Raise the Hammer
Merulla: Notice of Motion to Address Area Rating for Transit
The motion would direct staff to report back on addressing area rating for transit in a way that will "align with the overall city Transit strategy."
by Ryan McGreal
Published February 15, 2019 in Special Report: Transit (2 comments)
Ending Transit Area Rating Not a Panacea
Eliminating area rating has a role to play in in increasing funding for transit in Hamilton, but it is by no means the only solution to expanding transit to the suburbs.
by Jason Allen
Published November 09, 2018 in Special Report: Transit (5 comments)
Phase Out Area Rating and Boost Transit Revenue
Council has punted on transit area rating for 17 years. With an election this October, it's long past time to put this crutch to bed and start really investing in ridership growth.
by Ryan McGreal
Published August 28, 2018 in Special Report: Transit (6 comments)
Tuck: 'Remove Incompetent Management Team'
ATU 107 president calls for a change in management for the HSR to deal with the high rates of illness, injury and burnout behind the crisis of absenteeism and missed bus routes.
by Eric Tuck
Published November 02, 2017 in Special Report: Transit (5 comments)
Transportation Lessons for Hamilton from Ottawa
A weekend in Ottawa as an urban mobility tourist provided lots of examples of a city doing public transportation right.
by Jason Allen
Published August 01, 2017 in Special Report: Transit (5 comments)
A Proposal for Local GO Train Service East of Hunter
A proposal to use the old TH&B line to provide local transit service, similar to Toronto's SmartTrack, between Hunter Station and Centennial Parkway.
by Kevin Love
Published May 01, 2017 in Special Report: Transit (9 comments)
Bus Log of Phileas Fogg
Those who have adequate means have no idea how big an issue transportation is for poor people.
by Terry Leach
Published March 10, 2017 in Special Report: Transit (1 comment)
Delegation to Council on HSR Funding
Three things need to happen in order that public transit be properly funded: recommit to the Ten Year Transit Plan, funding and all; use the federal gas tax money the way it was intended; and end area rating so that public transit can be funded properly a
by Rich Gelder
Published February 24, 2017 in Special Report: Transit (2 comments)
HSR Ridership Drop is No Mystery
It is no surprise that imposing steep fare increases and moving service from abysmal to just bad have failed to produce the desired results.
by Nicholas Kevlahan
Published February 06, 2017 in Special Report: Transit (14 comments)
Fix the HSR: Environment Hamilton
As part of our ongoing efforts to make Hamilton more resilient in the face of a changing climate, we are dedicated to identifying and addressing issues facing local transit.
by Michael Nabert
Published November 28, 2016 in Special Report: Transit (12 comments)
Hamilton Transit Expansion Threatened by Continued Underfunding
Comparable transit systems across Canada have grown ridership by expanding service frequencies and routes. By contrast, Hamilton City Council in Hamilton has a closed wallet for transit expansion.
by Tony Turrittin
Published March 23, 2016 in Special Report: Transit (6 comments)
Citizens' Jury on Transit Report: Reasonable People Reaching Reasonable Conclusions
Instead of their mandate being fractured by parochialism and divisiveness, the Jurists were able to come together and arrive at a consensus that supports the best interest of the city as a whole.
by Ryan McGreal
Published March 09, 2016 in Special Report: Transit (8 comments)
Council Has a Responsibility to Resolve Area Rating for Transit
The boundaries for transit rates match the old boundaries of the municipalities that were amalgamated to form Hamilton, but they are illogical from the perspective of the transit network.
by Viv Saunders
Published March 08, 2016 in Special Report: Transit (24 comments)
Expensive Transit Subsidizing Cheap Parking
The City sets both parking rates and the transit rates, as well as taxpayer funding levels for roads and transit. Money spent on roads, or subsidizing artificially cheap parking, is money that cannot be spent on transit.
by Nicholas Kevlahan
Published February 25, 2016 in Special Report: Transit (34 comments)
Councillor Issues Quasi-Apology for Colombia Comments
Instead of just owning his mistake, apologizing and promising to learn from the experience, Ferguson couldn't resist stirring in a dollop of rationalization.
