2008 HSR Wish List!

[SteelTown]

Make 10 wishes that you would like to see happen in 2008 for the HSR, be it transit improvements and possible new route ideas. Remember the time frame is a year so be realistic. More money is being put towards public transit mostly thanks to the provincial government and the creation of Metrolinx.

[SteelTown]

So here's my 10 wishes for the HSR......

1. The Rapid transit office supports a plan for LRT, trams, trolley, etc for the East/West rapid transit corridor, anything other than BRT.
2. A new downtown passenger terminal station is built this year with new retail, not just another Tim Horton’s perhaps Cinnabon, etc.
3. Every region in the City of Hamilton pays the same towards public transit, end area rating for public transit in Hamilton.
4. Council supports Merulla's proposal for free public transit, if not at least for downtown bus routes or free transit for rush hour.
5. Plan for the C-Line finalized for the Mountain East/West rapid transit corridor.
6. The provincial government financially support Metrolinx’s proposal for a new GO Station in Hamilton by the waterfront with the next provincial budget.
7. A transit terminal is finally built at Mohawk College.
8. VIA rail supports a new downtown station at James St North.
9 GPS put on all HSR buses so buses can be monitored, should be done for the B-Line and A-Line especially.
10. Automated voice for each bus stops for highly used bus routes like B-Line, Upper James, etc.

[go_leafs_go02]

1) BUS PASS (subsized) for Mohawk College students
2) Transit terminal at Mohawk College with different options of buses, not just the 35 and 33.
3) New terminal downtown focusing on intergration with the Hamilton GO Centre
4) LRT built connecting Eastgate Mall to MacMaster Univ.
5) 24 hour service on core routes, like what the TTC has
6) A-Line connecting downtown with Mohawk College towards the Airport
7) Higher service frequencies for mountain routes (my route is 30 min peak, 60 min off peak)
8) Direct service to Aldershot GO, since that's where all GO trains terminate now.
9) 403 Express Route connecting Meadowlands to Downtown (DIRECT) (somewhat parallelling the 5C route)
10) (joke) HSR direct bus to london, so i can get home on weekends easier..

[DC83]

1) Lowers fares to $2.00 flat
2) FREE TRANSIT DAYS (smog days, snow storms, Holidays) edit: Free Rush Hour Service, too!
3) Promote HSR/Public Transit benefits via local media outlets (CHCH, The Spec, Radio) with commercials, ads, etc. -- also promote FREE TRANSIT DAYS when they are applicable via media outlets
4) *ADD HWY20/Centennial route!!!!
5) More Articulated Hybrid busses along King/B-Line Route... yes, I said 'B'-Line! (Damn that's hard to get used to!)
6) Keep buses clean, maintained & running
7) Improve service times all around -- ie: have 30min routes run at least every 20mins, 1hr routes every 30mins.
8) Increase B-Line service to operate ALL day (5am to 1am)
9) Create an incentive for new condo owners downtown: FREE Bus Pass for a year if they choose not to buy/rent a pkng spot in their bldg.
10) Finally, have Downtown Central Terminal replaced to TH&B Stn & Hunter St to better connect with GO; giving drivers a safe, clean & climatized centre to eat their lunches, have their breaks and use the washroom!!!

*Route Idea: Centennial could easily connect to the already-approved Hwy53/Rymal route. It could change it's name once it gets to the Summit Park Commercial area (Hwy20/Hwy53) and travel down Upper Centennial to Centennial continuing to Wild Water Works when in season, off season just along Van Wagner's Beach Rd to the already existing loop at Van Wagners & Beach Blvd... this would eliminate the need for the seasonal "Confederation Park" route.

[chris k]

OK not sure sure if i can get a whole ten as the bottom few might be a few fillers.

1-Lower fares to 2.00 or something standard so we dont have to dig through pockets to find and extra dime or nickel
2-Build Mohawk terminal
3-New Downtown passenger terminal
4-Regulate service on existing lines so they are more frequent
5-Lrt is seriously considered if not choosen for east/west and artic buses for north/south temporarily
6-Keep buses looking clean from the outside (wash them regularly)
7-Ridership increases despite dare raise
8-Merullas plan is supported by most councillors
9-People are educated on the benefits of taking public transit
10-(filler)Get a new painjob/design on the older buses to match the arctic buses.

[DC83]

^^ We have a lot of simlar ideas, Chris. I think it's the general consensus among transit riders, really.
I'm HUGE on cleaning/mainting the buses... redesigning outside of older buses is a GREAT idea too. I know for a fact it would attract new ridership. I don't think that point is a filler at all! Sweet stuff!

[Da Warrior]

Originally Posted by DC83

*Route Idea: Centennial could easily connect to the already-approved Hwy53/Rymal route. It could change it's name once it gets to the Summit Park Commercial area (Hwy20/Hwy53) and travel down Upper Centennial to Centennial continuing to Wild Water Works when in season, off season just along Van Wagner's Beach Rd to the already existing loop at Van Wagners & Beach Blvd... this would eliminate the need for the seasonal "Confederation Park" route.

DC83 I am almost certain that the route will already connect with the Rymal Bus at the "Rymal Corner Plaza", and the only reason its won't be in service in '08 is due to scheduled road upgrades on HWY20/ Centennial next year. So they didn't want to disrupt service with a new route on an already busy road.

But its interesting you mentioned the extension to Wild Water Works, because I talked to a HSR repair technician and he said there has been talks of that with the delayed route, and also a possible extension into Binbrook on limited service.


