The future of Hamilton's public transit

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by KDP

That's a pretty stupid change to be honest. It makes it harder to tell if its the bus or not. For instance, if I needed a particular 5 bus, I wouldn't be able to know if the one approaching was the one i needed until its right in from of me. The previous version had the distrinction between routes fairly obvious from far away.

I don't get it either. All they've done is put the specific routing into the "fine print"

Shouldn't visibility of the bus signage be the prime consideration? Even if the route detail is an alternate screen on the LED sign at the front of a bus, having the "A" or "C" on the main route numbering is helpful, isn't it?

[thistleclub]

Canadian Public Transit Discussion Board has noted of the Delaware 'route':

"It is considered by some HSR experts to be the most confusing route in the city, due to its 4 branches."

Again: Four branches is considered confusing.

5 DELAWARE

Will now contain seven variants, with the smallest text offering the most important detail and the largest information paying tribute to a 1 km stretch of road that is the destination of a miniscule number of users.

[markbarbera]

Well, the new 'variants' are really just variants to the eastern and western terminus of the Delaware line. With the new alignment, the main route remains the same between McMaser and King & Kenilworth.

I could never understand why 5B/5E Delaware and 52 Dundas were differentiated, other than to make residents of Dundas feel like they had more service than they really do.

It will be less confusing for Delaware riders as there will no longer be the 5/5E route split at Main and Wellington, and the 5/5C/5B/52 split at the Delta. Being a regular rider of the Delaware bus I can attest to how often confused panic would strike some riders as their bus made a turn that they were not expecting at these junctures.

Personally, I am glad to see the Delaware focus on providing more regular service along the south-eastern section of the lower city. Being one of the 'miniscule number of riders' whose ride on the Delaware starts or finishes along the stretch between Wentworth and the Delta, I will be glad to see a regular headway of 7-8 minutes through the southern strip of the lower city instead of the fifteen minute gap between buses that seems to happen every third bus currently sent along this stretch of the Delaware route.

[thistleclub]

My point was more to do with the naming convention. I would never think to argue that nobody takes the 5 east of Wellington. Far from it. What I question is the slavish devotion to an anachronistic descriptor (ie. the 10-block Delaware Avenue, the passenger terminus to which I was specifically referring) especially in light of the fact that the relevant route information will be treated as a footnote. It just strikes me as unusually user-hostile, even by HSR standards. My quarrel is not with the routing but rather the UI.

Will be interested to see how the headway materializes. It sounds like a welcome step but the HSR has been known to fluff its math on occasion.

[KDP]

If their reworking the bus routes, they should really consider having more north-south routes in the lower city. As it is now, all of the "Upper" routes head straight for MacNab, while streets like Gage (I think it is) and Sherman are completely without buses. Its so bad that half of the lower city east of downtown is serviced by the ludicriously long Mohawk route. Upper Gage/Sherman should contiue straight down (after the detour GETTING down) and continue along their namesakes.

[thistleclub]

Apart from reassigning existing buses (as with the cancellation of the 5B), it's not clear if the HSR will be investing any more this year than last. Early indications are they may be in for a capital budget haircut:

Transit Services

2013: $26,493,000 gross / $3,700,000 net

2014: $15,826,000 gross / $3,700,000 net

[thistleclub]

Related to an earlier UPass development:

Upgrades to HSR service to go to referendum pending SRA approval
(The Silhouette, Tyler Welch, Nov 28 2013)

After months of negotiation with the HSR, the McMaster Students Union has reached an agreement with the transit organization to offer two options for service improvements to McMaster students.

With student electoral support, McMaster’s student bus pass could include extended service for Route 51-University, a 12-month bus pass, or both....

A motion will be brought before the SRA to add the issue as a referendum during the MSU presidential election in January. Whatever changes are voted in by students will be implemented in Sept. 2014.

One option is enhanced service on Route 51-University. For an extra cost of $6.50 per student, the 51 will increase its frequency between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. to every 10 minutes, rather than the current 15. Also included in this option is increased service between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m. Presently, the last 51-University of the night runs through campus around 11p.m.

