The future of Hamilton's public transit - Page 62

omro · #**1221** Posted **Mar 23, 2009, 6:52 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by bornagainbiking

Stop ashphalt tiles and pollution of tar with light weight steel (reasonably priced).

My brother is obsessed with steel rooves.

bornagainbiking · #**1222** Posted **Mar 23, 2009, 7:08 PM**

Saw one this morning and it looked like spanish clay tile in a light tan. Check it out it can be molded in any shape and texture and at minimal weight. Can be laid directly over existing ashphalt shingles and better than cedar shake. They say it is good or guanteed for the life of the building.

omro · #**1223** Posted **Mar 23, 2009, 7:23 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by bornagainbiking

Saw one this morning and it looked like spanish clay tile in a light tan. Check it out it can be molded in any shape and texture and at minimal weight. Can be laid directly over existing ashphalt shingles and better than cedar shake. They say it is good or guanteed for the life of the building.

Last time I was out, he was pointing them out.

Sorry, total and utter tangent I know.

sofasurfer · #**1224** Posted **Mar 23, 2009, 7:58 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by omro

We have that on most London buses and all the underground trains now, but we didn't for years. Before that point we had the underground train drivers announcing and you could ask the bus driver to tell you when you were somewhere.

Sorry, gotta disagree with this: very few underground drivers made announcements of stops, IME - and although bus drivers may tell you if you asked, it wasn't an infallible system for several reasons.

Quote:

Originally Posted by omro

In the current economic climate, does this classify as a need or a want?

IIRC, I believe it was to do with accessibility in the UK, presume that's the case here.

sofasurfer · #**1225** Posted **Mar 23, 2009, 8:03 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteelTown

It's a need ordered by the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal. The money will comes from the gas tax.

I'm mostly excited by the GPS technology. In the future you'll be able to see where your bus is at on a map from a cell phone, website or at a bus stop shelter.

This was something that really worked well in London, IME (in terms of the bus stop shelter, at least)

Another thing I've noticed here: buses seem to be timed so that people can transfer without too much of a wait (indeed, I've seen buses sometimes wait so that folk can cross the street from the stop they've gotten off to get to the other - pretty much unheard of in the UK, believe me!).

I could see this tech working well so that as you come to a bus stop, you know where the next connecting bus is (and roughly how long it will be). That'd be a big service improvement, and attractive to customers...

matt602 · #**1226** Posted **Mar 24, 2009, 1:46 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteelTown

HSR gets $3.7 million communication system

March 23, 2009
By Nicole MacIntyre
Hamilton Spectator

The city is spending $3.7 million to put a new radio system on its transit fleet.

By the end of the year, every stop a city bus makes will be automatically announced by the communication system.

It will also allow the city’s transit dispatchers to keep in constant communication with bus operators.

The city’s current system is about five years overdue for replacement. It has failed four times since Christmas leaving drivers with no way to communicate in case of emergency.

“It’s a safety issue,” said Don Hull, director of transit. “It leaves the bus operators and passengers vulnerable.”

Excellent

hamiltonguy · #**1227** Posted **Mar 24, 2009, 5:07 AM**

It helps when the drivers actually phone the dispatch when trouble starts. Not after a fight has spilled out of the bus onto the street and the victim is being beat to within an inch of her life.

SteelTown · #**1228** Posted **Mar 24, 2009, 11:20 AM**

HSR buses get radio upgrade

March 24, 2009
Nicole Macintyre
The Hamilton Spectator
http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/535687

The city is spending $3.7 million to put a new radio system in its transit fleet.

By the end of the year, every stop a city bus makes will be automatically announced by the communication system.

It will also allow the city's transit dispatchers to keep in constant contact with bus operators.

The city's current system is about five years overdue for replacement.

"We're actually in a state of crisis," said Don Hull, director of transit. "It's extremely time sensitive."

The old system, installed in 1982, has failed four times since Christmas, leaving drivers with no way to communicate with the dispatcher. Hull said they've been fortunate there have been no emergencies.

"It's a safety issue," he said. "It leaves the bus operators and passengers vulnerable."

The Amalgamated Transit Union local 107 has checked out the system and is eager to see it installed to protect employees.

"We were long overdue for the new system," said union president Budh Dhillon.

In addition to dispatch communication, the radio system is needed for the city to comply with an Ontario Human Rights Commission decision requiring all transit stops to be audibly and visually announced to assist disabled passengers.

While some smaller municipalities have drivers announce stops, Hull said big cities are using more reliable automated systems. In one day, he noted, there will need to be 20,000 announcements.

Tim Nolan, chair of the city's advisory committee for persons with disabilities, said the new system will offer passengers more independence. While riders with visual impairments often memorize their usual routes, taking a bus to a new area can be daunting, he said.

"Think about what life would be like for sighted people without street signs," he said.

Councillors yesterday approved increasing the budget for the system by $500,000 after staff found the project needed to be expanded. It will be paid for by federal gas tax money.

mishap · #**1229** Posted **Mar 24, 2009, 3:20 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by hamiltonguy

It helps when the drivers actually phone the dispatch when trouble starts. Not after a fight has spilled out of the bus onto the street and the victim is being beat to within an inch of her life.

I think it helps more when the driver phones 911 first, then calls dispatch. The police could actually be showing up while he's still on the phone. Kinda like what happened three weeks ago.

