Hamilton’s mayor has a message for bored people who think joy-riding on city buses for free is a good way to pass the time: “don’t do it.”
Fred Eisenberger says he understands that there’s a need to be entertained, somehow, but he adds it’s not a good time for “recreational jaunts.”
He says those who do so are putting themselves and others at unnecessary extra risk of coming into contact with the new coronavirus, adding that it’s a “dangerous thing to do.”
Hamilton’s transit system is free for the time being, since customers are being asked to stay away from the drivers and to enter and exit through the rear doors.
The mayor says Hamilton Street Railway (HSR) drivers have indicated that an unintended consequence is that people are getting on at a given location, riding to the end of the line and “going around for the loop.”
Eisenberger estimates that the HSR is currently running at about 20 per cent capacity as it operates on a Saturday schedule from Monday to Friday.
He says that is helpful from a social distancing perspective, since “buses are much, much more empty and people can separate themselves.”
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