The future of Hamilton's public transit

[SFUVancouver]

Nobody likes a fare increase, but at least it is quite modest and comes alongside real improvements to the system. One of the unheralded benefits the move to a fare card system like Presto is the ability to have smaller fare increments that are less dependent on coin denominations. Without the penny, the smallest increment for a cash fare remains 5 cents, but I could eventually see a shift to an all farecard payment system that would enable fare increments to be reduced to the penny.

[craftbeerdad]

Bus #5 is legendary. Goes to Ancaster, Dundas, Stoney Creek, Mac, Downtown Westdale, you name it!

Hopefully we can electrify the busses in the future and get rid of the old diesel engines. I do love the new busses with the plastic seats. Way cleaner than those gross fabric ones.

With the changes and integration into the LRT, this has been one positive of the delayed LRT build.

[mishap]

Originally Posted by craftbeerdad

Bus #5 is legendary. Goes to Ancaster, Dundas, Stoney Creek, Mac, Downtown Westdale, you name it!

Enjoy it now. It gets obliterated in the (Re)Envision network plan if a few short years.

[mikevbar1]

Originally Posted by mishap

Enjoy it now. It gets obliterated in the (Re)Envision network plan if a few short years.

Yes, into distinct routes, as it should be to offer any kind of more reasonable service on the branches.

[ScreamingViking]

Long meandering routes don't make a lot of sense when there are trunk corridors... at least as planned. But even if we only keep the B- and A-Lines as express services, the 5s of the network aren't rational unless there's good reason for them to exist to meet a demand that the trunk lines cannot.

[drpgq]

Less than inflation, so not that big a deal.

[ScreamingViking]

Oops... the city published the wrong info about the fare increase. It's larger than what was communicated at the beginning of the month.

I've taken the bus more often lately, and it seems like most people do use PRESTO, so 10 cents isn't a huge hit. But still, who fact checks these things???


Hamilton bus fare to increase by 25 cents for cash riders and 10 cents for Presto users
City previously said it would increase fares by 5 cents but later said it shared wrong information

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/hsr-fare-increase-city-bus-1.6930730

Bobby Hristova
CBC News
Aug 09, 2023

Hamilton city bus fare is going up by more than initially expected come September.

The city previously said it would increase fares by five cents but later said the wrong information had been put up on its website.

The real HSR price changes, effective Sept. 1, are below:

• Cash fare will see a 25 cent increase, rising from $3.25 to $3.50.
• A single ride for adults with Presto will see a 10 cent increase, rising from $2.60 to $2.70.
• Adult monthly pass users will see a $4.40 increase, jumping from $114.40 to $118.80.
• A single ride for youth with Presto (ages 13 to 19) will increase by 10 cents, from $2.15 to $2.25.
• Youth monthly pass (ages 13 to 19) users get a $4.40 increase, jumping from $94.60 to $99.
• A single ride for seniors with Presto will increase by 10 cents, from $2.15 to $2.25.
• Senior monthly pass users get a $3 increase from $38.50 to $41.50.
• The senior annual pass is $30 more, from $385 to $415.
• Children 12 and under will remain free.

The city says additional information and all route schedules will be added to its website over the next coming weeks.

The cash fare last went up in 2019, from $3 to $3.25.

[Innsertnamehere]

$2.70 is still cheaper than basically any other GTA municipality so I’m not complaining. The TTC is at $3.30 at this point, and Mississauga is at $3.20. Brampton is $3.40 for PRESTO and $4.50 for cash (!!!).

[SteelTown]

Hamilton’s bus barn budget spikes by $80 million
City appealing for extra federal and provincial help to cover inflation-driven overages on what is now expected to be a two-year, $331-million project

https://www.thespec.com/news/hamilton-re...6508b21-3933-5164-ade9-cf2a4fd273af.html

Hamilton’s new bus barn is over budget by around $80 million before shovels even hit the ground on a facility considered critical to the city’s transit future.

