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Posted on thespec.com today:

Bus service to get $3m boost

For the first time in six years, Hamilton will spend its share of the provincial gas tax on beefing up bus service and adding more drivers instead of using it to replace buses.
The $3 million will fund more buses on overcrowded routes, some service expansions to more limited routes, and a restructuring of three outdated routes in the Kirkendall neighbourhood.
“Our most immediate priority is to address overloading,” said Don Hull, city director of transit. “It’s primarily occurring in the corridor between Stoney Creek and Dundas on the King-Main corridor.”
The cash will enhance service on the following bus routes: 51 University, 1 King, 21 Upper Kenilworth, 10 B Line on Saturdays, 5 Delaware, 43 Stone Church on weekends, 44 Rymal on weekdays, and 6/7/8 Aberdeen/Locke/York.
“This is fabulous news,” said Councillor Brian McHattie. “It gives us a chance to increase ridership across the city.” That’s key, he said, because the provincial gas tax cash is based on both population and ridership.
“So, as our ridership declines, as it has the past couple of years, you get less provincial gas tax than you did the year before,” he said. “We need to nip that in the bud and make sure our ridership begins to increase.”
The city will fund bus replacement from its $32-million federal gas tax allotment.
The transit service enhancements were approved by councillors in last week’s general issues committee, but must still be ratified by council later this month. Some of the money will also go to hiring more bus drivers and driver training.
Along with securing more funding, increasing ridership has direct environmental benefits by getting more cars off the road, McHattie said.
“This is something council had delayed twice,” said Peter Hutton, spokesperson for the Hamilton Transit Users Group citizens coalition that advocates for transit.
A lot of this money will go to addressing the overcapacity issues in the system, Hutton said. “That’s things like routes both in the west end of the city and on the Mountain and to a certain extent on the King Street corridor, which, at times, were having trouble maintaining schedule.”
One emerging problem for the city is that bus service improvements are not keeping pace with riders’ expectations. What’s more, Hamilton has the lowest investment in transit service among the seven municipalities in the Greater Toronto Area since the province first began giving out gas tax money for transit in 2005.
According to a staff report, Brampton’s transit service levels between 2005 and 2008 increased 37 per cent, while Hamilton’s declined 2 per cent.
“A bus rider is much more sensitive to the reliability of service than they are to cost,” Hutton said.
Last week, councillors were told that the PGT money funding better bus service means a fare hike will not be necessary this year. However, at a general issues committee meeting Friday, transit officials will present transit fare increase policy that sets out a formula for fare hikes based on a revenue-to-cost ratio.
“In an ideal world, (staff) would prefer that fare increases be used to expand service,” Hull said. “This is a very viable policy, but may not suit our purposes this year.”
How $3m will be spent

Enhancements
21 Upper Kenilworth
More buses to address overcrowding due to new bus pass program with Mohawk College that started in September. HSR has experienced considerable growth in route ridership.
10 B-Line
Extension of express service out to McMaster University and University Plaza in Dundas on Saturdays to deal with insufficient capacity.
5 Delaware
More capacity along Delaware, King and Main routes during daytime to ease overcrowding.
43 Stone Church
Will add weekend service along Stone Church between developing residential areas and the Lime Ridge Mall and Meadowlands transit nodes. Among the top requests for service from the public.
44 Rymal
New Monday-Friday service started last year from Eastgate Square up the Escarpment across Rymal Road to Ancaster Business Park. There has been considerable demand to expand it.
6/7/8 Aberdeen/Locke/York
Current service follows a circuitous route and has not been updated for many years. HSR will realign it, upgrade service along Dundurn and provide direct connection to McMaster University pending discussions with the ward councillor and the public.


Peter Morse, thespec.com
http://www.thespec.com/news/local/ar...o-get-3m-boost