Comment 87743

By Mal (anonymous) | Posted April 08, 2013 at 20:03:04

"Also, why is it that we do not even serve 8 percent of the population, while the other cities seem to serve almost their entire population?)"

Hamilton's Service Area is listed above at 235 square km. Wikipedia puts Hamilton's urban area at just under 228 square km but the city's total area is about 900 square km larger than that. It is demonstrably easier to offer efficient public transit in high-density residential neighbourhoods than in exurban or rural areas.(Faced with the HSR's budget pressures, should the agency's emphasis be on equal distribution of service to Hamilton's entire population, with the attendant elevation of operating costs and risk to revenues, or does it make more sense to increase service on lines that are regularly at capacity?)

Those rural areas may also alsofactor into road maintenance budgets, since rural roads are considerably more expensive to maintain than paved surfaces, which are more resistant to elemental wear-and-tear and which have become systematized to a large extent.

Having said that, IMHO the HSR needs more money all around -- more at the farebox, a bigger share of dedicated gas tax revenue, and real support from City Council.

Permalink | Context

Events Calendar

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

Recent Articles

Article Archives

Blog Archives

Site Tools

Feeds