Go bus workers plan to strike starting Monday, Nov. 7 if they do not reach an agreement with Metrolinx

McMaster University commuters could find themselves forced to hop on a Go train or carpool to campus if a new offer is not presented by Metrolinx by Monday Nov. 7. A vote held by the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1587, which encompasses all Go bus drivers, revealed that 93% of workers were in favour of going on strike.  

Go Transit is a division of Metrolinx, and the two parties had been in negotiations since Apr. 2022. Union workers had been working without a contract since Jun. 1

The strike was initially set to start at midnight on Oct. 31 if an agreement was not reached by that time, applying pressure on Metrolinx to come to an agreement. The strike was averted when Metrolinx presented an offer, which union workers took to a vote on Nov. 2 and 3. ATU Local 1587 said they wouldn’t encourage their members to either accept or reject. 

On Nov. 4, it was announced that the union declined the offer in an 81% vote in favour of rejection. Bargaining has continued over the weekend of Nov. 5 and 6. 

ATU Local 1587 has set the new strike date for Nov. 7. If Metrolinx has not presented a counteroffer by midnight Nov. 6, all Go bus drivers and attendants will be walking off the job, leaving many commuters stranded or forced to commute via Go train.  

ATU Local 1587 has set the new strike date for Nov. 7. If Metrolinx has not presented a counteroffer by midnight Nov. 6, all Go bus drivers and attendants will be walking off the job, leaving many commuters stranded or forced to commute via Go train.

This strike would call for cancellation of all Go bus services, due to a walk off of bus drivers, station attendants, office workers, maintenance workers and safety officers. The strike would be indefinite, until Metrolinx presents an offer that workers vote in majority to accept.  

McMaster students that commute may need to prepare an alternate route to school, due to the cancellation of Go buses that could start Monday Nov. 7. Updates on the strike can be found on ATU Local 1587’s page where they post vote outcomes and strike mandates. 

This is an ongoing story. 

A fortunate update on the transportation project haunted by political chicanery

Graphic by Elisabetta Paiano and Andrew Mrozowski, Managing Editor

A RECAP FROM LAST YEAR

We last wrote about the state of the Hamilton light-rail transit system project on Jan. 23, 2020. The proposed project involved the construction of an LRT line, extending from McMaster University to Eastgate Square along the Hamilton Street Railway B-line.

However, on Dec. 16, 2019, the Minister of Transportation Caroline Mulroney informed Fred Eisenberger, the mayor of Hamilton, that the provincial government had decided to cancel plans for the project.

The reasoning behind this cancellation was that the project would have cost over five times more than the previous Kathleen Wynne provincial government had implied. Eisenberger considered this a betrayal on the part of Premier Doug Ford and the Ontario provincial government.

The estimated cost for the Hamilton LRT project was revealed to range from $4.6 billion to $6.5 billion in a meeting between the Ministry of Transportation and the city of Hamilton. This is approximately five times that of the initial $1 billion Wynne promised Hamilton in May 2015 for the project.

The cost was later set at $5.5 billion, without any cost breakdown. According to a statement from Mulroney on Dec. 16, the estimated costs originated from a report by an unnamed expert third party. Kris Jacobson, then director of the LRT project office, noted that without context, the estimate from the provincial government was impossible to interpret and verify.

Andrea Horwath, NDP member of provincial parliament for Hamilton-Centre and leader of the official opposition, called onFord to reveal the third-party’s cost estimate. On Dec. 18, 2019, Horwath sent a letter to the auditor general of Ontario, Bonnie Lysyk, requesting an investigation and report of the rationale behind the LRT cost estimates provided to the public. The Auditor General’s report on the Hamilton LRT costs was set to be released by the end of 2020.

Despite the cancellation of the Hamilton LRT project, it was decided the initial $1 billion commitment from Wynne’s provincial government would be used for transportation in Hamilton, with the total funding being diverted to different infrastructure.

