Comment 110007

By AnjoMan (registered) | Posted March 06, 2015 at 10:50:10 in reply to Comment 110005

IMHO the plan needs to be clear on how bus service eventually gets the city to the BLAST network. The network as a whole is something that most Hamiltonians will get behind, unlike a Mac to Eastgate line that much of the city technically will benefit from, but they do not have any emotional connection to. Invest 180 million in bringing real service - every 15 minutes or less at rush hour, along all 5 of the BLAST lines. Then work on marketing the new HSR. Turn that overbuilt road network from an albatross to an asset.

Isn't this one of the main proposals in the Transit Plan --- to establish the BLAST network as high-frequency express bus with accompanied branding, in order to spread the benefits of transit investment accross the city and not have all the money spent on the core?

I'm also confused about the debate over whether to spend money on branding or spend it on improvements. Are we saying that the HSR shouldn't spend money on developing branding for its express-bus network until it has demonstrated ridership improvements, or are we saying they shouldn't rebrand until they implement the new service? To me the branding is integral to establishing new services. If we are building the BLAST network out of express bus + LRT, it needs to be marketed as such to maximize the ridership gain. If we are proposing to spend a bunch of money on express bus service, the branding should be done to coincide with the launching of that service. Maybe $16 million is an inappropriate amount but clear branding of a high-ridership express bus network is an integral part of building that service.

Comment edited by AnjoMan on 2015-03-06 10:52:38

Permalink | Context

Events Calendar

There are no upcoming events right now.
Why not post one?

Recent Articles

Article Archives

Blog Archives

Site Tools

Feeds