Women’s Institute presents funds to help keep County transit rolling

The Prince Edward District Women’s Institute presented the municipality with $3,000 toward the operation of accessible transportation Wednesday night – an annual contribution that tallies $149,000 since 2008.

The service, contracted through Quinte Access, provides seniors and people with mobility issues with door-to-door transportation, allowing them to get to and from medical appointments, work and school, social events, day-to-day errands and more throughout Prince Edward County and beyond.

Ridership has grown steadily throughout the years with more than 1,000 users. There are six buses providing door-to-door service daily four days a week. Currently, the service – which is made possible financially by the Women’s Institute, the municipality, user fees, and Ontario’s gas tax program – provides nearly 10,000 trips each year.

“The Prince Edward District Women’s Institute takes great pleasure in presenting $3,000 to council as our continued support for accessible transportation,” said Kim de Bruin, Chair, Prince Edward District Women’s Institute. “We are pleased that we are able to make this donation despite the pandemic. We were not able to hold our Arts and Craft sale for two years, which is our main fundraiser event; however, this past summer we were able to host another successful sale. We would like to thank all the vendors, customers and volunteers as well as all our Women’s Institute members for their continued support and making it possible to make this presentation.”

The Women’s Institute was instrumental in the launch of the program in 2007 with a $100,000 donation over the first five years and continued to donate $5,000 each year over the years, to the County and Quinte Access, raising funds primarily through their annual Art and Craft Sale.