Exactly what infrastructure would be funded by the $1 billion would be at the discretion of a newly formed Hamilton transportation task force. Comprised of five respectable people who reside within the city, the task force was responsible for creating a list of transportation projects for the ministry of transportation to consider as alternatives to the LRT.

This list was due to the provincial government by the end of February 2020. Despite the cancellation of the LRT project and the creation of a task force to plan the diversion of the allocated funding to other projects, Eisenberger remained committed to the construction of the LRT.

WHAT NOW? 

More than a year later and the situation has greatly evolved. The Hamilton transportation task force made its recommendations on the allocation of the $1 billion granted to Hamilton by the Wynne government to the ministry of transportation on March 16, 2020. Mulroney later made the recommendations public for the sake of transparency.

“So basically it wasn’t an announcement per se, it was the province of Ontario following up. They said they would do an audit, they did an audit, they did a task force, the task force came back and said that higher-order transit was necessary for the city of Hamilton,” said Eisenberger.

The task force made a total of 15 recommendations. Some of the recommendations included: a "higher-order" transit system and an "intra-city" bus rapid transit or light-rail transit system along the A or B lines in Hamilton. This would resemble the previously cancelled project.

The task force made a total of 15 recommendations. Some of the recommendations included: a "higher-order" transit system and an "intra-city" bus rapid transit or light-rail transit system along the A or B lines in Hamilton. This would resemble the previously cancelled project.

LRT or BRT, the report said, would reduce congestion, bring economic uplift, thus bringing substantial benefit to the residents and businesses of Hamilton. This indicated the task force was still in favour of the Hamilton LRT project and recommended the province reach out to the federal government to acquire the funding required for the LRT project.

This recommendation came after Eisenberger spoke to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a visit to Ottawa prior to March 2020 about the Hamilton LRT. According to Eisenberger, the federal government was willing to fund the Hamilton LRT project, but the provincial government had to officially ask for the funds.

“That task forced looked at all the transportation options and came back with the same conclusion that higher order transit was necessary for the city of Hamilton. It was the best investment and it was certainly aligned to LRT and since then, the Premier on several occasions, has came to make sure that Hamilton gets the appropriate investment in transportation and LRT is the one that he’s been advocating for,” said Eisenberger.

This turn of events indicated a sentiment towards revisiting the Hamilton LRT project. With that said, there were other recommendations in the Hamilton transportation task force report, including a cost estimate around all-day GO service. The recommendations from the task force were welcomed by Eisenberger as an indication the LRT project was still on the table.

The awaited auditor general’s report on the breakdown of the $5.5 billion estimate for the Hamilton LRT project was released on Dec. 7 2020. Lysyk determined that the original $1 billion commitment from the provincial government only covered the costs of construction and was based on a 2012 Environmental Project Report from the City of Hamilton.

Lysyk concluded in her report that the $5.5 billion estimate that led to Mulroney cancelling the LRT project was a more accurate estimate for the total costs of the project. Although Ford welcomed this news as vindication for his government, the auditor general’s report indicated that the city of Hamilton was misled on the actual costs of the LRT for years.

“The Ministry of Transportation was aware as early as December 2016 that the estimated costs for the project were significantly higher than its public commitment of $1 billion in 2015, which was only for construction costs. The increases were not made public or communicated to the City of Hamilton until fall of 2019,” said Lysysk in the report.

“The Ministry of Transportation was aware as early as December 2016 that the estimated costs for the project were significantly higher than its public commitment of $1 billion in 2015, which was only for construction costs. The increases were not made public or communicated to the City of Hamilton until fall of 2019.”

Bonnie Lysyk, Auditor General of Ontario

According to Eisenberger, the city of Hamilton and the province of Ontario have a signed memorandum of understanding which outlines how the project will proceed. In the event of budget constraint, it is documented that the provincial government would lobby at the federal level to gain more funding for the project.

