The future of Hamilton's public transit

[flar]

Actually, if you get directions on regular Google Maps it will give you the option for public transit (in addition to by car and walking).

[ryan_mcgreal]

Originally Posted by go_leafs_go02

beats the crap out of the trip planner.

More evidence, if it was needed, that whatever we can do, Google can do better.

[Blurr]

Very cool gadget.

But I don't think it's the best thing for traveling up the mountain...

start at 100 DUNSMURE road, hamilton ontario

100 EAST 31ST ST, hamilton ontario...

It seems to think you can walk up the mountain somewhere near the tennis club. No Thanks.

[SteelTown]

There's a application that you can use on your iPhone or iPod touch for transit directions and the next stop.

[raisethehammer]

Originally Posted by SteelTown

There's a application that you can use on your iPhone or iPod touch for transit directions and the next stop.

FINALLY! please provide a link.
Other cities have this capability for years.

[SteelTown]

Bus fare hike to spur debate
City ponders another increase

November 14, 2008
Rob Faulkner
The Hamilton Spectator

Is riding a Hamilton Street Railway bus good for all of us?

It's poised to be a theme in a city meeting today, as councillors hash out who should pay for rising transit costs in 2009.

If approved, the third transit hike in two years would see fares rise by 10 cents to $2.50 a trip. Monthly adult bus passes would hit $84 on Jan. 1, compared to $65 last year.

The debate -- now a familiar one in Hamilton -- includes issues of poverty, the environment, fiscal responsibility, labour and a whiff of philosophy. (The committee of the whole meeting is at 9:30 a.m. in the Webster Room of the Hamilton Convention Centre.) Is transit a greater good we should all embrace? Or is it a service users should pay for? Here are a few ideas to consider before you weigh in on the city hall blog at hallmarks.thespec.com.

OK the hike because...

* Other cities do it. A staff report on the 2009 transit budget says annual hikes are the norm elsewhere, to cover rising costs of maintaining and enhancing urban transit.

* Without a hike, the system won't grow -- or will draw on reserves, defer capital spending or cut service. Raising more cash will let the city invest in a service that cuts greenhouse gases, spurs the economy and attracts tourism.

* HSR fares are 10 to 15 per cent lower than fares in big cities in Ontario or Canada, so we are underpaying for the service.

* A fare hike is the only way to handle rising costs without a city-wide tax increase, says Councillor Tom Jackson. Raising the $1.3 million from higher city taxes is "unfair" to those who do not use transit, he adds.

* Hikes are undesirable but necessary in the short-term, says Hamilton Chamber of Commerce president Tyler MacLeod. "We don't have a bottomless pit of money at city hall," he says. But, long-term, the city should look at creating a semi-autonomous transit agency to make decisions such as route changes without council approval, MacLeod says.

Forget the hike because...

* Hamiltonians can't afford it. With a poverty rate of about 20 per cent, Councillor Sam Merulla says a hike is bad social policy. A poverty activist complains that the price of a monthly pass has risen 22 per cent since 2007. That's a burden for the "working poor," who may see work as less attractive if bus rides cost more, Merulla says.

* Higher fares will decrease ridership, which contradicts the city's sustainability framework, Vision 2020. It's the opposite of progressive city decision-making, Merulla says.

* A user-pay transit system is unfair when drivers are not charged road tolls, Councillor Brian McHattie says. Transit users pay twice for transportation: in their city taxes and at the fare box. "Compare this to the subsidies car drivers receive, with us covering the costs of roads," he says, "versus transit riders who don't get that support."

* The general city tax levy should cover the increase because there is a "greater public good" for all residents when people ride a bus instead of driving, McHattie says. He suggests provincial gas tax money can be shuffled to cover the $1.3 million to avoid a fare hike in 2009.

* Savings can be found elsewhere. Merulla points to two possible areas for savings: the city's economic development budget during the economic slowdown, and cash frozen when city positions are vacant.



