Do you take HSR? Schedule Changes & Bus Tracker

[Ciel21]

@Lindaevans No, it's good that you stated being passed by. What if you had a vision or physical impairment and could not wait another 45mins for the next bus?

I had a new driver on Upper James St in January. He had the front door nicely by the curb and lined up with the pavement markings for visually impaired but the back end of bus was more than a few inches from curb. I gave him feedback on both matters and his trainer reinforced the pavement marking lineup and thanked me for the back door comment. Saves other passengers from a trip going the wrong way!

[Ciel21]

HSR had a few April 30 schedule updates on some routes. Also note the 41-Mohawk detours for Sat May 13 on Ottawa St due to Sew Hungry event (check @hsr on Twitter for map).

[Ciel21]

Summer Bus News took effect on June 25, 2023 for HSR schedules and news:

https://www.hamilton.ca/city-council...ws-summer-2023

Good news for Fall 2023:
[QUOTE]BIG NEWS COMING THIS FALL

You’ve been patiently waiting for this news and it’s finally here! Beginning in September, all-day Sunday express service will begin on routes 10 B-Line and 20 A-Line. This means express service will run 7 days a week on these two routes. We’re also improving connections to/from Stoney Creek by extending Route 55 to Winona Crossing. More details about these and other improvements coming soon.[/QUOTE]
Yay, big box land will finally have bus service!

Burlington Transit updates:https://www.burlington.ca/Modules/News/en/Transit

[Ciel21]

GO Transit weekend changes for Lakeshore West line between Oakville GO and West Harbour Stations:
https://www.thespec.com/news/hamilto...5c81f23df.html

n an “important update” to riders, Metrolinx said that GO buses will replace train service between Oakville and West Harbour GO stations from Friday, July 7 at 9 p.m. until end of service on Sunday, July 9.
Metrolinx said that the temporary change is to accommodate infrastructure work on the Lakeshore West corridor.

Just a general comment on GO STations--some of them close their buildings before 9pm and that means no restroom access. Be prepared and time your hydration needs accordingly (so you don't run out of bathroom options). Burlington GO Station closes at 8:45pm!

[Ciel21]

Fall Bus News by HSR is posted. A few schedules for fall are available, with the rest to follow.https://www.hamilton.ca/city-council...news-fall-2023

There is a fare hike to cash & PRESTO fares.

A new Fare Assist program will be open in 2024 for 18-64 yr residents who work and are low income.https://www.hamilton.ca/home-neighbo...sr-fare-assist

[Ciel21]

ATU107, the bus operators union, had a recent membership vote in favour of a strike. So there's a possibility of Hsr service being impacted next month. Someone told me the news-a strike would make havoc for students and commuters relying on transit.

[Ciel21]

Burlington Transit has some more frequent service added to popular routes as of Sept. 3!
https://www.burlington.ca/en/news/mo...eed-to-be.aspx

[Ciel21]

HSR operators with ATU local 107 have been on strike since Nov.9. This very early morning, the Mayor has announced a tentative deal with the union. Bus service is expected to resume tomorrow morning but I've read that union members won't vote on the offer until Monday. YMMV so plan your bus travel with a back up if possible.

https://www.hamilton.ca/city-council...-atu-local-107

City of Hamilton is hosting the Grey Cup this weekend. Tomorrow is also a local school professional activity day off for school boards so expect some volume on the buses if they are operating.