“[The city’s] level of involvement is not at the highest order, but certainly awareness as to what direction [the province is] going [in] . . .  So true to that original [memorandum of understanding], [the provincial government is] following up with the federal government and as I understand it, they are warmly received. Now it’s a matter of discussions on who’s going to contribute what,” explained Eisenberger.

While the project is now set to conclude at Gage Park, Eisenberger plans to continue the project in phases.

“We’re not going to be tearing up everything from Eastgate to McMaster,” emphasized Eisenberger.

Currently there is no estimated time as to when the project will be completed. However, the mayor is looking forward to the benefits that the project will bring.

“The whole idea behind this project was to inspire new opportunities, to inspire new development, to inspire more people coming along that corridor to provide more business opportunities. More shops, more stores and more housing,” said Eisenberger.

The presto bus pass is not an improvement on previous ways to pay your bus fare

By: Rob Hardy, Contributor

Oh, unravelling the mysteries of Presto. With news that the Hamilton Street Railway has finally dropped the axe on paper bus tickets, more local transit riders will be forced to become acquainted with the digital card payment system. Although the public will still have the option to pay with coins, using Presto is the cheaper option.

The HSR has drawn criticism for being more reliant on this ubiquitous green card. Local advocates argue that completely phasing out bus tickets will add unwelcome barriers for those with limited means, who often lack access to reliable internet access or a smartphone. Presto does have options for loading funds at Shoppers Drug Mart and transit offices, but using this system becomes much more complicated whenever a problem arises.

The HSR has drawn criticism for being more reliant on this ubiquitous green card. Local advocates argue that completely phasing out bus tickets will add unwelcome barriers for those with limited means, who often lack access to reliable internet access or a smartphone.

In recent years, McMaster University's annual HSR student bus pass began to be offered via a Presto card. This was not an improvement on the old system. Previously, we were merely given a sticker to affix onto our student card, making riding the bus as easy as showing your card to the driver. New protocols required loading our pass every school year yet still having to keep showing our student card as well.

Unfortunately, I experienced problems during this transition. After waiting more than 24 hours upon first activating my Presto Card in September, as advised, I tapped my card only to be charged a fare. For whatever reason, the HSR bus pass had not yet been applied to my Presto card, forcing me to pay for a ride that should have been “free” given the fees we pay through the McMaster Students Union.

Here comes the tricky part with the HSR-Presto alliance. Neither entity wished to give me a refund, one referring me to the other, and vice versa. In August, the same thing occurred. The MSU bus pass for 2019-2020 officially ended on Aug. 21, as we were advised to merely show our student card for the final ten days of the month until new passes would be made available. 

However, due to the pandemic turning our school year virtual, the HSR decided to no longer allow students to ride the bus without paying during the last week of August. It is perplexing why the HSR saw fit to change this policy and demand fares from students, especially during such uncertain times, rather than still allowing free transit until September.

Of course, due to inadequate notice of the change, I once again found this out the hard way – by being told to tap my card and seeing it get charged. This was especially troubling since I took the time to previously ask drivers if anything had changed. Once again, no refund, despite being told one would be applied within a week.

Unfortunately, the above accounts only scratch the surface of my troubles with Presto, most of which I haven't the space to begin detailing. But suffice it to say that multiple phone calls gave me different information on the status of my account, further confused by what drivers and the cashier at Shoppers told me.

This resulted in me being short of funds for not one but two recent out-of-town trips, requiring me to convince all the drivers to let me board without paying four times. 

This resulted in me being short of funds for not one but two recent out-of-town trips, requiring me to convince all the drivers to let me board without paying four times. 

While I appreciate the flexibility and compassion that Presto offers, it's a system that is not as convenient as it sounds, as it downloads responsibility onto the user. Calling Presto to ask how much I would need to load onto my card and then doing so at the store is all one should need to do.