Current fares

Hamilton: $2.40 for 2008; $2.50 proposed for 2009

Average for big Ontario cities (greater than 400,000 pop.): $2.75

Average in big Canadian cities: $2.65

Percentage of persons in low income before tax, 2006 census:

Hamilton 18.1

Ontario 14.7

Canada 15.3

How we stack up:

Yesterday a GreenApple Canada Report -- funded by a charitable foundation with research by University of British Columbia faculty -- ranked 27 cities on their sustainable transportation efforts.

It measured:

* transportation policy such as public transit infrastructure, spending and ridership

* air quality measures such as ozone and carbon dioxide emission levels

* public policies such as anti-idling laws and trip reduction programs

* technology use, such as the number of hybrid vehicles in public transit and municipal fleets

Here are the top eight:

1. Victoria

2. Vancouver

3. Ottawa-Gatineau

4. Montreal

5. Toronto

6. Winnipeg

7. Quebec

8. Hamilton

[LikeHamilton]

A user-pay transit system is unfair when drivers are not charged road tolls, Councillor Brian McHattie says. Transit users pay twice for transportation: in their city taxes and at the fare box. "Compare this to the subsidies car drivers receive, with us covering the costs of roads," he says, "versus transit riders who don't get that support."

I’m sorry but I have a problem with this quote. .

As an owner of a car, yes I travel on a taxpayers paid for road but I paid for the car. I pay for the gas. I pay for its maintenance. I pay for its insurance. I pay for or clean it myself. I pay for it to be parked whether it is in my paid for paved driveway, garage of a paid lot.

When you ride a bus you are not paying for the road. Anyone can buy a bus and with the proper licences and permits start a bus service and travel on any road but the 407 for free. When you ride the bus you are paying for that $750,000 to $1 million bus. You are paying for the driver, the maintenance of the bus, the insurance, the off-hour storage, the cleaning etc for that bus.

[raisethehammer]

Originally Posted by LikeHamilton

I’m sorry but I have a problem with this quote. .

As an owner of a car, yes I travel on a taxpayers paid for road but I paid for the car. I pay for the gas. I pay for its maintenance. I pay for its insurance. I pay for or clean it myself. I pay for it to be parked whether it is in my paid for paved driveway, garage of a paid lot.

this is all your personal choice. call it the cost of personal mobility. Transit users also cover the costs for maintenance/cleaning etc.... of transit vehicles. Twice. At the fare box and in taxes.

It's no different than going to movie theatres vs. your own home entertainment system. You can pay $10 and sit in a theatre and then get up and leave when you're done, or you can buy all your own gear, pay for your own satellite hook-up, repair costs, the costs of renting movies etc.... you wouldn't dream of asking movie theatre companies to start charging an extra fee in order to support your personal choices at home. Nor should you when it relates to your vehicle.

[markbarbera]

The double-payment arguement is not as solid as it appears at first blush. Bus passengers do pay to ride a bus as well as paying taxes for that bus service (I happen to be one of them). However, a car driver pays the property tax for the roads and bus as well. He also pays a gas tax every time he fills his tank.

[raisethehammer]

Originally Posted by markbarbera

The double-payment arguement is not as solid as it appears at first blush. Bus passengers do pay to ride a bus as well as paying taxes for that bus service (I happen to be one of them). However, a car driver pays the property tax for the roads and bus as well. He also pays a gas tax every time he fills his tank.

transit users also pay the tax for the roads for both buses and cars.
again, if someone chooses to get a car, they are also choosing to buy gas.
it's their own personal choice. I guess in theory you could buy a car but never buy gas, just like I can buy an entertainment system but never buy cable/satellite/movies. I could sit in my living room and stare at a blank screen just as I could sit in my car out front and never move. It's all personal choice. People who make these decisions shouldn't complain about them.

[markbarbera]

...much like riding the bus is a personal choice.

[crhayes]

You can't look at it like transit users are paying twice to ride the bus. The tax is just general and applies to everyone... it's used for maintaining/extending our current infrastructure. Everyone pays it regardless.

