The future of public transportation in Okotoks has been given a shot in the arm thanks to the Provincial Government.

Through the Green Transit Initiatives Program grant the Town is eligible for a cost share grant of $2,123,333.

Okotoks Mayor Bill Robertson

Okotoks Mayor Bill Robertson says the grant gives the Town options for transit following the conclusion of the On-It Transit Project.

"The pilot funding is up for two years, following that we will then be deciding whether to go with transit on our own, within a commission it will be decided there based on the results on the analysis on this transit pilot," he says.

With a number of Okotokians using transit whether they live in major cities or not they're still eligible to be a part of the grant funding.

"Previously the government has allocated up to $800 million for the Calgary region. The book of that money goes to of course to the Calgary Transit projects and so one of Okotoks uses that infrastructure also."

The grant would only see the Town pay a fraction of the over two million dollar grant.

"We're certainly in line to receive grant funding of which we would have to pay about one third of that future cost out lay but the province through GreenTrip dollars would give us two thirds of that funding. We have given some preliminary thought but it all comes down to analysis of what makes sense."

The funding is for areas including Bus Zone upgrades, Transit Fleet and Park-N-Ride infrastructure.

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