[Ciel21]

The HSR is not included in the upcoming One Fare program for electronic fare payment users but since many SCers do go into the GTA and use GO Transit and possibly the TTC, they'd probably want to know about the Feb. 26 program launch: https://www.ttc.ca/riding-the-ttc/Up...e-Fare-Program

[Linda Evans]

Attachment 382164

this may seem confusing but im gonna ask it anyway...lol... so i need to go East on kenilworth toward center on barton... the bus stop at Kimberly circle has 3 times. i know one mohawk goes down ottawa st & one goes down Kenilworth ave. How do i know what time is the kenilworth bus?


also the stop AFTER the kimberly circle is #2780 & i cant figure out HOW to see the times for it. My cell phone is busted..i cannot text. why is this so difficult. ;-(

[Ciel21]

@Linda Evans Sorry I did not see your post earlier. Last week, some schedules had changes announced for April 28 but HSR only published the Bus News link 2-3 days after the schedules were posted. Let's just say one person and myself still have miffy feelings about two routes that cannot be pulled up by typing their route numbers alone. HSR knows our beef!

Not sure how Kenilworth bus goes east? I know the 41-Mohawk does stop at that little bus transfer point at the base of the Kenilworth Access, so if you are heading to the Centre on Barton, you board the Eastbound bus as it is going north. Just check sign that it is going to Kenilworth/Industrial Dr. Will verify my information in a few minutes as I don't want to accidently have you take the Mohawk bus going north on Ottawa St as it will boot up the next off ramp past the transfer point and take you along the Ottawa BIA area after it heads west on King Street East. *May 11, Sew Hungry will be on for the food truck festival so expect detours for the Ottawa buses that day.*41-Mohawk whenever you want to use the bus going on Kenilworth, the destination sign for it going East/North past Centre on Barton is Kenilworth& Barton (J on the schedule)-bus sign should read 41K. When you want to leave Centre on Barton, again look for the Westbound/South times for J on the 41-Mohawk West schedule. This timetable did not change on April 28 but does end in late June, prior to the summer bus schedules slowing down frequency (not fun during hot weather, but operators do take vacations).

OK I figured out what you mean about Kimberly Circle. It's actually the Kenilworth Traffic Circle at Kimberly (the road going up east past the bus transfer point?), which is H on the bus schedule.

The only mention of stop 2780 is for the eastbound Mohawk on the Kenilworth route. As far as I know, the Bus Check phone system is still not working. So you cannot see the stop's time on the schedule. Since 2780 is at King St/Monterey, it must be the stop after the underpass for King St E that the Ottawa bound Mohawk takes? You can reach HSR Customer SErvice through the main City of Hamilton line at 905-546-CITY (2489). Only phone line it seems for most City services (HPL has a completely different contact line as its digital phone line is offline too).

HSR does mention that Google, Apple and Transit apps will be delayed in being updated due to the cybersecurity issues.

[Ciel21]

@Linda Evans Can you text if you are on wi-fi in a public space? I assume since your phone is busted, it cannot use your telecom network? My local library (Ancaster) is the sole branch without wifi. However the municipal wifi at the fire station WORKS, so check if you have a fire station near you with working wifi.

[Linda Evans]

Thanks for all that info ciel21!! i walked down to the kenil. circle & wrote down the times the bus came..the ottawa had an "O" beside 41 Like you said. same with "K". so i wrote down the times. took a pic & its on my phone when i need to check. ;-) Im ok with the shedules coming BACK from the center. those ones i can understand. i hope the city gets thier sh$# together soon.....i really miss calling the next bus.

[Ciel21]

I finally printed off the schedules with the April 28 dates. I think only 3 schedules actually have one minute changes in the timetables as most schedules don't seem to have any time changes (weekday or weekend). The other little tweak-a few schedules for weekdays now show times in cells like we see in spreadsheets. But for some reason those cells are not extended to the weekend timetables.

Unfortunately the 5-Delaware schedule really needs to be printed on legal size paper to even get a glimpse of times as the letter-size paper version is impossible to read. Or perhaps I need to visit downtown and see if a paper version can be had from the racks.

I will check what the bus fares are for neighbouring transit systems (cash/Presto) as April or May usually is the time of fare changes in Burlington and other cities. It's always good to have a little page of the numbers so if I go into Burlington, I can budget a couple of BT fares on Presto along with 2-3 HSR fares.