Vision 2020 Goals:

To develop an integrated sustainable transportation system for people, goods and services which is environmentally friendly, affordable, efficient, convenient, safe and accessible. To encourage a shift in personal lifestyle and behaviour towards transportation choices that enhance personal health and fitness, save money, and have the lowest environmental cost. Theme Overview

Annual Indicators for this Theme Area:

Transit Ridership Per Capita Number of Cars Per Capita

Actions to Accelerate our Progress:

City The Bus Pass Program was initiated to help the City meet its VISION 2020 goal to diversify the methods of transportation used within the City and reduce instances of single passenger commutes. Currently, the bus pass program has agreements with the McMaster Students Union, McMaster Graduate Students Association, Redeemer College Student Senate, Columbia College Student Union and City of Hamilton Employees. The City has also prepared a Downtown Transportation Master Plan. The project is a key piece in the ongoing revitalization of Hamilton's central urban area. The study was undertaken as part of a set of initiatives, referred to as Putting People First: Downtown Land Use and Transportation. Putting People First was initiated to address a number of concerns in the downtown including: Changing economy, lack of pedestrian and cycling amenities, unattractive environment. Transportation is seen as a key component in helping to revitalize downtown Hamilton. Implementation of this plan is already underway. One example is the conversion of James Street from one way to two way and street improvements to create a more pleasant pedestrian environment. A city-wide sustainable Transportation Master Plan is also being developed. Community Alternative Commuting and Transportation (ACT) was created in the summer of 2002 by McMaster University to promote walking, biking, public transportation, and carpooling to the students and faculty of the school. This group is working to reduce the demand of parking on and around campus, as well as reducing greenhouse gas emissions within the City Of Hamilton. The program, though relatively new, has been successful in a number of endeavours, including an introduction of 14 daily bus trips by the GO regional transit system onto the campus, demonstrations of bus routes to incoming to students to better prepare them for the transit system and make them comfortable with making the choice of public transit. Act is also working with the HSR to develop two new express routes onto campus. The endeavour started in response to the parking issues around and on campus. ACT also creates other benefits like fewer greenhouse gasses emitted by commuters to campus and better air quality for everyone in the city. ACT is making a difference in the community, one which hopefully will promote lifelong changes in the transportation choices made by students and faculty at the school.

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Places to Get More Information:

Theme Overview
Canadian Urban Transit Association www.cutaactu.on.ca (416) 365-9800 Canadian Renewable Fuel Association www.greenfuels.org (905) 304-1324 Drive Clean Program www.driveclean.com 1-888-758-2999 GO Transit www.gotransit.com 1-888-GET ON GO (438-6646) Hamilton Street Railway Company www.hamilton.ca/Living-Here/Transit (905) 528-4200 Ontario Ministry of Transportation www.mto.gov.on.ca 1-800-268-4686 Smog/Air Quality-The Green Lane www.ec.gc.ca/air_e.html 1-800-668-6767 Downtown Transportation Master Plan for the City of Hamilton www.hamilton.ca/Planning-and-Development/long-range/strategic-planning/downtownplanning.asp

Changing Our Mode of Transportation

Performance in this Indicator is Related to:

Personal Health and Well-Being Improving Air Quality Climate Change

Consuming Less Energy Local Economy

Changing Our Mode of Transportation

Land Use in the Urban Areas

Community Well-Being and Capacity Building

Improving the Quality Of Water Resources

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Natural Areas and Corridors

Transit Ridership Per Capita

Description of Indicator:

Transit Ridership Per Capita

120 100 80 60 40 20 0 1993 Annual Transit Rides per Capita 100 Rides per Year Target Level 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

Target:
100 rides per person per year.

Year

Data Table
Year 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 Annual Transit Rides per Capita 55 51 50.3 48.4 48.1 48 47.1 47.8 49.0 47.3 46.9

Did You Know?

