Hamilton and District Labour Council wants city council to get ball rolling on free public transit

The idea may seem bold, but the president of the Hamilton and District Labour Council wants city council to get the ball rolling on free public transit.

Anthony Marco plans to introduce a no-cost or "Care Fare Public Transit Initiative" at the city council budget meeting scheduled for Feb. 6.

He said priority would be given to four groups of people that need help:

• Students aged 17 and younger.
• Anyone 60 and older.
• Anyone on Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) or Ontario Works (OW).
• Anyone with a medical disability.

"Here's what we would like to see over the term of this council, if they can do it faster than that, that's great, but this is kind of our opening salvo. If we can get these four in, every single step along the way is a win because you've got more accessibility and more affordability, " Marco told CBC Hamilton.

The city has subsidized 53 per cent of the Hamilton Street Railway for many years.

"We believe in free public transit for everybody," Marco said.

"So, what we've done is we've chosen groups that we believe are the most disadvantaged with regards to affordability and accessibility."

Marco said he doesn't expect the city to provide enough funding to help all four groups right away, but he wants to get the conversation started on potentially free public transportation.

"The proposal that we're pitching is not necessarily meant to be all rolled out in one year — on this year's budget. However, there may be one or two of those groupings that wouldn't be that high a hurdle to try to implement a pilot project for the first year," he said.

Marco said with the Light Rail Transit (LRT) in development, he would like to see the rail system become a part of the HSR and facilitate free public transit there too. He said if the LRT becomes privately owned, then he would like to see a reduced rate when switching between the train and the HSR, similar to the HSR and GO Transit.

'It's a way to the future'

President of the Congress of Union Retirees Malcolm Buchanan says he fully endorses Marco's proposal.

"I think it's a way to the future," he told CBC Hamilton.

Malcolm, 80, says he wants to see public transit belong to the public again. He also wants to see the HSR expand into Glanbrook and Waterdown.

"I'm a great believer in public transit. It's good for all older citizens of Hamilton to be able to use the transit system. Folks want to go downtown for appointments and this will give them a sense of freedom."

Bus pass programs in Hamilton

The city started a pilot project through the Hamilton Public Library on Feb. 18, 2022 to provide Presto passes to kids aged six to 12 years old and also allowing them to ride the bus free of charge. 

The library told CBC Hamilton that as of Jan. 3, more than 4,500 bus passes had been distributed to registered families, and they will continue to hand out more until the program ends on April 30, or if they run out, whichever happens first.

Once the program finishes the library and HSR will work with McMaster's transit research-informed practice lab to analyze and evaluate the pilot and share the results with city council. 

In November 2021 the city approved HSR fare incentives to improve ridership and revenue lost from the COVID-19 lockdowns. The incentives include an enhanced loyalty program providing free fare after eight paid rides a week until ending on March 31, 2023 and an HSR "myRide" on-demand transit service in Waterdown that is currently operating as part of route 18 on a 30-minute frequency during weekdays and Saturdays. 

Hamilton also offers residents access to the affordable transit pass program for working adults between 18 and 64 years old, whether they receive financial assistance through OW or ODSP or not. Eligibility is based on family income and if they fall under Statistics Canada Low-Income Measurement levels. 

Residents over the age of 80 can also access free HSR transportation with the use of photo identification and a free Presto card as part of the HSR Golden Age transit pass program. According to Statistics Canada's 2021 census of Hamilton, there were over 27,000 people 80 years old or older living in the city.