Denise Davy of the Hamilton Spectator reports that there is a proposed motion by the Hamilton Street Railway (HSR)
The current cost of a monthly pass is $79.00, a strip of five tickets costs $9.25 (or $1.85 each) and a single fare is $2.40. I last reported about this issue when the HSR raised their fares January 1st 2008, the adult monthly pass increased 21% from its previous price of $71.00; while a strip of bus tickets used to cost $8.75. Their previous price increase was June 2007, when a single ride was $2.10, and a monthly pass was $65.00. If this motion is passed it means in twelve months public transportation in Hamilton would have increased by sixty cents.
For those who are not covered by the U-Pass, this fare hike will amount of money spent in a short amount of time. However, the HSR fare increase will also impact those who rely on the MSU bus pass.
As reported by Joey Coleman, the U-Pass for undergraduate students in the 2008-2009 academic year cost $94.80. For 2009-2010 the projected cost is $102.70, while for 2010-2011 it is $110.60. In contrast, the bus pass for 2007-2008 was $71.50. But as a first year the bus pass was only $67.50 of my student fees.
As you can tell, prices seem to be increasing rather steadily, and I’m sure you’re not the only one who is upset about it. Each year the price is projected to increase by 10% of the monthly cost starting at 120% for 2007-2008 and ending at 140% for 2010-2011. At that time another referenda will be held to determine if the student body wishes to continue having a bus pass as part of their student fees.
However, the prices for the next two years were only an estimate when the HSR released their report in February 2008. They stated that if the price of an adult monthly fare increases so will the cost of the U-Pass. 23 000 students have a U-Pass, which works out to an average of thirteen trips per user per month. Approximately 2.5 million trips are taken during the academic year using the HSR bus pass.
The new fare price will amount to $2.70 which is only five cents less than the TTC in Toronto. The TTC covers a much larger geographic area, and includes subway, streetcar and bus travel at that cost.
City councilors will be meeting November 14th to discuss the possible transit hike, which may come into effect as early as January 2009.
MacInsiders will be updating you on this matter as soon as more information comes available. You can also visit the Compass desk in MUSC, check out the Compass website, or email staff at compass@msu.mcmaster.ca.
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