It's stressful to have loaded funds onto a card which aren't showing and to not have a ticket counter at your GO stop. It's also frustrating that Go Buses no longer accept cash payment while having to call Presto repeatedly because you have no idea what is going on.

Given how our world has changed, contactless payment methods and further online transactions will simply be the new way of things, regardless of whether it is convenient for all members of the public. With regards to the HSR, printing bus tickets simply became too cost-prohibitive, so we can appreciate efforts that phased them out slowly.

Given how our world has changed, contactless payment methods and further online transactions will simply be the new way of things, regardless of whether it is convenient for all members of the public.

For those with no problem loading huge balances onto Presto, using it is not something they have to frequently think about. But even then, no one is immune to all the burdens and glitches attached to managing various online accounts, and the resulting follow-up contact such new platforms inevitably necessitate.

Photo by Kyle West

https://www.facebook.com/TheMcMasterSilhouette/videos/404130640125646/?__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARCpQlcUAumk_8xkUdEiTx167AMBO1cm4LU4FOGt--Lw34xiyFxLn_16SKoZfnoqidMOu7CUU5tRhac_gEohjVnWC53QWP9IHtX3gnGSXgj07xwOijHPBHIY4oZlJilQ0ADC_aFnEY1Mj_75SzNQ35Bsmk3T9-Jl34lqIIjHP5nC9-9B1IGsFcrLPGfmAR7Dm8zqV_XrsDmDnlfDjcrX6KEe4jrp9PFUBULut3fhxFCoBUVrOKAZt72_hiDrpumtAgD8dxcHRMozmbI1lironPEIfWhiOOkzBnx6hbqSL6Vj4J9ecndtNP4YaBtGS5Vfyma2TpWSoTYpIDDLvJtJ9nf5rFlGGkf4&__tn__=-R

 

 

Last week, Silhouette News Reporter Ryan Tse sat down with Maureen Wilson, the Ward 1 city councillor-elect. Read some highlights from the interview below.

Why Maureen believes she won the election:

“Experience. I think it’s a combination of my schooling…and then my practice of working in local government. And also my love of cities and my fascination with space, movement and the relationship to people and how cities should and can work better for more people.”

What Wilson does when not she’s not working

“I love coming to Mac [with my kids] and watching the women and men play volleyball. Anytime I can bring my kids on campus, it’s a good day.”

Student housing and absentee landlords:

“I don’t think I have heard anyone in the community say they are opposed to having students living in the community. Most people enjoy that. The challenge is the number of absentee landlords who use and accumulate what were single family homes and turn them into student dwellings and sometimes don’t have proper approvals for doing so.”

Investing in public transit:

“It starts with whether we value public transit. And if we’re not prepared to put money into public transit, then fewer people are going to use public transit…so I would be looking in our budget discussions to ensure that this council maintains a commitment to its ten-year transit strategy.”

The case for the light rail transit project:

“If we don't make those investments now, the [Hamilton Street Railway] wait times will just get more challenging because the buses are going to be have to competing with more cars on the road. [The LRT] will add to our assessment base, it will address matters related to air quality, and it will provide for an improved transit ride.”   

The creation of a community council:

“I'm not very prescriptive in what it should look like… I have a very strong commitment to growing the capacity of citizens to understand how local government works and understand how city building works.”

Making it easier for students to vote:

“There needs to be a poll on campus. To me, that’s a no-brainer.”

Safer neighbourhoods:

“I believe in shared safe shared streets. That means that we have to go back to looking at the street as a commons area that should be available for different types of use. So it should be safer to walk along the street and it should be safe to cycle on the street, and those choices should be available to you and conveniently so.”

Wilson’s message to students:

“I hope that they would engage in their city to learn more about Hamilton…Get off campus. Visit your city. Pick a neighbourhood. How might your studies be applied to that neighbourhood? Explore. Show curiosity and interest and make a difference.”

