehicles.

“Many of us don’t use the bus, but we do have an appreciation of how important it is for all of those individuals who don’t have a driver’s licence, or the ability to acquire a vehicle and pay for the insurance and all the other costs associated with it,” said Redekop.

He also pressed for future expansion westward through Ridgeway and Crystal Beach, where on-demand vans will remain the primary service for now.

“I look forward to Route 752 at the other end of the town,” said Redekop.

Stout said Niagara Transit is watching Route 751 closely for ridership and rider feedback, viewing Fort Erie as a pilot program for similar community bus routes in smaller Niagara municipalities, and expansion will depend on municipal and regional funding approvals.

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