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February
2, 2003
NEW PROPOSAL JUMPS FARE 15 CENTS A RIDE
Report
by CATCH – Citizens at City Hall
The
City is proposing a 15 cent fare hike on April 1 –
three times the amount proposed just four weeks ago. A report
presented to the Public Works committee on January 30 calls
for
- a
15 cent increase in the HSR cash fare
- a
15 cent increase in the basic DARTS fare
- a
$5 per month increase in the adult monthly pass
- a
$8 per month increase in the elementary and secondary
student monthly pass
- a
$20 increase in the Seniors annual pass
The
proposal calls for further fare hikes in January 2005 of
$3 per month in all monthly passes and another $20 in the
seniors annual pass. Along with the $20 increase in 2003
this means the seniors pass will go up $60 in three years.
Adult
tickets would go up 5 cents in on April 1 this year and
another 5 cents on January 1. Staff are pushing for a council
decision by the end of February to allow the 2004 hikes
to take effect at the beginning of April.
About
60,000 ride the bus on an average weekday. Most of them
are the most vulnerable people in the city. Approximately
100,000 people in Hamilton live below the poverty line.
The bus is also the only transportation option for many
youth and seniors. Nearly all the people currently using
the HSR have no choice, a fact acknowledged by the head
of HSR in his presentation to the council committee.
The
staff report predicts that the fare hikes will cause a drop
in 481,000 riders in the last nine months of 2004 and a
further 187,000 riders in 2005. There is no discussion in
the report on who specifically will be affected, but presumably
they will mainly be the poorest of the current riders. About
18% of Hamilton households do not have a vehicle.
For
some, it may no longer make sense to pay the increased fares
to get to a poor-paying job. For others who are already
unemployed, the trips to a job interview may no longer take
place. In both cases, the individual and their families
may join the welfare rolls. If this happens with less than
100 people, all of the increased HSR “revenue”
will be spent in social assistance.
Two
weeks ago, Council received a report that the majority of
local employment agencies list “lack of transportation”
as a major obstacle to people finding work in Hamilton.
Others
forced off the buses will face lower quality of life, perhaps
leading to mental or physical deterioration and subsequent
hospitalization.
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