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On March 26, the Hamilton Street Railway unveiled a research collaboration project with McMaster University aimed at consulting users about their experiences with the HSR in an effort to re-envision transit in Hamilton. However, it will be up to city council to determine whether or not the project will result in the implementation of tangible changes to the service.

The interest in the project was sparked in May 2017, when Moataz Mohamed, an assistant professor in the department of civil engineering at McMaster, and Mark Ferguson, a senior research associate at the McMaster Institute for Transportation and Logistics, approached the city with a proposal for a research collaboration initiative.

“We had a few exploratory meetings to discuss what they do, the current state of the 10-year local transit strategy, how the HSR is preparing for remainder of the 10-year strategy, and what [McMaster] and MITL could offer the HSR,” said Dennis Guy, the HSR manager of customer experience and innovation.

The collaboration between McMaster University and the HSR will entail a two-year effort to consult the public about its expectations of the transit service.

The collaboration between McMaster University and the HSR comes against the backdrop of growing criticism against the HSR, particularly in light of the thousands of hours in cancelled bus service that plagued users in the fall.

“It’s a two-fold project. The first [phase] is mainly for focusing on assessing users’ experience, perception, desires and expectations from the HSR,” said Mohamed. “We will be using this data to re-configure the service in a way that enables the HSR to provide enjoyable service to the public.”

According to Ferguson, the university will be using the principles that informed its electric mobility research project, which consisted of a five-year effort funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada to assess the costs and benefits of electric mobility usage in Canada.

“We have done a lot of consumer-oriented work there which looks into how open people are to power trains,” said Ferguson. “Conceptually, there are similarities between that type of research question and the one we are considering here, where we are assessing people’s openness to the use of public transit in Hamilton.”

However, it should be noted that McMaster’s role in the collaboration project will be confined to research.

“As a post-secondary institution, we are limited to provide research-based evidence to the decision-makers. This is our scope,” said Mohamed.

After the research is conducted, recommendations will be made to city council.

“We’ll outline proposed changes to not only improve the network, but also to adapt to LRT construction and implementation, so that we can minimize the disruption to [and] for customers,” said Guy.

The collaboration between McMaster University and the HSR comes against the backdrop of growing criticism against the HSR, particularly in light of the thousands of hours in cancelled bus service that plagued users in the fall.

Frustration with the service culminated in an emergency meeting held at City Hall in Nov. 2016, which was organized by Environment Hamilton and provided a platform for users to voice their concerns about transit in Hamilton.

Many complaints stemmed from the underlying problem of a lack of HSR funding from city council. Although it remains uncertain whether or not the recommendations will lead to changes to the HSR system, Mohamed and Ferguson are optimistic that their research efforts will be fruitful.

“At the highest level of the city, plenty of people are interested advancing the quality of the HSR,” said Mohamed.

The research will begin in June with a survey asking users what they most want from their public transit service.

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As a part of their last few meetings, the McMaster Students Union Student Representative Assembly voted to adopt three policy papers which will guide future legislation.

Throughout the year, SRA members, MSU research assistants and other MSU members compile research which they then condense into 30 to 40 page papers. Students also had the chance to voice their concerns on the given topics during the MSU’s policy conference, which occurs every semester.

This year, the MSU and its advocacy and research teams focused on three issues: sexual violence prevention and response, environmental sustainability and public transit and transportation.

Each of these policy papers included major recommendations to shape the advocacy the MSU takes on while negotiating with other institutions such as the city of Hamilton, the university and Metrolinx.

Sexual violence prevention and response

The sexual violence prevention and response paper focused on creating recommendations for prevention, health services, promotion of resources, survivor centric responses, training, provincial legislation and integration with services both on and off campus.

The paper made a number of recommendations, ranging from including the sexual violence response coordinator or executive members from the MSU Women and Gender Equity Network during the Student Success Centre’s planning of Welcome Week and similar events to making changes to the Student Wellness Centre’s current approach to follow-ups with survivors.