Now if you want to use a vehicle on the infrastructure you end up paying again, whether you pay to use a bus or pay to operate a vehicle. Either way you are paying "twice" for transportation.

[sofasurfer]

Originally Posted by markbarbera

Monthly transit passes have evolved to be a convenience item rather than a savings item for most public transit systems around the world.

Not in London - nor, in my experience, the other public transport systems I've used in Europe (for daily, weekly, or indeed monthly passes).

Another interesting angle: in London, there's now a very heavy financial incentive to move towards the card-based payment system "Oystercard" (IIRC, 1.50 for a single zone 1 underground ticket as opposed to 4.00 cash - bus tickets I think are 0.90 as opposed to 1.50 or 2.00 cash).

Might be worth considering, in the light of the recent missing cash news...

(there's a side issue with the London implementation and surveillance issues, but the underlying technology doesn't *have* to be implemented in that way - but cashless payment systems can provide cost savings and other benefits)

[SteelTown]

Status quo for bus fares
Jay McQueen
11/14/2008

The idea of increasing transit fares for riders has been shot down by Hamilton city councillors, at least at the committee level.

They were looking at an increase of either 5 or 10 cents per ride but the idea was only supported by half of council.

Barring any changes when the issue comes up for final vote at the next council meeting, it will mean no change in fares for riders.

Seven delegations went before a committee meeting today, including the Campaign for Adequate Welfare.

The group called on councillors to be innovative and find a way to avoid passing along another fare hike to bus riders.

[SteelTown]

Council rejects bus fare hike, deadlocks on freeze

November 14, 2008
Nicole MacIntyre
The Hamilton Spectator

City council is at a stalemate over a proposed transit fare hike.

Mayor Fred Eisenberger is hopeful he’ll be able to broker a compromise before the next meeting after councillors couldn’t reach a decision today.

Council rejected staff’s recommendation to hike bus fares by 10 cents in a 7-5 decision. A proposal to limit the increase to five cents also failed 9-3.

An attempt to freeze fares lost on a tie vote.

“We are essentially nowhere,” Eisenberger declared.

With four councillors absent, the committee agreed to push the decision to the next council meeting in two weeks. If council deadlocks again — as many councillors believe it will — the status quo will remain, meaning no fare increase.

Eisenberger lobbied councillors to support a minimal increase, noting he’s worried freezing fares now could mean a large increase later.

“The bottom line is we need money to expand the service to attract more riders,” he said, adding some councillors aren’t “reading the tea leaves” about the city’s financial situation.

But councillors Sam Merulla and Brian McHattie led the charge for a freeze, arguing the city could find the money to cover its extra transit costs elsewhere.

“We do have options, we can be creative,” said McHattie.

Under staff’s proposal, fares would rise to $2.50 a trip, and monthly adult bus passes would jump to $84 in January. Last year, the same pass cost $65.

If council rejects a fare increase, the city would need to find an extra $1.3 million elsewhere. Staff believe sinking gas prices might yield additional savings.

Given the downturn in the economy, the city shouldn’t do anything to further disadvantage the working poor, said Councillor Terry Whitehead.

Several poverty and transit advocates asked council to reject the increase. Councillor Maria Pearson said she heard their concerns, but also has to think of homeowners who are overburdened by taxes.

“I think 10 cents is not unreasonable,” she said. “One way or another, someone is going to pay for it. This is where we have to make the tough decisions.”

Councillors agreed to support expanding the city’s employee transit pass program. Staff will also report back on broadening who can qualify for the city’s affordable transit pass program.

[omro]

Perhaps hiring someone to review all the advertising on the buses and get some better and higher paying advertising would supplement the costs?

I have to admit a lot of the advertising on the buses scared the crap out of me. It does make you wonder, as an outsider, what sort of place you're in! I think I was a little bit blinded by the drugs, STDs and sex education adverts to really see what else was being advertised. Don't get me wrong, such adverts exist in London, but not to the point where you're not able to really see the other adverts.