Route 51-University would be the first bus in Hamilton to run until 3 a.m.

“If a student takes the bus once during their school year as opposed to taking a cab, they will have earned their money back on their investment,” said Doucet.

The other option is a 12-month bus pass. For an additional $6.00 per student the student bus pass would be extended from an 8-month to a full-year pass.

Regarding the summer extension, Doucet said, “We believe we have delivered incredible value for students as this represents just over two bus rides paying by cash.”

The per student cost of the service enhancements will be made possible because the HSR will contribute funds to the improvements as well.

Increased service of the 51-University will cost approximately $240,000. McMaster student fees will pay for $140,000 and the HSR will cover the other $100,000.

Once the issue comes to referendum, McMaster students will vote for one of several options moving forward.

Students can vote to keep the current eight-month pass at 145 per cent of the adult monthly rate, pay $6.50 more, per student for enhanced 51-University service, pay $6.00 more for a 12-month pass, or vote to adopt both changes and incur an extra cost of $12.50 per student. They may also vote to reject all agreements and have no bus pass in Sept. 2014.

Negotiations have been ongoing since before the start of the school year.

[thistleclub]

Happy Delaware Day!

[ScreamingViking]

Anyone heard anything lately about the bus lane? It's been almost 10 weeks... the complaints have either subsided or are just not being reported? (and now we've had snow added to the mix, with more on the way)

[drpgq]

Originally Posted by ScreamingViking

Anyone heard anything lately about the bus lane? It's been almost 10 weeks... the complaints have either subsided or are just not being reported? (and now we've had snow added to the mix, with more on the way)

I drove it for the first time in a while at 9:30 am on Thursday and what I found most noteworthy were the number of cars in the bus lane.

[CaptainKirk]

Originally Posted by ScreamingViking

Anyone heard anything lately about the bus lane? It's been almost 10 weeks... the complaints have either subsided or are just not being reported? (and now we've had snow added to the mix, with more on the way)

It's a success already, I'd say. In a matter of just a few days, drivers adjusted. No problems.

In fact, the bus lane moves more people than all the other lanes combined.

That's why you don't hear anything about it. It's working.

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by CaptainKirk

It's a success already, I'd say. In a matter of just a few days, drivers adjusted. No problems.

In fact, the bus lane moves more people than all the other lanes combined.

That's why you don't hear anything about it. It's working.

Or the UN Agenda 21 folks have quietly "disappeared" the critics.

[HillStreetBlues]

Today is the kind of day on which even motorists should be grateful for our bus lane, and wish we had more of them.

Car traffic this morning was backed up solid from the 403 along Dundurn almost all the way to Aberdeen. I imagine that King Street will be much the same this morning. A lot of people delayed, the usual. If not for the bus lane, buses would be sitting in standstill mixed traffic and twice as many people would be delayed.

This is to say nothing of the emergency vehicles who will make use of the transit lane on the days when, because of extreme circumstances, we actually do have gridlock in this city.

[lucasmascotto]

Where did downtown Hamilton’s bus lane go?
It’s still there — even if you can’t see the lane markings
CBC Hamilton
By: Cory Ruf

Wild weather over the past two months has destroyed trees, downed power lines and shattered Hamiltonians’ hopes for a mild winter.

And now the harsh conditions have claimed another set of victims: markings on the months-old King Street bus lane that identify it as a transit-only thoroughfare.

Brandon Aubie, a research assistant at McMaster University, drives on King Street regularly. He said the paint inside the bus lane has been fading for at least two months — to the point that some of the markings have become almost invisible.

The sight prompted him to post a thread on Friday to the online social forum Reddit asking about the fate of the project.

“The paint has faded, it's full of non-bus vehicles, and I've never seen police pull someone over for driving in it,” he wrote. “Clearly it's an experiment that just fizzled out.”

Ward 1 Councillor Brian McHattie insists the bus lane — which was installed in October as a one-year trial at a cost of $300,000 — is still active.