LittleT · #**1230** Posted **Mar 24, 2009, 3:40 PM**

I guess it means nothing that no one informed the driver that there was a fight at the back of an artic. But as far as being beaten to an inch of her life that is not what is true and she turned down medical attention. I know because I was there.

mishap · #**1231** Posted **Mar 24, 2009, 4:39 PM**

Drivers are told that if they feel the situation warrants, they can call 911 on their cell, even before they notify dispatch on the radio. But they still have to notify dispatch, obviously. That's the way it played out that night, and that's why the girls were caught fleeing the scene.

Drivers do not have a direct line to the police, other than their phone. Anything else has to go through the dispatcher.

BTW LittleT, did you see anyone aside from the driver calling for help?

LittleT · #**1232** Posted **Mar 24, 2009, 5:44 PM**

Not at all. Actually I did not even see anyone go up and tell the driver what was going on. And everyone asked the lady if she was alright or if she wanted medical attention, which she reply that she was fine and did not want medical attention. And just so that we are all clear on who everyone was, there was the driver, about 5 passengers, the police and the inspectors that asked.

As far as I am concerned, nobody realizes how hard it is to be a driver. There is more to it then just driving. Drivers are responsable to make sure that their bus is safe and really the passengers should be trying to help out a little more, but hey what do I know.

omro · #**1233** Posted **Mar 24, 2009, 5:46 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by LittleT

I guess it means nothing that no one informed the driver that there was a fight at the back of an artic. But as far as being beaten to an inch of her life that is not what is true and she turned down medical attention. I know because I was there.

Do you know why no one tried to help?

LittleT · #**1234** Posted **Mar 25, 2009, 12:11 AM**

Does it matter why no one else jumped in? As far as I am concerned it is the people who think they are all tough that jump in to help and end up getting injured but that is up to them. Not to mention that there could have been people there with health problems or just not about to jump in after watching someone else do it and get hurt. As far as things go, this is not the biggest thing that has ever happened on a bus. On average there is at least one bus driver assulted everyday but you don't see people jumping in to help the driver. Not to mention you don't see it in the paper everyday.

flar · #**1235** Posted **Mar 25, 2009, 1:10 AM**

People usually don't step in. There was the case of Kitty Genovese in Queens, NY, who was stabbed repeatedly and killed while at least three dozen people witnessed the attack and failed to step in or even call the police. This led to social psychologists studying the bystander emergency effect. Basically the idea is that if there are at least a few people around, each person individually thinks that someone else will do something about it.

hamiltonguy · #**1236** Posted **Mar 25, 2009, 5:03 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by LittleT

Does it matter why no one else jumped in? As far as I am concerned it is the people who think they are all tough that jump in to help and end up getting injured but that is up to them. Not to mention that there could have been people there with health problems or just not about to jump in after watching someone else do it and get hurt. As far as things go, this is not the biggest thing that has ever happened on a bus. On average there is at least one bus driver assulted everyday but you don't see people jumping in to help the driver. Not to mention you don't see it in the paper everyday.

I don't care. If this happens you step in and save the person. The woman could've died. The problem with people these days is they only care about themselves. And then they vote for "progressive" parties to help their conscience when they realize that they spend their entire lives never doing a thing for other people. If people cared as much as they claimed too, the poor would be all fed, housed and clothed, there would be people there helping kids before they became criminals, and people wouldn't watch other people be beaten within an inch of their life.

It happens too often in this city and this country, and not just on the bus. I guess I'm just frustrated that not a single person helped her, not even the driver and the driver was slow to react. The driver should have also refused service to the drunk girls that beat up the man and the woman. Why would he let drunk teenagers on the bus in the first place. I'm tired of riding the bus with people that are dangerous and shouldn't be on it, with the bus driver ignoring it and even allowing people like that to board when they are causing trouble while boarding.

grapehaze · #**1237** Posted **Mar 25, 2009, 1:28 PM**

If the bus driver hadn't let two young girls on the bus late at night regardless of their state, and something happened to them while they walked through the city, this conversation would have a different slant to it and the bus driver would still be criticized. The driver had no way of knowing what was going to happen. All of the media reports I read stated that the police were called immediately and arrived on scene quickly, fortunately the woman wasn't seriously injured, and the two girls were apprehended.

coalminecanary · #**1238** Posted **Mar 25, 2009, 1:55 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by bornagainbiking

So maybe just use the twoonie. Lower the walk on price to $2 simple and easy and keep the ticket price @ $18.50 for 10. This will keep it reasonable. You have to increase ridership thru incentives and an attractive alternative.

I still don't see why we even need tickets. It adds overhead for HSR and is less convenient for riders. Just make it $1 (or $2) across the board, and make monthly passes an unbeatable deal.

holymoly · #**1239** Posted **Mar 25, 2009, 5:28 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by flar

People usually don't step in. There was the case of Kitty Genovese in Queens, NY, who was stabbed repeatedly and killed while at least three dozen people witnessed the attack and failed to step in or even call the police. This led to social psychologists studying the bystander emergency effect. Basically the idea is that if there are at least a few people around, each person individually thinks that someone else will do something about it.

It seems to happen even when there's no risk of injury to the bystanders. I once pulled over when I saw a man lying unconscious at side of the road. Four or five people were just standing there looking at the guy and sort of shrugging their shoulders at each other. Not one of them had called 911.

LittleT · #**1240** Posted **Mar 27, 2009, 1:38 PM**

Just thought that everyone would like to know, people did try to help the woman. It is not our faults that no one could actually stop what was going on. The woman pulled the girls off the bus and away from everyone, so where would you like this help to come from? As far as not caring that is just ignorance on your behalf because there are people who have serious health issues and there are people who may have had pervious experinces which may not have turned out so good for them. When you deal with fights you never know who is with them and who will jump in to help the people that started the fight.