City of Red Deer and Red Deer County have received transit funding from the province.
The city received nearly $2.5 million for north and south transit terminals.
The County of Red Deer will use the $480,000 to buy a pair of small buses, shelters and intelligent transit technology should a two-year regional pilot project prove successful.
Provincial funding will cover about half the expected costs, with Red Deer County, Innisfail and Penhold covering the rest.
The 2A South Regional Transit service was rolled out in January as a pilot project to gauge the need for a bus connection from nearby communities to Red Deer’s transit system.
Buses will run weekdays, with no service on weekends or statutory holidays. Fares cost $5 per trip.
The route builds on the success of a line that connects Red Deer Transit with Red Deer County’s Gasoline Alley and Springbrook.
Red Deer County community services manager Jo-Ann Symington said the money would be used if municipalities decide that the new transit links are worth pursuing on an ongoing basis. That decision will be made after the pilot project has been running for 18 months or so.
“Any purchase would be contingent upon the success of that rural transit pilot project,” she said.