Comment 107527

By jason (registered) | Posted January 05, 2015 at 18:49:24

If anyone wants a good laugh, here is the official corporate purpose statement for Hamilton's Transit division as taken right out of the city's just-released budget book:

"To implement an integrated transportation system which serves the entire city in an affordable, efficient, and accessible way, by reducing the need for automobile use and making it easy and attractive to utilize transit."

Why this is even in the budget book is a great question considering they have earmarked exactly zero dollars for transit improvements in the budget. Shocking, I know.

EDIT: some more budget book juice:

Employee expenses account for more than half of the entire HSR budget at 59 million. Vehicle related costs are just under 15 million. Total budget is 107 million.

So, why on earth are we not beating down the doors at Queens Park to demand LRT funding knowing that ONE Light Rail vehicle can carry 220 passengers and be operated by ONE driver.

To carry 220 people in buses would require 5.5 buses being operated by 5.5 operators, thus driving the employee costs even higher off the charts.

Furthermore, an LRT vehicle lasts 35 years. Buses last 12. So that's a total of 16.5 bus purchases over the lifespan of ONE LRT purchase to carry the same number of people at an employee expense that's 5.5x higher.

FINAL EDIT: for anyone as bored stiff as me, here is the link. Transit starts at page 139: http://www.hamilton.ca/NR/rdonlyres/AF4F...

Comment edited by jason on 2015-01-05 18:58:28

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