Driving your car is likely the most polluting thing you do in a day. Burning 1 gallon of gasoline generates 20 pounds of carbon dioxide. Using the most conservative estimate, the average car commuter generates about 7,350 lbs. of carbon dioxide (CO2) a year. Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Centre of the U.S. Dept. of Transportation Bureau of Transportation Statistics at: www.ecolivingcenter.com/directory/statistics.html

How Are We Doing: Needs Improvement

While population within the Urban Transit Area increased, transit ridership remained constant. Growth in residents and jobs is occurring in the fringes of the urban area; however, service expansion has been curtailed due to budgetary restrictions. Area rating for transit can have a tendency to keep service levels lower in the former area municipalities, making it a less attractive travel choice. Land use changes tend to favour auto-oriented

Needs Improvement

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Measuring our use of public transit is important because it provides information on how our transportation choices are changing. Transit helps reduce single-occupant car trips that result in emissions that are harmful to human health, plants, and the natural environment. Transit also makes more efficient use of road systems which are expensive to maintain and expand to accommodate increased traffic volume. More efficient use of roads means fewer new roads being built. New road construction can negatively affect water quality and ecosystems if large areas of the watershed are altered and paved.

Annual Number of Rides per Capita

Did You Know: Transit Ridership Per Capita

How Are We Doing: Needs Improvement cont.

Changing Our Mode of Transportation

development, with a minimal amount of growth in medium and higher density dwellings. The result is a declining indicator, placing Hamilton in a position where it is becoming increasingly challenging to start to make significant positive change towards meeting the target.

Data Provider's Comments:

In fast-growing Ancaster, a re-alignment of routes resulted in better service to Meadowlands and the Duff's Corners industrial neighbourhood, including new service availability in the evenings and on Saturday. In the downtown and West Harbourfront, the Gore to Shore Shuttle provided a free summer travel alternative for shoppers, residents and sightseers. The transportation challenges created by the two major cycling events were dealt with in an effective and efficient manner, allowing downtown and West Mountain residents to continue with their daily travel routines with a minimum of disruption and inconvenience. Twenty accessible low floor buses, powered by compressed natural gas, joined the fleet, replacing high floor diesel buses that had reached retirement age. This fleet replacement strategy is consistent with the long range plan to provide more travel choice for those using personal mobility devices and minimize the amounts of harmful air pollutants (PM10, CO2, NOx) that result from bus operation. However, reliance on CNG fuel is resulting in increased operating and maintenance costs that, in the absence of predictable and stable financing from senior levels of government, must be recouped thru higher taxes or user fees. Other technologies are available that also provide strong environmental benefits. The April fare increase of between 5 and 10 percent, depending on fare media, was the 2nd fare increase in 19 months. This made it difficult to attract new users and placed many captive users under financial strain. Increasing costs and low ridership required the Airport Shuttle route to be replaced by a shared-ride taxi service, making ground travel for price sensitive air travellers more complex. Limitations: Transit services are not available to all areas in the City. A better indicator would be transit use as a percentage of population in transit accessible areas.

Actions to Improve This Theme Area:

Citizens Take the bus on a regular basis. If you cannot take the bus all the time, commit to using public transit for a set number of trips per week. Organize a sustainable transportation lobby group.

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Clear snow from the entire sidewalk

Data Source and Commentary: City of Hamilton, Transit, Public Works Department

Transit Ridership Per Capita

Actions to Improve This Theme Area cont.:

Provide transit passes for employees instead of parking spaces. Government More integrated planning to link transit with location of employment. Local government can "lead by example" by providing incentives for employees to use alternative modes of transportation. Improve the bicycle network by the High Level Bridge (Plains Road and York Boulevard Corridor). Clear snow from the entire sidewalk. Evaluate existing traffic calming projects to identify what works and continue to use those techniques. Conduct a sustainable transportation study. Extend GO Transit Service. Find ways for transit useers to feel safe. Non-Governmental Organizations Promote Hamilton's cycling network. Create a transit citizen advisory group.

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Business Large employers can also provide incentives for employees to take transit, for example, sharing in the cost.

