If a proposed regional bus route connecting Sarnia to London moves forward, it will likely do so without support from Plympton-Wyoming. On October 8, Plympton-Wyoming council rejected a request from Middlesex County Connect to contribute funding toward an expanded inter-community transit service. The proposal would see a stop added in Camlachie as part of a route that currently links London, Strathroy, and Sarnia—a service set to lose provincial funding in 2026.
Plympton-Wyoming was asked to contribute $44,000 over five years, but council opted instead to focus on improving its existing transit connection through Huron Shores Area Transit, which serves Sarnia, Wyoming, Forest, and Grand Bend.
Meanwhile, Sarnia City Council will decide on October 20 whether to approve its share of funding—$380,000 over five years—to support the Middlesex County Connect proposal. Lambton County is also being asked to contribute, with a proposed investment of $423,000 over five years.
If approved, the expanded service would continue the route managed by Strathroy-Caradoc and add a fourth line connecting Sarnia to London, with stops in Strathroy-Caradoc, Lambton Mall, and the Bayside Terminal in Sarnia.
Middlesex County Connect currently operates three inter-community routes, linking Lucan, Woodstock, St. Thomas, Dorchester, and surrounding areas with London. The total cost to sustain and expand the network to include a fourth route is estimated at $6.8 million, with half covered by Ontario’s Transit Investment Fund, according to a staff report by Middlesex County CAO Bill Jackson.