HSR Trolley

Hamilton has had hybrid buses for close to a year now. 60-footers and 40-footers.

no stops?? it wouldn't be useful to have a bus route with no stops on Upper James or downtown. The airport is simply not a destination and those who do use it have a massive parking lot there to use. stops at major streets would make sense - fennell, mohawk etc....

here is the press release: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive...7/25/c4840.html Upper James is actually quite busy...and there is a TON of space for higher density redevelopment on all the empty lots and parking lots. Lots of retail and it leads up the airport. The airport is nothing to write home about, but it will be good for people who work out there.

not sure if anyone saw the news today about new hybrids for Hamilton. 6 of them, and according to the report they will be artics. hopefully HSR adds another 10 or 12 to that same order. the 6 new ones are for upper james....i guess that's good, but we really need to equip the entire b-line with artics. was on one yesterday that was like a sardine can.

I've ridden high floors on the 51, 5 and 1A the past 2 weeks. They were from 1986,87 and 88.

well, I know it's autumn. Just waited for 25 minutes in Westdale for a bus back downtown...2 buses passed me packed solid and the 3rd picked me up as the last passenger and then passed a bunch more people down the line. this is brutal. We need a pile more artics. this is 8:30 at night, not rush hour. I'll be ticked if they go for an Upper James B-Line before fixing this mess in the lower city.

I just rode one on the B-Line. They are crap! I wish they wouldn't use them on B-Line (or anywhere else for that matter).

not to mention, the HSR should rejig some of the routes. Buses heading to Cannon, Barton and Burlington Street should use James both ways. They're still running a 1-way bus system by using Hughson, McNab etc.... Same with James and John south. No bus should have to turn from King onto Hughson IMO. James and John are more logical streets to use a bus.

wow....we'll I guess my luck in not seeing bike racks ended today. Was downtown and 5 buses in a row came by with racks on all of them. All were different routes too. They look great! I'd say King is the busiest route. I don't have numbers, but I'd guess it's the 2nd busiest in the system after Barton. Both routes could very easily handle 3-5 minutes between buses and more artics.

not sure if 30 footers would be a wise use of money. Very few places in the system where they can be used. I know i'm full of questions, but does anyone know why the artics were painted slightly different than the winning design by Dave Kuruc? And why didn't the swoosh on the back go over the roofcap as proposed?

how is Seattle paying for the operating costs of all these new buses?? Canada and Ontario are finally giving money for transit. HSR should look into ordering a pile more of the 60 footers.

yea, it'd be nice if they could buy about 30 more of the artics. I wonder how the artics would look in a typical HSR paint job? I always thought the new paint job was going to be reserved for the rapid transit B-Line routes in order to help distinguish them from other routes? King and Barton could fill up artics all day long. Seattle just bought something like 400 of the hybrid artics, AND their building a modern streetcar/LRT line.

it should be added to this website in the next few days: http://www.hamiltoncatch.org/index.php I get their email updates and that's where I read the story this week.

sometimes the drivers can be annoying. they should be happy their system is improving and taking steps forward instead of being deadbeats about it. i've heard drivers complain about the new signage on the back of the bus showing the route name, and drivers like the one mentioned above acting like these bike racks are a nuisance. Get with the times or get a different job. Most drivers are awesome in Hamilton, but there's a few that are brutal. I like the website improvements too that the HSR has made. the 'next bus' feature and ability to print off the daily schedule from my stop is awesome. I guess I'm just missing all the racks. I've seen 2 since they began. also, CATCH news reported this week that the GTTA is asking the province for money for HSR to buy 7 more artics. The GTTA mentioned that they would be used for the Upper James BRT. Wouldn't it make sense for the HSR to use those 7 buses on the B-Line?? I'd rather they get to the point where every single bus on the B-Line is an artic and then worry about Upper James. according to CATCH the King/Beeline corridor was operating at 150% capacity at times last year. I can attest to this first hand having bus after bus pass me by. I would be ticked off if they got 7 artics and used them on Upper James. Does anyone know how many more artics it would take to have the B-Line fully equipped with artics?

thanks for the info folks. Since I'm not sure, what was Phase I of the racks?? I know they said the B-Line would get them, but that hasn't happened as of this morning.

i like the bike racks. I've only seen a couple though. When will the entire fleet be equipped? I was going to use them tomorrow for my commute, but decided against it since I've rarely seen a rack yet.

here's a great read for anyone curious as to why expansion of the trolley fleet was suddenly halted and then torn down: http://www.pccmph.com/dewired.html I don't think public transit would be required to come off the grid in summertime. It's one of the most sustainable transporation methods in existence. And the electricity consumption wouldn't increase due to hot weather like someone's air conditioning.

