Filesha Wiltse at Environment Hamilton OLD

Filesha Wiltse signed HSR Petition 2017-01-26 08:23:47 -0500

We need to invest in our future. We need to make public transit more reliable and accessible to everyone. We don’t need buses with tv screens that play a constant stream of adds. We need to find a way to encourage everyone to use public transit. I live downtown and air pollution in the heart of our city has continued to grow. Now is the time to make changes to save what we have left of the world. We need a city that will fight for us and what is best for everyone in our city. Please consider the world you are leaving behind for the next generation.
Quick Facts on Hamilton Transit:
- Hamilton has been spending increasingly less on transit over time. Adjusting for inflation to 2016 dollars, the city spent $83.85 million on transit in 1994, $61.15 million on transit in 2005, and $59.02 million on transit in 2016.
- Hamilton City Council approved the Rapid Ready transit plan, which requires a capital investment of $156 million and a commitment to address an operating cost shortfall of $45 million. Council also approved the Ten Year Local Transit Strategy which includes a requirement to invest $57 million on new buses alone. While these plans have been approved, Council has yet to commit these dollars, and scheduled fare increases are insufficient to cover the costs.
- Each year the federal government gives cities money generated from the federal gas tax with the intent that it be invested in projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, clean our air, and clean our water. Many cities across the country spend their gas tax money on transit. Of $32 million in federal gas tax transfers to Hamilton last year, $3 million went to transit and $29 million to road work.
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913 signatures

The Petition:

The HSR is broken and it’s time to fix it. We’re calling on Hamilton City Council to take our city’s transit needs seriously by committing to substantially increase funding for the HSR.

There are a number of actions Council can take in the short term to increase funding, such as spending more of our federal gas tax dollars on transit, like other cities do. Hamilton can also raise taxes to deliver the transit we need and deserve. The scheduled fare increases are not going to fix the HSR while tax dollars for transit remain stagnant.

Public transit is a public good, and enhancing service will bring benefits to residents across Hamilton.

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