by Ryan McGreal
Published February 18, 2016 in Special Report: Transit (12 comments)
Tell Council to Put More Transit in the Budget
It's budget season at City Hall and we need your help to let the community and councillors know that you support increased funding for transit.
by Hamilton 4 Transit
Published February 05, 2016 in Special Report: Transit (11 comments)
Ferguson's Stereotyping Hurts Hamilton's Ability to Learn
When a civic leader is so arrogant and prejudiced against another country that he flatly refuses to acknowledge that country's successes, our city as a whole inevitably ends up poorer for it.
by Ryan McGreal
Published February 03, 2016 in Special Report: Transit (88 comments)
Leverage LRT to Redeploy Buses for Better Service
By realigning existing HSR routes to match the principles of great transit, we can provide much better service for the same operating cost.
by Andrae Griffith
Published January 18, 2016 in Special Report: Transit (10 comments)
Metrolinx 2015 GO Train Survey: Seeking Hamiltonians
Metrolinx and GO Transit are looking for feedback, and Hamiltonians need to make sure our voices are heard.
by Mark Rejhon
Published November 20, 2015 in Special Report: Transit (10 comments)
Staff Recommend Purchasing 18 Replacement, 14 New HSR Buses
We are supposed to have 246 buses in operation by the end of 2016, which would also mark the timeframe in which the fleet would be large enough to have addressed all pre-existing system deficiencies.
by Jason Leach
Published November 13, 2015 in Special Report: Transit (15 comments)
Parkway Traffic Study Needs Broader Scope
The motion to study widening the Linc and RHVP must be expanded to include the full range of policy options with their respective costs and benefits.
by Ryan McGreal
Published November 05, 2015 in Special Report: Transit (22 comments)
GO Part 2: Weekend All-Day GO Trains Possible In Hamilton 2016
An existing Niagara GO train passes West Harbour GO without stopping: 16 trains per weekend, eight toward Toronto and eight toward Niagara. Can they stop in Hamilton in 2016?
by Mark Rejhon
Published October 07, 2015 in Special Report: Transit (25 comments)
Major GO Train Construction for Hamilton
For over two decades, Hamilton has been promised all-day two-way GO train service, with many broken promises. Finally, action is occurring at several Hamilton construction sites.
by Mark Rejhon
Published August 19, 2015 in Special Report: Transit (53 comments)
Gimme Shelter: Broken Glass a Symptom of Bigger Problems
It may be one pane of glass, but it truly is a symptom of everything that is going wrong with transit in the City of Hamilton.
by Simon Carroll
Published March 26, 2015 in Special Report: Transit (35 comments)
Benchmark Study: City of Hamilton's Proposed New Bus Garage
This article will benchmark the proposed new Hamilton garage against new public transit bus garages in Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton and East Gwillimbury.
by Kevin Love
Published March 09, 2015 in Special Report: Transit (26 comments)
Mayor to Introduce Motion for Citizens Forum on Transit
Proposed Focum will be modeled after the 2011 Citizens Forum on Area Rating and will consider rapid transit and local transit plans.
by Ryan McGreal
Published March 06, 2015 in Special Report: Transit (19 comments)
My Life as An, Um, Activist
I care about a healthy city from Dundas, where I live, right across to Stoney Creek and up and down the mountain. That apparently makes me an 'activist'.
by Rich Gelder
Published February 25, 2015 in Special Report: Transit (19 comments)
Area Rating Keeps Us Divided
We cannot unite this city until we end area rating for transit and establish a single, unified funding policy across the urbanized area with service improvement costs and benefits shared equally by everyone.
by Ryan McGreal
Published February 13, 2015 in Special Report: Transit (100 comments)
Just Do Something to Improve Transit
We are tired of public transit being a second-class mode of commuting. If transit is important to City Hall, we the citizenry cannot tell.
by Ryan Janssen
Published February 09, 2015 in Special Report: Transit (65 comments)
HSR Ten Year Plan: Preliminary Review
The plan is modest and offloads most new capital and operating revenue to the Province and riders, but it represents a break from the status quo of constant stagnation.
