Financial pressures that are eligible for reimbursement under this program include both financial pressures associated with the need to continue to operate with reduced revenue and new expenses resulting from COVID-19:

• Reduced revenue would include pressures related to, at the ministry’s sole discretion, the following:

  • Farebox;

  • Advertising;

  • Parking; and

  • Contracts (e.g., school contracts)

• New expenses incurred in response to the COVID-19 outbreak would include, at the ministry’s sole discretion, the following:

  • Cleaning costs [costs not claimed as part of MTO’s dedicated cleaning funding program];

  • New contracts;

  • Labour costs;

  • Driver protection;

  • Passenger protection; and

  • Other capital costs.

The ministry program area will consult with transit stakeholders to continue to refine eligible program expenses.

Municipal Transit Funding Phase 1: Immediate Funding

I am pleased to share that the City of Windsor (“Recipient”) will receive $6,345,626 to support your COVID-19 municipal transit pressures for Phase 1, incurred from April 1, 2020 to September 30, 2020.

Please note that the Recipient is accountable for using this funding for the purpose of addressing the Recipient’s COVID-19 municipal transit pressures.

The Recipient is required to report back, using a template to be provided by the ministry, to the province by October 30, 2020 with details on the use of the Phase 1 funds and a forecast of eligible expenditures to March 31, 2021.

If the amount of funding allocated in Phase 1 exceeds the Recipient’s COVID-19 municipal transit pressures, the province’s expectation is that the Recipient will place the excess funding into a reserve account to be accessed to support Phase 2 COVID-19 municipal transit pressures the Recipient may continue to incur up to March 31, 2021.