The future of Hamilton's public transit

[SteelTown]

Yes, thoses shuttle buses won't go away, it's a bit of a walk from the parking lot to campus. It's every 5 minutes during semester, even quicker during rush hour (>1 minutes) , and during the summer it's almost every 10 minutes.

[adam]

It would be great to see the west end of the light rail line going around McMaster hospital and through the campus itself. I'd imagine McMaster could easily increase student ridership fees.. students would be key riders (McMaster students currently pay only $67.50 for a school-year-round ridership pass)

[DC83]

^^ I agree and like the idea, but the whole point of LRT is for Rapid Transit.
I don't think the city would be too keen on that.

[DHLawrence]

New bus service connects UofG, Hamilton

August 27, 2008
GuelphMercury.com

GUELPH — Starting Thursday, Sept. 4, there will be a new bus service between the University of Guelph and Hamilton. Coach Canada bus lines will provide service Monday through Sunday, starting as early at 6:45 a.m. from Hamilton and leaving Guelph as late as 8 p.m.

Buses will leave U of G for Hamilton up to five times a day. From Hamilton, buses will pick up and drop off at McMaster University and from the downtown Hamilton GO Bus Terminal.

In Guelph, buses will leave from the university's transit loop in front of the University Centre. Connections will be available throughout the region and beyond.

The buses are equipped with washrooms and bicycles can be taken as baggage. Accessible service is offered with a 24-hour advanced booking.

Special student and multiple-trip fares will be available. Tickets may be purchased in advance from the Information Desk in the University Centre.

Schedules and more information is available online at coachcanada.com

[coalminecanary]

that is a great service idea! i think hamilton and guelph should band together and be a pair of examples for the rest of the country. two of the best cities in ontario in my opinion.

[JoeyColeman]

That's the same service that existed last year, the year before that, and even the year before that.

That's what we you can call a republished news release.

Don't get me wrong, I love the service and take it.

[SteelTown]

New HSR bus lines free for back to school

Waterdown High School students running late for school next week won’t be able to blame the bus: A new route promises to get them from the GO station to class by the time the bell rings.

And the bus won’t cost them a dime to try out. The 18 Waterdown route and a new cross-Mountain 44 Rymal route are free to ride from Sept. 2 to Sept. 5, inclusive.

The 18 Waterdown route is Hamilton Street Railway’s first permanent route serving Waterdown. It will head north from the Aldershot GO station, circling Waterdown via Highway 6, Parkside Drive, Evans Road and Dundas Street, and head south on Mill Street and Waterdown Road back to the station.

The 44 Rymal route starts at Glancaster Bus Loop on the west Mountain, travels north on Glancaster Road, east on Rymal Road, north on Pritchard Road, west on Stone Church Road, south on Anchor Road and east on Bigwin Road back to Pritchard Road. The bus then returns south on Pritchard Road and west on Rymal Road back to the Glancaster Loop.

[SteelTown]

It's September! An exciting month for Hamilton's public transit.

We'll get the final report on Rapid Transit to council, a report on how the city will spend it's money on amenities for the B and A Line and Metrolinx to release the funding setup and how quickly we could get LRT.

We will either get or both the final report on Rapid Transit or amenities detail for A and B Line the end of this week, Thursday or Friday.

[LikeHamilton]

The shovel will be in the ground in 2 years with the East - West started first!

[SteelTown]

Yea sounds about right with the deadline to have everything finished by 2015, including A-Line.

[LikeHamilton]

Getting Around Hamilton

A Brief History of Transportation in Hamilton

Hamilton historian and author, Bill Manson, presents an illustrated talk tracing the development of maritime, rail, and road transportation which capitalized on Hamilton' strategic location and addressed the challenges of the city's unique geography.

Saturday, September 27 & Saturday, October 4 2008 1:00 p.m.

Free admission.

HIStory and HERitage

165 James Street North
905-526-1405
historyandheritage@sympatico.ca

[ryan_mcgreal]

Originally Posted by SteelTown

It's September! An exciting month for Hamilton's public transit. We'll get the final report on Rapid Transit to council

FYI we won't get the phase 2 rapid transit feasibility report until at least early October. Staff don't want to present it to the Public Works committee until after Metrolinx releases its regional transport plan and investment strategy at the end of the month.

http://hamiltonlightrail.com/article..._2008_meeting/

[SteelTown]

Layton makes promises for public transit
Ken Mann
9/3/2008

Federal NDP Leader Jack Layton has made a swing through Hamilton today.

It's the latest visit to the city by a national party leader, in advance of what is expected to be an October.14th election.

Layton says his government would pump an additional 76 million dollars into Hamilton's transit system over four years.

The money would come from the federal gas tax, as well as by making big polluters pay through a cap-and-trade carbon tax.