The “wacky,” inflation-driven overage is an unwelcome budget blow for a council preparing to grapple with a potential double-digit tax hike next year, acknowledged Mayor Andrea Horwath.

[Innsertnamehere]

oof, but not overly surprised.

Honestly the new bus barn is going to be a friggen palace - the City has designed it in an absurdly expensive way with structured parking and this massive cantilevered office space. it's sort of ridiculous.

A lot of municipalities seem to get this idea that bus barns should be these fancy facilities when in reality they are effectively industrial buildings. They shouldn't be fancy.

York Region's is relatively tame, but still features a lot of uneccessary features:



Toronto's latest features expensive cantilevers, extensive landscaping, and a parking lot with concrete spaces and extensive landscaping which probably costs triple of what a typical industrial parking area does:




Hamilton's will feature a cantilevered office space and 5-storey structured parking garage:



Brampton's garage is more like what they should probably really look like - a simple, no-nonsense industrial building:

[Beedok]

A 5 storey parking garage for the transit agency?

They should take the bus…

[matt602]

Originally Posted by Beedok

A 5 storey parking garage for the transit agency?

They should take the bus…

Agreed, thats absolutely absurd. Convert it to a small surface parking lot and I'm sure they could find a lot more than $50 Million in savings. There are already driver shuttles available for operators, staff and maintenance don't need a 5 story parking garage.

[TheRitsman]

Originally Posted by matt602

Agreed, thats absolutely absurd. Convert it to a small surface parking lot and I'm sure they could find a lot more than $50 Million in savings. There are already driver shuttles available for operators, staff and maintenance don't need a 5 story parking garage.

Looks like there's around 400 stalls, which at $50,000 per stall will be around $20,000,000 but still. Definitely lots of spots to reduce cost.

The city could also move the facility a bit closer to the road, and build a secondary or attached industrial building it could lease out for profit to offset the cost of the building.

[SteelTown]

As of Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023, HSR transit workers will be on strike as they have rejected the City's latest offer.

Good timing, Grey Cup festival starts next week.

[TheHonestMaple]

Bets they will reach a 'last minute deal' on Wednesday night?

[ScreamingViking]

Probably high probability. The unions know when they have employers over a barrel... transit strike, St. Lawrence Seaway, etc.

[mishap]

Originally Posted by SteelTown

As of Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023, HSR transit workers will be on strike as they have rejected the City's latest offer.

Good timing, Grey Cup festival starts next week.

It was the city that made a "final offer," which requires the union to vote on it. So maybe bad timing by the city.

[drpgq]

The one at the end of the 90s sucked.

[ScreamingViking]

It may be over:

UPDATE: City, bus union reach tentative agreement to end Hamilton transit strike
The timing to restart HSR bus service has not yet been announced.

Matthew-Van Dongen
The Hamilton Spectator
Wednesday, November 15, 2023

https://www.thespec.com/news/hamilton-re...2d60081-bb19-5f25-aae5-046e341a1d7f.html

The city and bus drivers unions have reached a tentative contract agreement meant to end Hamilton’s transit strike.

The city returned to the bargaining table with the union for striking transit workers late Wednesday for the first time since HSR buses were parked seven days ago.

Mayor Andrea Horwath issued a statement early Thursday that she was “thrilled” an agreement was reached that ATU Local 107 will recommend to its 880 bus drivers and mechanics.

A timeline to restart HSR bus service was not immediately announced, but the HSR posted on social media that work had begun to prepare vehicles. “We will let you know shortly when service will be back,” reads the 5 a.m. post.

The union said in a statement it has agreed “to make every effort to ensure that transit can return to full service as quickly as possible in order to accommodate loyal passengers who have given them their unwavering support throughout the strike.”

Tuck said a ratification meeting will be scheduled as soon as possible, but until then details of the contract proposal will not be released. He said a minimum 48 hours is needed for members to review the deal.

...

[craftbeerdad]

HSR has told maintenance workers to prepare for their regular shift today/tonight. Buses back tomorrow is the plan.