Many of the recommendations focused on altering the structures currently in place to support survivors of gender-based violence and alter the culture on campus to be a culture of consent.

It also challenged McMaster’s current sexual violence response policy, arguing it ought to alter its language to be more inclusive of marginalized groups. The paper also recommended that Security Services be taught anti-oppressive practices and receive formal training regarding McMaster’s sexual violence response policy.

The paper also challenged Residence Life’s current approach to sexual violence disclosures, which calls on employees to disclose any information to the residence manager. The paper argues that the policy ought to change to allow employees only break confidentiality if the survivor explicitly requests it.

It also calls for province-wide bystander training and the inclusion of sexual violence related healthcare to the University Health Insurance Plan, the main healthcare plan for international students.

Environmental sustainability

The environmental sustainability paper focused creating recommendations to reduce waste on campus and ensure the university follows sustainable practices. The majority of the recommendations focus on adhering to the best possible environmental sustainability practices and promote sustainable policies.

The policy paper also recommends divesting from fossil fuel and using more sustainable energy sources, in addition to setting a target of being carbon neutral by 2040.

The paper argued the university ought to eliminate single-use plastic products and expand programs such as their reusable takeout containers to promote best possible sustainable practices.

The paper also argued that the university ought to take a more proactive approach to eliminating waste by reducing nonessential energy use in unused buildings and installing sensor lights, to list a few examples.

It recommends divesting from fossil fuel and using more sustainable energy sources, in addition to setting a target of being carbon neutral by 2040. It also recommends that the university make sure that their educational material and other material relating to sustainability remains up to date.

The paper advises that the university take an active role in educating students on sustainable practices, by creating a unified sustainability campaign with other organizations on campus and by establishing a network of sustainability-related groups on campus and in Hamilton.

Public transit and transportation

This policy paper focuses on how to better improve the infrastructure of major public transit systems McMaster students use, with a focus on the Hamilton Street Railway and Metrolinx’s Go buses.

The majority of their recommendations for the HSR focus on improving the current structure of bus lines and frequencies to better service students.

The paper recommends that the city of Hamilton audit and then repair damaged and inaccessible sidewalks and create more bike lanes in the Ainslie Wood-East neighbourhood to promote biking and make the commute safer for cyclists.

The paper offers a number of recommendations for the HSR, ranging from ensuring all HSR employees are given adequate sexual violence, diversity and anti-oppressive practices training to better promoting their social media. The majority of their recommendations for the HSR focus on improving the current structure of bus lines and frequencies to better service students.

With respect to Metrolinx, the policy paper offers similar recommendations, such as increasing frequency and consulting McMaster students when considering service changes to lines McMaster students frequently use.

The paper also offers recommendations for future advocacy, stating that the city of Hamilton ought to invest in the 10-year Local Transit Strategy every year until it is complete and that the provincial government ought to increase its funding allocated to the HSR.

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By: Donna Nadeem

On Jan. 29, the McMaster Students Union submitted their pre-budget recommendations to city hall on how tax dollars ought to be used in Hamilton. The five main areas of investment that the pre-budget submission recommends are transit, student retention and employment, housing, by-laws and waste management.

The submission discusses having an increase in Hamilton Street Railway services on week-ends and in the summer, and have the 51 bus route running every day of the year. In 2017, the city of Hamilton decided to delay year three of the Hamilton 10 Year Local Transit Strategy. The MSU hopes that the $2.1 million that was ensured for the 2018 deliberations is eventually invested.

“Our budget submission more focused on the ten year transit strategy,” said Stephanie Bertolo, the associate vice president (Municipal Affairs). “Last year the council decided to delay funding year three, and that was due to a number of factors a lot of them for very good reasons. Now we’re just making sure that they do go ahead with funding year three.”

Regarding student retention and employment, the MSU would like to see an increase in jobs relating to interdisciplinary fields including political science, economics and labour studies. It is also put forward that opportunities like these should be advertised and made more accessible to students.