Layton laid out the New Democrat's campaign plank during a stop at Gore Park, and it comes at a time when Hamilton is considering the feasibility of a light rail transit system.

[DC83]

^^ Gore Park should be where all political parties hold rallies!
It's sad when I look at old photos of Hamilton/Gore Park, it's always packed with Soldier Parades, Municipal Political Events, random events like a guy climbing the old CIBC Bldg, etc.

[SteelTown]

CATCH Articles:
More bus fare hikes?
Oct 22, 2008

Councillors will decide on bus fare hikes next month in hopes of implementing them first thing in January. The 2009 budget decision is once again scheduled far in advance of the date for public input.

The schedule for budget decision making was approved at last week’s council meeting. According to a slide presentation made earlier this month and obtained by CATCH, staff will provide a “fare increase report” that will undergo “deliberations and final approval” on November 14.

The actual report has not yet been released, and would normally not be available to the public until November 12. However, the budget steering committee meeting presentation earlier this month warns of “significant pressures” on the transit budget as a result of fuel price increases and pensions. Staff say they will be “seeking council approval to implement [the fare increases] January 1, 2009.”

The report is also expected to address any possible improvements to HSR services, and whether to continue an “affordable bus pass program” started in March that allows low-income residents who are employed to apply for a 50 percent discount on the monthly adult pass.

East end councillor Sam Merulla issued a media release today in apparent anticipation of a push for higher fares. He is calling for no increase, arguing that they hit low-income residents particularly hard.

“It has been proven that when transit fares are increased, ridership decreases,” says the councillor’s media release. “If this happens, this will minimize any potential financial benefits [of fare hikes].”

Council decided to hike HSR and DARTS fares twice last year, once in April and again in November with adult monthly pass prices rising 21 percent and student passes climbing 26 percent. Cash fares increased 30 cents to $2.40.

Last year’s second fare increase decision was made on November 26, the same day the news hit the local media. It was finalized two days later despite hundreds of opposing emails and phone calls that councillors say they received.

Brad Clark compared the response to that opposition to a single letter received from the homebuilders association that convinced the majority of council not to raise development fees in the same council meeting that approved the fare hikes.

“We’re willing to put up the bus fare, roughly $96 a year, which will impact the most impoverished in our community, the working poor,” he noted. “Yet a moment ago when we were talking about official plan amendment, zoning bylaw amendments and planning subdivisions, we talked about increasing the fee for developers. We deferred it. Just like that, because there was one letter came in.”

The 2009 budget schedule has council receiving its first public delegations during the week of January 19. It also promises an on-line public comment opportunity beginning December 12. Any decisions about fare increases reached on November 14 would be ratified no later than the November 26 meeting of council.

[drpgq]

Have there been any stats published by the HSR regarding ridership over the past year? I'm wondering if we saw any gains due to the high price of gas.

[SteelTown]

That the General Manager of Public Works be authorized and directed to implement a Transit fare increase effective January 1, 2009, as described in Table 1 of this report and inclusive of increases across all fare types, such that an increase of 5% in the average HSR fare, or $0.10 per trip across major fare types, is achieved;

Recommended 2009 Fare: $2.50

[go_leafs_go02]

Originally Posted by SteelTown

That the General Manager of Public Works be authorized and directed to implement a Transit fare increase effective January 1, 2009, as described in Table 1 of this report and inclusive of increases across all fare types, such that an increase of 5% in the average HSR fare, or $0.10 per trip across major fare types, is achieved;

Recommended 2009 Fare: $2.50

wonder why they didn't do this the first time around.

however, I read in the satellite (mohawk paper) that fares were going up to $2.70..which again..is a stupid number. Round up to the nearest quarter. $2.50 still is still lower than alot of transit authorities.

[SteelTown]

The last fare increase for HSR was in January 2008, that increase being $0.15 on cash, $0.10 on tickets, and $8.00 on monthly passes, and included a $0.10 increase in the price of a fare on specialized transit (DARTS).

[SteelTown]

The HSR Route 44 Rymal extension is the second and third phase of the long awaited east/west Weekday AM and PM peak periods transit service enhancement implemented in September 2008. The proposed 2009 route extension will allow for a continuous bus trip from the Ancaster Business Park at Duff’s Corners via Garner Road, Rymal Road, Upper Centennial Parkway and Centennial Parkway to Eastgate Terminal. Service will be provided to Ancaster Wal-Mart, Bishop Tonnos High School, Redeemer University College, the Summit Park neighbourhood, Elfrida Wal-Mart and the numerous smaller businesses, institutions and residential sites along the corridor. As part of this change, service will be removed from Pritchard Road between Rymal Road and Harlowe Road.