HSR improvements along Upper James corridor central to transit division’s annual budget request

Hamilton’s transit director says a steep drop in HSR revenues during the pandemic is not a reason to halt the city’s 10-year transit strategy.

Maureen Cosyn-Heath presented her budget request to councillors on Friday, seeking a $7.1-million, or 8.8 per cent, funding increase this year.

Cosyn-Heath notes that this is Year 6 of the transit strategy and much of the increase would pay for improvements along the Upper James corridor, which connects downtown GO stations to the airport employment lands.

The enhancements call for 14 additional buses and 43 full-time equivalent employees, resulting in 49,000 more service hours. A five-cent fare increase is also scheduled for Sept 1, 2022.

“Route 20 is a key service support for the airport,” says Cosyn-Heath, “getting employees out to the area and into the expanded distribution centres, like DHL and the soon-to-be-opened Amazon fulfillment centre.”

She predicts many HSR customers will return “as soon as the academic world stabilizes” from COVID-19, and expects to be back to 80 per cent ridership later this year.

The transit system’s ridership has been cut approximately in half during the pandemic, with revenues down 27 per cent in 2021.

Cosyn-Heath stresses that the reduction in farebox revenue has been offset by provincial funding through the Ontario government’s “safe restart” program.

“Once we’re past this pandemic,” says Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger, “ridership will grow and rebound and grow beyond that as our community grows.

“You cannot plan a transit system on a year-by-year basis, you have to look ahead.”