[FairHamilton]

Originally Posted by omro

Perhaps hiring someone to review all the advertising on the buses and get some better and higher paying advertising would supplement the costs?

I have to admit a lot of the advertising on the buses scared the crap out of me. It does make you wonder, as an outsider, what sort of place you're in! I think I was a little bit blinded by the drugs, STDs and sex education adverts to really see what else was being advertised. Don't get me wrong, such adverts exist in London, but not to the point where you're not able to really see the other adverts.

You weren't blind to others, what you listed is the vast majority of ads. I agree the buses should be full of ads, even if they are all public service and upcoming city event ads.

Then HSR needs to work to expand to paying corporate ads.

[flar]

I've raised the ad issue before, whoever they have in charge right now is completely incompetent (there are a lot of incompetent people in this city--I think there is a lot of nepotism--but I don't know if that's true in this case).

[SteelTown]

CATCH Articles:
Slow growth in HSR use
Nov 25, 2008

Transit ridership grew by about one percent this year, well below the average being recorded in other large Canadian cities, but a faster rate than has occurred at any point in this decade in Hamilton. Staff say they are satisfied to aim for modest annual increases along with regular fare hikes.

Calling the passenger increase “good news” that provided over a million dollars in additional revenue “in spite of a fare increase”, transit director Don Hull told councillors on November 14 that “our expectation is that we’ll finish the year at about one percent increase in ridership over the year.”

HSR is predicting the same rate of growth in 2009. The annual number of riders grew from 20.7 million in 2001 to 21.05 million in 2007 – an average of just one quarter of one percent per year.

Those numbers are far below average national figures. The Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA) says transit ridership climbed 15 percent between 2002 and 2007, and reported last week that the growth rate in the first six months of 2008 was 2.8 percent.

Statistics Canada data suggests an even bigger spurt is underway in the latter part of 2008. It’s monthly tracking of ridership on the country’s ten largest transit systems showed jumps of 3.6 to 4.1 percent in June, July, August and September.

Their latest release, also issued last week, reported a record 131.9 million riders in September – an increase of five million riders over the previous September, and the highest monthly total ever recorded by StatsCan. The agency doesn’t say whether Hamilton – Canada’s ninth largest city – is included in the averages.

“What seems to be restricting more growth is capacity in the systems,” said a StatsCan official cited in the National Post. “Most (transit authorities) are telling us they’re pretty well at full capacity.”

Overcrowding has plagued key parts of the HSR system as well, with the Eastgate to McMaster corridor running at 150 percent of capacity for four to six hours a day. Hull has argued in the past that HSR growth rates have been restrained by lack of system expansion, but he seems to have lowered his expectations.

“We’ve been able in the last couple of years to bring you a package that included service enhancements and fare increases, and what we think is a fiscally responsible budget.” he told councillors. “So based on the experience of the last couple of years, we’ve concluded that the key to sustainability for transit is really an annual modest fare increase in keeping with CPI [Consumer Price Index] or with key expenditure drivers; modest incremental service enhancements, given that our population growth is modest and incremental on an annual basis; and, again, a fairly aggressive expenditure control.”

The proposal presented by Hull for a fare hike in January sparked division among the dozen councillors attending the November 14 committee meeting, and the hike was rejected in a 6-6 tie vote.

Councillors opposing the increase were Brad Clark, Chad Collins, Scott Duvall, Brian McHattie, Sam Merulla and Terry Whitehead. On the other side of the issue stood Mayor Eisenberger, Lloyd Ferguson, Tom Jackson, Dave Mitchell, Maria Pearson and Russ Powers.

Four councillors missed the vote – Bob Bratina, Margaret McCarthy, Bernie Morelli and Robert Pasuta – but will get another chance to participate when the issue is re-visited at tomorrow evening’s council meeting.

[matt602]

Just wait until LRT. That number will shoot right up.