You're probably right. But it's nice to dream about Hamilton becoming a progressive, transit-oriented city again someday (like we used to be).

sadly, it's news to everyone. It was over a year ago, after the 'Electric City' report by Richard Gilbert. Personally, I think electric trolley systems will be the way of the future. Gas and oil prices are only going 1-way. I'd like Hamilton to develop a couple of modern streetcar lines (electric, obviously) but the rest of the lower city system should gradually be put back on the electric grid. Most of the routes in the lower city travel through residential neighbourhoods, like mine. The current buses are so friggin loud and screechy. I was just in Boston and couldn't believe how quiet the trolleys are. You can't hear a thing as they glide by. $1 million per mile to install overhead wiring, poles etc.... that's not bad at all. James Street is only like 2 miles long or something really short. The Barton route would be the longest probably...or maybe King. Delaware could only be used as electric if they bought dual mode buses for when it climbs to the Meadowlands (although electric buses climb better than any other kind, so maybe some electricity on the escarpment crossings would make sense). Less pollution, less noise, long life. A trolley system makes a lot of sense. Here's the new generation of electric trolleys: http://trans-vancouver.fotopic.net/c1202337.html

I'm thinking about this in terms of developing a rapid transit network. Many people just drive to Westdale or Mac in the evening instead of taking one of the buses you mention that stop every 100 feet. Hamilton needs to bring the HSR into the 21st Century. Rapid Transit lines - BRT and/or LRT need to become a priority. It's counterproductive to have a rapid B-Line that ends at 7pm. It will limit ridership due to the public uncertainty regarding it's operating hours. The HSR needs to get to the point where they can tell Hamilton residents that B Line Express routes will run from 5am to 2am, every 10 minutes on dedicated lanes from Eastgate to University Plaza. Then we'll start seeing more increase in ridership. I found some great info on the electrification of bus routes. The entire Barton route could be outfitted with wires, poles etc...for roughly $8 million. Cannon route would be much less. The city recommended going back to electric trolley buses over a year ago, but nothing has happened yet. Keep emailing your councilors and HSR officials.

I understand many of the routes easing off a bit in the evening, but if we're serious about developing a rapid transit system it needs to be all day service and weekends. Hopefully the money from the province will be a reality and we can get BRT going on James/Upper James with LRT on Main across the city. It would have a revolutionizing effect on the city and how people get around.

I know there used to be a thread about HSR service improvements, but I can't seem to find it. I'm a little disappointed that the B-Line is only being offered from 6am-7pm. I was hoping for all day service till 10pm or midnight as well as all day weekend service. The first step in developing a rapid transit system would be to make the B-Line a full time route 7 days a week. Otherwise, people won't use it because they know it doesn't run often enough. Weekends are tough in this city...the King stops at McNab and there's no B-Line. I'm pleased with the improvements coming...especially after years of cuts, but B-Line needs to become a priority. anyone know when the Eastgate terminal will be done?? What about the new McNab terminal proposal?

I'm curious - does anyone know if the HSR has any rhyme or reason as to where to put the artics?? I saw one today at 3:30 doing the Upper Sherman route. On the other side of Gore Park there were a bunch of absolutely jammed Kings and Bartons. Why Upper Sherman at the start of rush hour on a weekday??

strange that they would be on the upper wellington/wentworth. not a very busy route. the artics would make sense on Barton and King. the 8 York route had a 40 ft hybrid running on Saturday. definitely quieter than the other buses.

interesting...I was under the impression that the paint job was going to be used to help identify the BRT lines within the HSR.