FERGUS-ELORA: On Friday, May 22, Township of Centre Wellington staff were joined by the County among other community members at the Grand River Raceway to launch the Downtown Shuttle Program for another year of operation.
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- Members of the community are excited to get the Downtown Shuttle back on route | Mik Horvath
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- Signage for the first stop on the route | Mik Horvath
The downtown transit service actually started operations for 2026 last Friday and bus operator, Gary Hotchkiss, said this program is the groundwork for a successful public transit system.
On top of the accessibility a transit service provides for the community, the fare is also completely free.
Hotchkiss has been driving buses for around 18 years with Ayr Coach Lines, he said this route is not as vast as a Guelph-Toronto connection for example, but it is just as significant.
Hotchkiss getting comfortable in the driver’s seat | Mik Horvath
The Downtown Shuttle runs Friday-Sunday from 11:00 a.m. until 5 p.m., and will have a scheduled frequency of a bus every hour with 10 stops throughout downtown Elora and Fergus.
Centre Wellington Mayor, Shawn Watters, said the need for transit has been made apparent by the growing communities.
Mayor Shawn Watters conversing with the “passengers” of the shuttle media launch | Mik Horvath
Much like the shuttle’s previous years of operation, the 2026 route has been sponsored by local businesses who are looking to directly support the community.
Eric Davis of SV Law said supporting a service such as the Downtown Shuttle is a great way of helping out the locals.
Another shuttle sponsor is Nexans and their manager of human resources, Whitney Polkiewicz, said sponsoring the shuttle directly supports the local economy.
Other sponsors include the County of Wellington, Grand River Agricultural Society and the Centre Wellington Chamber of Commerce.
