|
|
||||||||||
|
March 26, 2007
Mayor Eisenberger and Members of Council Re: Resolving the Transit Fare DebateHamiltonians for Progressive Development would like to offer some suggestions for dealing with what seems to be a frequently repeated and unresolved debate about HSR and DARTS fares. From our perspective, the city seems to be operating in a reactive mode, lurching from crisis to crisis and responding to immediate budget pressures without a clear policy or decision-making criteria.We note that: 1. The staff report proposing fare hikes in each of the next three years says that this year’s increase will result in 550,000 fewer transit riders in 2007, but produce a net revenue increase of just over $1 million. 2. The staff also report that increased transit demand has precipitated a sustained pressure from bus operators, riders and the community in general to increase the transit system capacity, but the necessary resources to provide those service hours seems unattainable. 3. Last month city council approved a Master Transportation Plan calling for aggressive expansion of the transit system and a target of more than doubling rider ship by 2030. 4. The city’s official plan sets an objective of increasing rider ship to 100 rides per capita per annum by 2020. The current level is about 47. 5. Council recently endorsed the development of a bus rapid transit system for Hamilton, and ministers of transportation in both Queen’s Park and Ottawa have expressed written interest in helping the city achieve this goal. The city recently purchased 34 new buses, including several diesel-electric hybrids and some 60-foot articulated vehicles for use in developing a bus rapid transit system. 6. Taxes currently provide about 43% of HSR costs, with fares and other revenue making up the remainder. A staff survey of the 14 largest transit systems in Canada places Hamilton fifth highest in the portion of costs covered by fares. The portion of HSR costs covered by taxes has been declining, at least since amalgamation. 7. Tax rates for transit are currently area rated, with levels borne by residents inside the HSR service area differing by as much as five to one, and residents outside the service area making no contributions. We suggest that council and the community establish and operate on the basis of a long-term plan and vision of the role of transit in our community. We need to decide whether we want to increase transit rider ship or decrease it, and make decisions based on that policy. And we need to have a clear policy on what portion of the transit system should be covered by taxes. We feel that council and community can establish a basis for transit decisions that will reduce conflict and perhaps end the debate all together on the role that fares will play in transit financing. In the interim, we suggest no change to the fare structure until such a comprehensive policy has been determined, and then to make decisions that are consistent with that policy. We would however stress the need for all parties to put a priority on that discussion. These issues have been raised before, and neither council nor the community can afford to wait yet another year for their resolution. In the points described above, the signals we are seeing from the city are contradictory. We wish to conclude by briefly stating our position. In light of our commitment to the goals of Vision 2020, and the global climatic crisis, we strongly encourage council to commit to quickly and strongly increasing HSR rider ship. All policy decisions should have that goal in mind. In this regard we note: 1. People who travel by public transit create 65% fewer greenhouse gas emissions than those who travel by car. 2. Both federal and provincial governments are now regularly providing the city with a portion of their gas tax revenues for the specific purpose of improving public transit. 3. The city’s share of these funds is at least partly based on transit rider ship, with more monies being provided for systems with more riders. 4. Only a small portion of the funds received to date have been used to improve the HSR. About $1.8 million is being used each year to avoid a fare increase and staff is proposing allocating a further $750,000 to this purpose. In conclusion, we thank you for considering our suggestions. While these are tough decisions, we continue to encourage you to meet these challenges directly and to set a new direction for our city based on a reaffirmation of the goals of a sustainable and well-planned community. Sincerely
Hamiltonians for Progressive Development cc. Media, CATCH
|
|||||||||||
|
|