“It’s a bit frustrating right now,” said McHattie, who pushed council to implement the project.

The problem, he said, stems from provincial rules on what types of traffic paint municipalities can use on city roads.

“As a result, the paint that we’re using doesn’t stay as long. You’ll see the same thing with bike lanes.”

City crews will have to repaint the lanes in the spring, said McHattie, a candidate in next October’s mayoral election. But he said he didn’t know how much the effort would cost.

“I don’t expect it to be an extraordinary number,” he said.

Lane rules 'still enforced,' police say

HSR officials could not be reached on Saturday. However, Hamilton police Staff Sergeant George Narozniak said that drivers generally respect the bus lane, even if the lane markings aren't clearly visible.

“Although it is newer, there is a quite a bit of compliance, from what I understand.”

The street-side signs are still in place, Narozniak said, signalling to motorists to stay out of the lane unless they need to cross it momentarily to make a right-hand turn.

Drivers can still expect a $65 fine if police officers catch them violating the bylaw, he noted.

“If you’re on it, it’s still enforced as the law.”

Council voted in May to implement the bus lane — which runs from Mary Street in the east to Dundurn Street in the west — as a one-year trial.

City staff are studying the project to "test the waters on moving forward with a full rapid-transit system," Christine Lee-Morrison, a manager in the city's public works department, said in October.

But the trial is “pointless” if the non-transit vehicles encroach into the bus lane, Aubie told CBC Hamilton.

“The point is to see what happens when you reduce the lanes downtown,” he said.

“I’m not exactly sure how the experiment is going to work if cars are driving in the lane.”

[oldcoote]

Well, I drive King St every day.

The bus lane is not full of 'non-bus vehicles'. There's an occasional car or van that's oblivious. But everyone else is obeying the law, and it's become a non-issue. Traffic is still flowing.

Although I would consider a bus-only turning signal at McNab, in order to avoid a quick 3 lane merge.

[CaptainKirk]

Originally Posted by oldcoote

Well, I drive King St every day.

The bus lane is not full of 'non-bus vehicles'. There's an occasional car or van that's oblivious. But everyone else is obeying the law, and it's become a non-issue. Traffic is still flowing.

While I don't drive it every day, I do drive it often, and my observations are the same as yours.

[Beedok]

Cars somehow find their way onto the Ottawa Transitway from time to time. People ignoring or not noticing buslanes is hardly remarkable.

[mishap]

Originally Posted by oldcoote

I would consider a bus-only turning signal at McNab, in order to avoid a quick 3 lane merge.

It might work better as a queue jump signal back at James. There could be a simultaneous right-turn arrow to help cars go north on James. As it is, cars really only get to turn while the hand is flashing, and that is usually shortened by jaywalkers.

[coalminecanary]

Originally Posted by mishap

It might work better as a queue jump signal back at James. There could be a simultaneous right-turn arrow to help cars go north on James. As it is, cars really only get to turn while the hand is flashing, and that is usually shortened by jaywalkers.

Yeah... this was the first problem I noticed with the lane - between hughson and macnab, there are buses jamming up every lane, while the bus lane sits virtually empty - a surefire way to piss drivers off.

James should have a dedicated transit signal that lets buses turn left onto james or zip across to the macnab terminal straight from the bus lane, so they never have to merge into live traffic. There should also be a pedestrian scramble instead of that weird delayed right turn from James to King. A 4 stage light: Transit priority, then king cars, then pedestrian scramble, then james cars - and no turn restrictions for the car signals (including turning from king left on james). The south leg of james light should be timed with the scramble.

[HillStreetBlues]

Originally Posted by coalminecanary

James should have a dedicated transit signal that lets buses turn left onto james or zip across to the macnab terminal straight from the bus lane, so they never have to merge into live traffic. There should also be a pedestrian scramble instead of that weird delayed right turn from James to King. A 4 stage light: Transit priority, then king cars, then pedestrian scramble, then james cars - and no turn restrictions for the car signals (including turning from king left on james). The south leg of james light should be timed with the scramble.

That is an excellent idea.