In last week's referendum, students approved an increase in MSU student fees for the implementation of the Hamilton Bike Share pass

The McMaster Students Union 2024 referdendum was open to voters from Mar. 5 to Mar. 7. This year, students voted on the implementation of the Hamilton Bike Share and the Food Accessibility Initiative.

On Mar. 8, 2024, the results of the vote were released and it was announced that the increase in fees for the Hamilton Bike Share pass was approved. However, the Food Accessibility Initiative votes were not able to be counted as the 10 per cent quorum was not met.

The Bike Share referendum had a 16 per cent voter turnout, with 94.5 per cent voting in favour of the pass. This means that for the 2024/2025 school year, students will have access to 90 minutes of bike share time per day and $22 plus tax will be added to MSU student fees.

Students will also have the option to opt out of the pass. 

McMaster Students for Bike Share, the Instagram page for the pass campaign, shared their thoughts for the successful vote.

“Thank you for voting, sharing our posts and spreading the word! This achievement is the result of a collective effort and the culmination of the work we’ve put into getting this pass since the beginning of last year,” said the Students for Bike Share team in the statement on their Instagram after the results were announced.

For more information, please refer to the MSU Elections website.

There are two referendums for the introduction new student fees this week, including if the fee for Hamilton Bike Share should be added to the MSU fee for the 2024/2025 academic year

On Mar. 6 and 7, the McMaster Students Union will hold two referendums, one on the introduction the president's "soup and bread" initiative and on the introduction of an annual bike pass following the Student Representative Assembly general elections. This bike pass will be provided by Hamilton Bike Share and cost MSU members $22 plus tax. The pass will provide students with 8 months access to bike share for 90 minutes daily. Furthermore, the pass will be offered with an option for students to opt out.

This initiative has been advocated for by a student group at McMaster University. Students Rhea Saini, an Ontario Legislature Intern, and Paris Liu, fourth-year civil engineering student, had come together in their living room one night after a discussion about the current transportation systems that exist for students. They had recognized the funding issues that had been going on with the bike share. Both had agreed that a bike pass included in student fees may be something beneficial for students.

"[Hamilton Bike Share] were losing funding from the city so a student bike pass was one of the things we had thought about. A city law was the way that idea resurfaced. So Paris and I basically came together with like the two different [focuses] and started this campaign idea in our living room, which was so funny," said Saini.

David Landry and Xin Law-Gallagher, both third-year art sciences students, are other students who have been working to have the bike pass implemented. They shared that this bike pass is something that can really benefit students. They believe it can allow students an easy method to explore Hamilton.

“[Hamilton Bike Share] really adds to student life and kind of being a student Master is when you have access to a bike, especially a bike that you can leave anywhere, and to pick up anywhere, it really opens up kind of the community around McMaster,” said Law-Gallagher. 

[Hamilton Bike Share] really adds to student life and kind of being a student Master is when you have access to a bike, especially a bike that you can leave anywhere, and to pick up anywhere, it really opens up kind of the community around McMaster.

Xin Law-Gallagher, McMaster bike pass advocate

Law-Gallagher shared that in this referendum, there is the option for students to opt out, which should appeal to a larger student body.

The McMaster student bike share pass advocate Kenneth Chen, a fourth-year health sciences student, expressed that the option to opt out of the member ensures accessibility. This is because they recognize that a bike pass may not be ideal for everyone and that the students should have the choice to not contribute their fees.  

“I believe that sustainability should be affordable because it often is not. Right now is the time to act on this opportunity. Not only [is Hamilton Bike Share] like affordable but [also] accessible. That's one thing with the opt-out optional, it really does make it truly accessible,” said Chen.

Taskin Eera, another student in fourth year environment and society who has been working to have the bike pass implemented, expressed that if this is passed then more bikes will be provided on campus to accommodate students. They are also hoping to employ students to manage these bike stations.

“Bike share will be increasing service and also there will be there will likely be student employees to ensure that the service is kept up. And this will help promote active and sustainable transport in a cultural institutional level that isn't quite as prevailing in our sort of car-centric model that we have today,” said Eera.

Law-Gallagher and Ofure Itua, another student in fourth-year biomedical discovery & commercialization who has been working to have the bike pass implemented, argued that there is nothing for students to lose if voting in favour of including the bike share pass to the student fees. 

“I'd tell them that there is literally no downside to voting yes. If you vote yes, your peers get access to a great bike pass, and you can still opt out and not pay anything. And if you vote, no, nothing happens,” said Law-Gllagher.