In no particular order

1. A transit terminal at Mohawk College
2. GPS put on all HSR buses (really like this idea SteelTown with a possible digital arrive/departure board at main bus terminals.)
3. City of Hamilton as a WHOLE pays the same towards public transit.
4. Build new Downtown terminal station
5. Higher service frequencies especially for mountain routes
6. Freeze fair increases for next 3-4yrs.
7. Mountain East/West rapid transit
8. Mohawk College and maybe optional High School Pass
9. LRT, what more has to be said
10. Not really HSR but improve transit to and from Hamilton throughout Southern Ontario

[SteelTown]

In the new year the City is forcing all taxi cars to have GPS so really why not for all HSR buses as well? I know taxi companies will have to pay for it but HSR is getting more and more gas taxes so why not phase in GPS purchase over maybe 3 years and then people can monitor their bus online, check on their cell phone, check on main bus shelters, etc. It would be a great transit improvement that VIVA, Guelph and Thunder Bay does.

[chris k]

I actually prefer the idea of having voice announcements at the stops as it will make it sound so much more sophisticated and will encourage ridership to higher class people and it will eliminate the mentality that the bus is "poor mans transit".

It would also make people who are afraid to take the bus feel like it is easier even though it would make it all the same. (also increasing ridership)

I thought that was a great idea steeltown.

[hamiltonguy]

1. Tolls for the Red Hill Valley Parkway and the Linc going half towards maintenance and debt servicing, the other half to Transit

2. Area rating for transit moves to a Urban Rural Split rather than one based on old municipalities

3. Fare hike to 2.50 and but then a two year freeze on hikes announced.

4. A 5% expansion of the bus fleet each year and replacing 8-10% of all the other buses each year, with a goal to be all Hybrid within 12 years.

5. New Terminal at MacNab site, with mixed use development on top.

6. Better Access and Signage at Hunter Street to facilitate transfers between intercity and local transit.

7. Jolley Cut Buses Switch to Use John both ways and James Mountain Road buses to using James both ways.

8. Plan and Funding for Waterfront-James North Streetcar and Innovation District- McMaster Streetcar

9. Plan for city wide LRT Network

10. Rymal, Centennial, Wentworth and Waterdown Routes added, as well as friday evening Stone Church service West of Limeridge.

[mishap]

Originally Posted by hamiltonguy

friday evening Stone Church service West of Limeridge.

Full weeknight service started back in September. I rode on a midnight trip out of the Meadowlands back in the fall, so I know for a fact it exists.

Last eastbound bus from the mall is 12:24
Last westbound bus from the mall is 12:25

Now if we could get some Saturday evening service...

[hamiltonguy]

Originally Posted by mishap

Full weeknight service started back in September. I rode on a midnight trip out of the Meadowlands back in the fall, so I know for a fact it exists.

Last eastbound bus from the mall is 12:24
Last westbound bus from the mall is 12:25

Now if we could get some Saturday evening service...

Someone should tell bus check, cause I was out there the friday before I wrote that post and I phoned bus check and I told me that there was no stone church bus that evening.

[fastcarsfreedom]

Some really great ideas going here--I think mass transit in Hamilton has a bright future given the current favorable funding climate. Tolling of course is a non-starter and I frankly think deamalgamation is favorable to ending area rating. Nonetheless, the improvements I'm seeing so far are positive--I think an efficient LRT system supported by BRT and local routes is the ultimate goal. I am concerned at the increasingly negative statements I see here about BRT--seems to me it's a very effective and cost-effective way to increase useage and capacity.

[flar]

The thing about BRT is that we already basically have it with the B-line. It is popular with students and the carless but does nothing about the problem of buses being perceived as poor man's transportation. Nobody ever invests in anything along the B-line's route and nobody will invest anything along a proper BRT route either. At least with LRT someone might want to locate something along the LRT route. And I suspect more than a few people would want to try out the LRT that would never ride a bus.

[raisethehammer]

yup, you're right flar.
I do think a hybrid mix of LRT/BRT would work...especially for suburban corridors along Centennial/Rymal Rd for BRT. LRT east/west downtown and along Mohawk Rd. You need the higher densities for LRT.

[HAMRetrofit]

The most important point here is the frequency of service. Ridership really starts to increase as frequency and reliability grows. Developers will look at these figures in determining proposals along transit routes. If a transit corridor is developed but people are still demanding parking spaces then TOD will not be stimulated. The point being that the format of transit is not the most important indicator.

[mishap]

Originally Posted by SteelTown

Make 10 wishes that you would like to see happen in 2008 for the HSR, be it transit improvements and possible new route ideas. Remember the time frame is a year so be realistic. More money is being put towards public transit mostly thanks to the provincial government and the creation of Metrolinx.

I can think of many wishes, but few fit your criteria, certainly not ten. Here is one, though: extend the B-Line further into Dundas. I would take it down the Ogilvie hill to Grafton Square, then return via Osler or Ogilvie. No real loop, just right turns. While it does little to increase transfer opportunities (aside from 52A), a large part of Dundas is within walking distance from this corner. This would require some scheduling changes, which would be an opportunity to fix an issue in the B-Line schedule.

A little set-up is required here. Ever take a look at the schedule differences between the 10 and the 10A? From the last stop before MUMC, the 10A has one minute to go around the corner to the end of line. It then sits for thirteen minutes, and has one minute to return to that stop. That's fifteen minutes. From the same stop, the 10 has six minutes to get to University Plaza (difficult at most times), where it sits for three, and then returns in six. Also fifteen minutes. So the bus travelling further has the same amount of time to get back. The 10As can make up lost time, while the 10s cannot. You see why eastbound B-Line buses start arriving in twos?

Basically, all you have to do is adjust the schedules so that while the 10 is still in Dundas, the 10A that was behind it is already heading eastbound again. This is not a new idea. King buses do this every Sunday, with the Eastgate/ Fiesta split ends.

[SteelTown]

So how did your HSR wish list turn out?

Think we should have a 2009 HSR wish list?