by Ryan McGreal
Published February 06, 2015 in Special Report: Transit (40 comments)
Merulla to Introduce Motion to End Area Rating for Transit
Councillor Sam Merulla is challenging his Council colleagues to address a long-standing failure of amalgamation by ending area rating for transit.
by Ryan McGreal
Published January 28, 2015 in Special Report: Transit (15 comments)
Throw Council on the Bus
A cheeky new campaign is collecting pledges to encourage Councillors to commute by transit for a week.
by Ryan McGreal
Published January 28, 2015 in Special Report: Transit (34 comments)
Making Transit Free Could Unite Hamilton
Free transit could be the ticket to community building, contributing to economic equality, and benefiting both the economy and ecology.
by Sean Hurley
Published January 24, 2015 in Special Report: Transit (17 comments)
A One-Car Family at a Crossroads
In its current form, public transit in Hamilton is just not convenient or reliable enough to depend on for what should be a relatively simple commute - even on the two best served bus routes in the entire City.
by John-Paul Danko
Published September 29, 2011 in Special Report: Transit (84 comments)
Council Cop-Out on Area Rating
Council is passing the buck by shifting the political heat that radiates from area rating off their own backs onto a randomly selected group of residents.
by Ryan McGreal
Published November 25, 2009 in Special Report: Transit (81 comments)
Affordable, Accessible Public Transit: Keys to Poverty Reduction and a Vibrant Community
Presentation to Committee of the Whole, Transit Budget Hearings: October 29, 2009.
by Tom Cooper
Published October 30, 2009 in Special Report: Transit (57 comments)
Neglected Transit: Time to Bring Hamilton's Unloved Stepchild Back into the Fold
Why does our strategic plan to double transit ridership by 2025 never, ever translate into policy decisions that move us incrementally toward that goal?
by Ryan McGreal
Published October 27, 2009 in Special Report: Transit (50 comments)
Letter to Council: Flawed Transit Funding Process Needs Public Input, Accountability
In the absence of any meaningful process of engagement, and given how information is kept secret until the last minute, we have a sure recipe to breed conflict, confrontation, and poor transit decisions.
by Peter Hutton
Published October 26, 2009 in Special Report: Transit (2 comments)
Area Rating Reform Should Not Be a Zero-Sum Game
The main purpose of equalizing tax rates should be to increase the revenue coming into the system so the city can afford to improve service.
by Ryan McGreal
Published September 14, 2009 in Special Report: Transit (5 comments)
Take B-Line Off-Campus for Better Rapid Transit
Moving the B-line to Main Street West saves time on the B-line route. This time should be filled by stops at Wellington / Victoria and Gage.
by Thom Oommen
Published September 11, 2008 in Special Report: Transit (44 comments)
Parents - Free HSR is a No Brainer
Free transit is actually financially advantageous to one large group of Hamiltonians: parents.
by Thom Oommen
Published March 24, 2008 in Special Report: Transit (4 comments)
Why Punish Monthly HSR Pass Holders?
With the dramatic hikes to monthly transit passes, it may be cheaper simply to buy tickets.
by Thom Oommen
Published January 18, 2008 in Special Report: Transit (31 comments)
Upper James Rapid Transit a Dumb Idea
It is disturbing that our transit officials are now being told to put the aerotropolis scheme ahead of providing service to those who want and need it.
by Don McLean
Published December 20, 2007 in Special Report: Transit (68 comments)
We Need Better than Seat-of-the-Pants Transit Planning
Do city staff have the technology to make accurate assessments of ridership change or is it just guesstimating shaded on the positive side to quell the voices of protest?
by Roy Adams
Published November 27, 2007 in Special Report: Transit (4 comments)
An Easy Ride
The real problem is that Hamilton has to keep transit fares extremely low to compete with the relative ease and convenience of driving.
by Jonathan Dalton
Published March 19, 2007 in Special Report: Transit (9 comments)
Hamilton's Contrary Policies Regarding Public Transit
If we are to make progress in our goal of creating the city we want we have to sort out the contradictions in how we pay for transit.
by Roy Adams
Published January 27, 2006 in Special Report: Transit (0 comments)
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