Number of Cars Per Capita

Description of Indicator:

Aside from the negative health effects caused by vehicle use and air pollution, there are other health risks connected to reliance on vehicles. Recent studies have shown that we have constructed cities that do not encourage walking, bicycling or other physically active transportation choices. The result is a sedentary lifestyle which plays a role in a wide range of diseases including coronary artery disease, stroke, hypertension, colon cancer, breast cancer, diabetes, and osteoporosis. Two thirds of Canadian children are not active enough for optimal growth and development. Economically, 2.5 percent of direct health care costs across Canada ($2.1 billion) can be attributed to physical inactivity.
Number of Cars Per Capita
1.20 1.00

Target:
A decrease in the number of cars owned per capita is a movement in the right direction.

0.80 0.60 0.40 0.20 Number of Cars per Capita 0.00 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

Year

Data Table
Year 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 Number of Cars per Capita 0.79 0.81 0.82 0.84 0.85 0.88 0.90 0.91 0.93 0.97 0.99

Did You Know?

In just one hour on a typical weekday morning, some 36,000 passengers arrive at Torontos Union Station by GO Train - if all those people drove instead of taking public transit, we would need to build three more Gardiner Expressways and three new Don Valley Parkways. GO Transit at:www.gotransit.com

How Are We Doing: Needs Improvement

The data shows that over the past 10 years there has been a significant increase in cars per capita. More emphasis needs to be put on investing in pedestrian friendly communities where dependence on the automobile is reduced.
Needs Improvement

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Measuring the number of cars per person is important because it gives us an idea of how we are traveling to meet our daily needs, as well as giving a rough idea of the trend in the number of vehicles in the community. Vehicle use has implications fo air quality, health and climate change (see Transit Ridership,Air Quality and Climate Change sections of this report).

Number of Cars Owned per Capita

Did You Know: Number of Cars Per Capita

Data Provider's Comments:

Changing Our Mode of Transportation

This indicator provides insight into the lifestyle choices made by individuals. Decisions about where one lives and works are the major determinants of the number of vehicles required by a household. Are there opportunities for Hamiltonians to be less vehicle dependent? Many families feel that one vehicle is not enough given the location of community services and recreation. Recent studies indicate that the percentage of the workforce commuting outside the City of Hamilton is steadily increasing, doubling every five years for the last two decades. The majority of out-commuters travel into the Greater TorontoArea, often to destinations that are not easily accessible by public transit. Do we have land use patterns and transportation infrastructure that makes it easier to reduce vehicle use? An automobile dependent land use pattern has economic impacts. It fails to provide mobility for some people and it is unaffordable to many households. In order to get Hamiltonians to change lifestyle choices, they must be given more transportation options including transit, ridesharing, bicycling, walking, and telecommuting. None of these will individually "solve" our mobility problems, but each has a niche in an efficient transport system. An incentive to improve transit infrastructure is the Ontario governments promise to direct a portion of the revenue generated from the Federal Gas Tax to municipalities to upgrade transit system. For more information visit: www.cnews.canoe.ca/
CNEWS/Canada/2004/10/22/681232-cp.html

Limitations:
This indicator does not measure the actual number of cars that are used in the City. Vehicles that are commuting into the City are not accounted for. There are no indicators of regional transportation trends.

Actions to Improve This Theme Area:

Citizens Consider alternative modes of transportation. Use a bike, take public transit, carpool to work or school, or walk. Consider transportation time and costs when purchasing a home. Look for a location that has access to public transit, schools, shops and community facilities within walking distance. Start a car-sharing group in your neighbourhood. If you are purchasing a vehicle, consider the emissions. Purchase a hybrid vehicle.

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Data Source: Ontario Ministry of Transportation, Licensing Administration Office. Commentary: City of Hamilton, Long Range Planning, Planning and Development Department

Number of Cars Per Capita

Actions to Improve This Theme Area cont.:

Provide incentives for workers to carpool or use public transit. Locate new premises on transit routes if possible. Government Continue to develop an integrated network of non-vehicular transportation routes including bicycle routes and multi-use pathways. Consider a greater investment into public transit systems. Promote the development of retail and personal services close to major transit facilities. Create a more compact land use pattern that is less vehicle oriented. Complete and implement the new Transportation Master Plan to create a more sustainable transportation network.

Data Source: Ontario Ministry of Transportation, Licensing Administration Office. Commentary By: City of Hamilton, Planning and Development Department.

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Business Provide storage and changing facilities for bicycle commuters.