Whitehorse, Yukon, June 4, 2010 - The City of Whitehorse has taken possession of four new, low-floor buses, making its fleet 100 per cent accessible, Whitehorse Mayor Bev Buckway announced.
"Thanks to the federal Gas Tax initiative, we are now able to offer our citizens with disabilities accessible buses on every route at every time," said Mayor Buckway. "This is a great accomplishment for the City of Whitehorse and we are grateful to the Government of Canada for the funding to make this possible."
The four buses were built by Nova Bus of St. Eustache, Quebec at a cost of $420,152 each, for a total of $1,680,608. A total of $900,000 of the total purchase price came from the federal Gas Tax Fund. The City took possession of the new buses on May 27, 2010.
"These new buses will make a difference in Whitehorse and help make public transit available to everybody," said the Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Health, Regional Minister responsible for the Territories, and Member of Parliament for Nunavut. "Through the federal Gas Tax Fund, the Government of Canada provides stable, long-term funding that can help communities build the infrastructure they need to improve their sustainability."
The new low floor buses complement a number of other initiatives going on in Whitehorse to improve accessibility for disabled persons, including the installation of accessible lifts in City Hall and the Mount McIntyre Recreation Centre, the installation of audible traffic signals for the visually impaired and closed captioning of City Council meetings.
"Today's announcement is a good example of three governments working together to deliver a wide range of benefits to citizens," Minister of Community Services Archie Lang said. "The City of Whitehorse excels in its dedication to accessible services."
The federal Gas Tax Fund, which is set to become a permanent program beyond 2014, provides funding for community infrastructure such as drinking water and wastewater systems, roads and bridges, public transit and other environmentally sustainable infrastructure projects.
Contact:
Matthew Grant
Executive Assistant to the City Manager
867-668-8616
matthew.grant@whitehorse.ca
Infrastructure Canada
613-948-1148
