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January
1999 Newsletter
Bring
Back the Buses —The Suffering Must End Now
Friends
of Red Hill Valley strongly encourages everyone to participate
in the January 19 "Bring Back the Buses Rally"
at Hamilton City Hall, starting at 7 p.m.
Hamilton
has now gone over two months without bus service, with no
end in site to the current shutdown. Why is there so little
concern from regional council about the fate of 50,000 daily
users of the HSR? What has happened to the commitment to
"restoring the core", clearly one of the biggest
losers from the shutdown? Is this strike really about wages,
or is it simply further evidence that some councillors have
decided that Hamilton can do without a transit system?
Let's
look at a few facts. First of all, who rides the buses (when
we have them)?
The
HSR conducted a survey of their passengers in June 1997
and found that fully 85% did not own a car. They were 'captive'
riders -- either too young, or too old, or too poor to switch.
The survey found that students and retired people made up
38% of the riders. Another 49% had a full or part-time job,
but obviously didn't make enough to own a car. Interestingly,
when you add those figures together, there were only 13%
in other categories such as "homemaker" or welfare
recipient.
What
is happening to these people today? Perhaps the parents
of the students, and the children of the seniors have shouldered
an extra driving burden. But you can be certain that the
mobility of many of our youth and elderly has been severely
restricted. One of the hard-hit groups must be the families
who tried to cut the cost of higher education by sending
their kids to the hometown university or college.
And
what about the HSR riders that had a job? Do they still?
If your wages are too low to afford to own and operate a
car, how many taxi trips can you fit into your budget?
Unfortunately,
the poorer you are, the less likely you are to vote. This
is especially true in municipal elections where only about
30% of the electorate actually casts a ballot. People who
live in apartments are even less likely to vote in council
elections, since their property tax bill is hidden in the
rent. And if you are too poor to own a car, what are the
chances of owning a house?
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The
fall in transit use in Hamilton-Wentworth is
nearly four times the average decline in the
other parts of the Greater Toronto Area.
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So
the victims of the bus shutdown are the most vulnerable
in our society. Conveniently for our councillors, they are
also the least likely to play much role in bouncing them
out of office in the next elections.
We
noted in the last issue that the number of people using
the HSR has been dropping like a rock. Since the mid-1980s
a third of its riders have disappeared. In 1986, the buses
(and trolleys) carried 29.3 million passengers. In 1997
the annual ridership had fallen to 19.7 million. With more
fare increases in 1998, and the last two months of the year
shut down by the strike, last year's totals are likely below
16 million.
Why
is this happening? We have heard a few excuses. The Regional
Transportation Commissioner, Dale Turvey, recently complained
that this strike could cause a 5% drop in passengers. The
facts suggest otherwise. There has been one other HSR strike
this decade (in 1996). The total number of passengers on
the HSR the following year went up for the first time in
12 years. On the other hand, in the first five years of
this decade, when no strikes occurred, the number of passengers
fell by an average of more thill 5% every year. Indeed,
between 1990 and 1991, the decline was actually 8.5% in
a single year. By the way, that was the year Mr. Turvey
became Transportation Commissioner.
A
second excuse for crashing transit use is "demographics".
We are told that there are fewer people in the age categories
that most use transit. This certainly has an effect, but
hardly explains how the HSR lost a third of its riders in
the same decade that saw the total population of Hamilton-Wentworth
increase by over 37,000.
The
third and most common excuse is that transit use is going
down everywhere. This also has a bit of truth to it, but
it is very revealing to compare Hamilton-Wentworth's performance
with that of our neighbours.
That
is exactly what the Transportation Tomorrow Survey does,
It covers Metro Toronto and the five regions surrounding
it (York, Peel, Durham, Halton and Hamilton-Wentworth).
Over the decade between 1986 and 1996, the percentage of
people using transit in the morning rush hour fell in nearly
all of these areas. In Toronto, for example, it fell about
12.5%. The decline was slightly higher in Halton and slightly
lower in York region. In Hamilton-Wentworth the fall was
over 41%. This was nearly four times the average decline
in the other parts of the Greater Toronto Area. Why?
In
1986, Hamilton-Wentworth had the second highest percentage
of rush hour commuters using transit (after Metro Toronto).
In 1996, we were second lowest, just barely above Halton.
These
are disturbing facts. Transit use is going down generally,
but why is it falling four times as fast in Hamilton-Wentworth?
The lack of concern about the fate of the HSR and its passengers
isn't anything new here. Council has passively watched the
system collapse for more than a decade. Today we are told
the problem is the bus drivers or the provincial government.
The facts suggest otherwise.
The
determination of the dominant clique on regional council
to build bigger and wider roads is part of their plan to
get rid of public transit. The fewer bus riders, the more
car drivers and the more pressure for expressways. The fight
to save Red Hill Valley is also a battle for public transit.
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