“The summer jobs program right now is very vague about what opportunities there are. There are jobs for recreation and landscaping, and those are very detailed of what you would be doing, and then there’s course-specific jobs, where they don’t actually tell you what you’ll be doing, you’re just supposed to tell them what your degree is in and then they’ll try to match you with a job but they don’t tell you what jobs are available and you don’t really know the criteria,” said Bertolo.

The MSU suggests advertising on-campus outlets such as TV screens and coffee sleeves in the McMaster University Student Centre because these advertisements would reach over 16,000 undergraduate students because it is a frequent high traffic area.

“We’d be advertising just that the jobs are open, because the jobs are open right now and I don’t think that anyone knows,” Bertolo stated.

Safety in student housing is a growing concern for the MSU as well. In order to ensure student safety, it is recommended that the city adopt a landlord licensing system to ensure that they are promoting their buildings as safe and clean environments.

“Every landlord [would have] to pay a fee in order to get a license and that just helps fund programs running for the city to do those proactive checks to insure that the unit is up to code,” said Bertolo.

The MSU also recommend that the City of Hamilton overhaul the current by-law enforcement tactics used in the neighbourhoods surrounding McMaster. The MSU suggests instead of punitively targeting students, the city should invest in educating students through the MSU Student Community Support Network program and form restorative justice and mediation programs.

“The by-law program that was recently increased, they are targeting lawn, snow and exterior by-laws, so its really important for students to know about like how long your grass needs to be, before you get a ticket for not cutting it,” Bertolo added.

Finally, in order to increase the amount of materials recycled, the MSU recommends the city of Hamilton should switch to a single-stream recycling program. McMaster University has adopted a single-stream recycling program as have many other cities including Toronto, Halton and Mississauga.

The MSU believes that if the council adopts these five key priorities, then the city of Hamilton will not only be a better place for students to live throughout their undergraduate career but also will intrigue graduates to choose Hamilton as a place to have a family and age successfully.

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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

Forty-one new HSR buses are now on the streets in the Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale area. The aim of the City’s initiative is to provide local residents with improved service while using greener vehicles for better air quality.

Of the 41 new buses, only four will contribute to route extension, while the remaining 37 will replace older models that are less fuel-efficient and have reached their 12-year lifespan.

The newer buses are mini-hybrid models with electric cooling fans that reduce the amount of energy needed to cool the engine. The buses weigh 1000 pounds less than previous models and have a new transmission designed for smoother operation and increased fuel economy.

Mayor Bob Bratina said in a press release that public transportation is a key strategic priority for City Council.

“These new buses will allow the HSR to provide increased capacity and more reliable transit service to our riders," he said in the release. "We hope Hamiltonians will consider leaving their car at home more often and taking transit instead.”

The total cost of the new buses is $18.8 million, $6 million of which comes from the City of Hamilton’s Gas Tax Fund allocation from the federal government. The City contributed $1.13 million to the project and Transit Reserves provided the remaining $11.67 million.

As of Sept. 2, service level increases affecting students and residents are also in effect.

5A/ 5C West Hamilton
(Saturdays and Sundays)

Buses are now departing to and from Ancaster Meadowlands every 30 minutes on weekends from approximately 6 a.m. to 12 a.m. This provides additional direct service from the Westdale/University area to the stores, restaurants and services in the Meadowlands.

43 Stone Church
(Saturdays and Sundays)

Buses now run every 60 minutes on Saturday evenings (approximately
7 p.m. to 1 a.m.) and during shopping hours on Sundays (10 a.m. to 6 p.m.).

44 Rymal
(Weekdays)

Expanded service has been added every hour during the midday and early evening.
#44 Rymal will now operate between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m.

One additional westbound and eastbound trip has been added to 51 University in the evenings, and minor trip adjustments have been made to 41 Mohawk on Sundays and Holidays to provide better connections with the new 5A/5C route.

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