I'd tell them that there is literally no downside to voting yes. If you vote yes, your peers get access to a great bike pass, and you can still opt out and not pay anything. And if you vote, no, nothing happens.

Xin Law-Gallagher, McMaster bike pass advocate

To vote in favour or against this referendum, students can log in with their MacID on SimplyVoting. Voting for this referendum will be held on Mar. 6 and 7, 2024.

Hamilton will soon be home to a bike share program. Starting this summer, a partnership between the City of Hamilton and Social Bicycles will offer 750 bikes at 80 stations across the city.

The bicycles will be available to users for a small fee ranging from $3 single-rides to $85 year-long memberships. Bikes can be reserved using the Social Cyclist smartphone app or by using a keyboard on any of the bicycles. An unlock code then frees the bike, and riders can keep the bicycle for as long as is paid for. Bikes must be returned to one of the 80 hub locations at the end of the allotted time to avoid extra fees.

“We’re excited to add this travel choice to our existing range of transportation options to make travelling even more convenient and sustainable,” said Peter Topalovic, Project Manager of Transportation Demand Management with the City of Hamilton.  “Bike Share is the fastest growing transportation mode in the world, complementing existing public transit and providing first and last mile connectivity by filling in transit gaps.  It’s a healthy, sustainable, and affordable form of public transportation.”

Exact implementation dates are currently unknown, with their website simply promising to have the program in place “by summer 2014.”

The 80 docking station locations are also still to be determined. Members of the public are encouraged to suggest where stations should be by using the app or by sending an email to info@hamiltonbikeshare.ca. So far, votes have favourited a McMaster location as well as many hotspots near Jackson Square in the downtown core.

In introducing a public bike share program, Hamilton is following in the footsteps of other major Canadian and international cities. While bike share programs are a successful staple in European metropolises, Canadian cities have had some difficulty sustaining the systems. Toronto’s bike program, introduced in 2011, went bankrupt in 2013 from underuse, leaving the City to take on the full amount of the cost.

In Vancouver, an integrated bike share and helmet rental system is being proposed with its own slew of complications. That program is due to roll out this spring.

 

On the agenda, major items up for discussion were endorsing a Hamilton bike share program, anti-oppression training for MSU staff and SRA members, an MSU transit policy, changes to the student health plan and the final report from the democratic reform committee.

Related:
SRA to consider endorsing Hamilton bike share
Editorial: Need for SRA reform persists

A new bike share program seeks to make cycling around Hamilton and McMaster a more accessible option for commuters.

On Feb. 25, Peter Topalovic, with the City’s transportation demand management department, presented an implementation plan for a public bike share program to Hamilton City Council.

The plan proposes that 350 bikes be stationed at 30 points along the A-line and B-line transit routes. Users would pay a nominal fee to use a bike for a short period of time. As part of the “fourth-generation model,” the program is intended to integrate with rapid and public transit systems already in place.

Bike share would target Hamilton’s downtown core and west end. It would cost $1.6 million, to be covered by private stakeholders and Metrolinx, subject to funding approval.

Vivek Govardhanam, an SRA engineering representative, wants the SRA to endorse bike share in Hamilton. He will present a motion at the Assembly’s meeting this Sunday.

“We want to bring the idea of bike share to the mainstream,” said Govardhanam. “I think it would add a lot of symbolism if the MSU goes out and says, ‘we think it’s a very good idea to have this in Hamilton.’”

Govardhanam has been working with McMaster students Colin Delsey, Jason Yeng and Raheel Syed to raise awareness about bike share. The group has also been in consultation with the Office of Sustainability.

“McMaster is not going to have bike share for now, or for the next two or three years at least. But in the future we want to have bike share on campus. We want to encourage bike culture on campus,” said Govardhanam, who would like to see an ad hoc committee established by next year’s SRA.

Conversations about a possible bike share program in Hamilton first started in 2009. A feasibility study was conducted by two Arts & Science students, and a market analysis was conducted by MBA students.

“I think McMaster has been with us from day one,” said Topalovic.

According to Topalovic, the program would help to eliminate the ‘first and last mile barriers’ faced by commuters.

“A number of medium-sized cities are doing bike share, too,” he said. “It’s not just for the big cities like Toronto and New York.”

At the Feb. 25 transit budget meeting, Topalovic asked to move forward to the ‘request for proposal’ stage. Councillors have asked for more clarification about the experiences of other cities in terms of funding and infrastructure. The bike share plan will be revisited in the next budget approval meeting on March 27.