By Staff
May 7th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
The following was sent to us by Bfast – Burlington for Accessible Sustainable Transit . The Gazette was unable to attend the event, we are grateful for what Bfast provided.
Traffic congestion and the need for more buses are limiting improvements to Burlington Transit, and senior governments must step up to support local transit systems. Those were two dominant themes of this year’s Transit Users’ Forum, held Saturday May 4. Nearly 100 transit riders, City staff and politicians attended the forum, organized by Burlington for Accessible Sustainable Transit (BFAST), at the Central Branch of the Burlington Public Library.
Mayor Marianne Meed Ward highlighted City Council’s role in supporting the service expansion that has propelled transit ridership to record levels and committed to continue with transit improvements.
“We have invested heavily in transit, but we’re also trying to remove financial barriers,“ she said. “We’re looking at the feasibility of adding some additional free transit.” And the City will continue to make improvements in its specialized service (Handivan) to handle booming ridership.
“We’ve already starting to talk about the 2025 Budget and we’re looking at more investments in transit yet again.”
Record year for transit
Burlington Transit Director Catherine Baldelli.
Burlington Transit (BT) had a record year in 2023, with some 2.97 million rides, according to BT Director Catherine Baldelli. “People are embracing transit,” she said. “That’s really exciting.”
The affordability of transit was emphasized by Baldelli and most of the speakers at the forum. But growth in demand and worsening traffic conditions are putting the service under pressure.
Long travel times and limited schedules are often due to a shortage of buses and the people who operate and maintain them, Baldelli and transit staff said in response to stories of people forced to spend as many as four hours a day on their work commute.
Heavy traffic, including spillover from the highway, is also slowing down buses, she said. Over the next year, Burlington Transit will work with the City’s Transportation department to implement transit signal priority, which gives a bus priority through an intersection if it is running late.
Heavy traffic also causes bus bunching, where two buses might appear at once after passengers have waited for some time, she explained to a number of users who reported overcrowding on the Fairview-Hamilton Route 1. Bunching happens when one bus is delayed so much that other buses catch up to it. Transit staff monitor the system and make adjustments to keep things moving, she said.
Strong majority support for transit
The solution to many user problems could lie with more provincial and federal support for transit, speakers from BFAST and other organizations said. And public opinion seems to be on their side.
Environment Hamilton’s Ian Borsuk said transit activists in that city envied the progress that has been made in Burlington over the past five years. (Photo credit: Zara Paris/BFAST)
Panelist Gideon Forman, policy analyst with the David Suzuki Foundation, said there was “strong majority support” for more investment in public transit, according to a poll conducted last year by Ekos research. The poll showed nearly 80% of Ontarians wanted provincial and federal governments to invest more in transit. “What’s really exciting here is that it’s that a whole range of demographics” who support transit investment, from youth to seniors, he said.
Support, at 90%, was strongest in Toronto. But it was almost as strong in the 905 region.
“Almost four out of five folks in the 905 region support more money for public transit,” Forman said. “Obviously, lots of folks have to drive in this part of the province. They still support more money for public transit because they see the value in public transit even if they’re not using it themselves.”
Ward 3 Councillor Rory Nisan said a cultural shift was making transit more attractive to youth and families. He said friends were beginning to see the benefits of transit and he believes the shift will continue.
Councillor Rory Nisan: A growing economy means more pressure on roads and “you can’t build your way out of that,” since road expansion only increases car use.
Plan for roads
He projected traffic levels 25 years down the road, when Burlington would have as many as 100,000 new residents. He said Halton Region’s master transportation plan was in process and would deal with regional roads.
“We need to make some very serious decisions about the future of the roads,” he said. “Like it or not, it’s going to be busier on the roads. And the question is, ‘What are we going to do about it?’” A growing economy means more pressure on roads and “you can’t build your way out of that,” since road expansion only increases car use,
“So what’s the answer? The answer is more people walking, biking and taking public transit, and making it easier for people to take public transit. So that’s what we’re building today, so that we’re ready for … 25 years down the road.”
“In a lot of ways, for the last few years, we in Hamilton have been looking at what’s going on in Burlington with envy,” said Ian Borsuk, Executive Director of Environment Hamilton. But he said transit users had to keep the pressure on local councils to act on their issues. He cited a widespread service disruption in Hamilton that eventually led to the formation of the Hamilton Riders Union.
‘We continued putting ongoing pressure on city councillors and it became, politically, absolutely necessary, especially in areas where there isn’t currently bus service, to keep onside with increasing bus service in the city of Hamilton.
Encouraging response
“What’s best for Burlington, what’s best for Hamilton and all our various communities is that the communities determine what’s best for themselves. We know what type of service we need to see in our local communities. And it’s absolutely vital that we continue to work together and learn from each other.”
“We are very encouraged by the response to this year’s Transit Users’ Forum and we thank everyone who attended and helped with organizing this event,” said BFAST Chair Doug Brown.
“We’re seeing a real change in attitudes towards transit as congestion and affordability take a bite out of our over-dependence on cars,” said Brown. “We hope this forum further demonstrates to our elected representatives that despite the progress we’ve made over the past five years, there is still a lot to be done.
“Transit is one of the best tools in our kit to reduce pollution, end gridlock, make our streets safer and improve the quality of our urban life,” said Brown. “We will continue to work with transit supporters, Burlington Transit and our municipal government to make better transit a reality in our community.”
Keep in mind that 1% increase in the City of Burlington budget is about $1.8m. Further, that transit revenue, presently, represents only about 25% of operating cost. The risk is that that the City is about to pour all sorts of real hard dollars into a plan that is completely devoid of any substantive analysis, ridership projections or a practical, not ideological based plan.
The added risk is that costs will go up way more rapidly than ridership… so will taxes. This at a time when the City OP is being stressed by developer and Provincial Growth Plans for more and more intensification for new sources of property tax increases that are drying up. This is already not getting any easier.
Already, at the OLT appeal on the Waterfront Hotel, the developer’s transportation expert witness stated that the application proposal transportation/transit asks, basically needs the “CITY LOFTY GOALS FOR THE MODAL SPLIT PLAN OVER CITY PLAN TIME HORIZON” to fit. The witness went further to say the proposal parking asks were also supported by an adequate number of downtown parking spaces of 1400. This relates to transit/transportation.
What was basically said in meaning, to me, was that the project proposal needed the lofty City transit split goals in order to fit the project policies. In other words, the City now has a transit policy that pays for, or subsidizes, part of the project transportation costs.
I can agree that “more bus users” would be good, but do not agree to “any means to get there.” If this is the intent then we want you to tell them that is what you are going to do with your plan and their money.
All we have seen so far are assumptions that people will somehow and magically change. The issue is it’s change based on impossible levels of different behaviours people are expected to manifest for no reason.
Is this Plan based on a modal split that is realistic, and will work to service the needs and wants of residents, without forcing people onto buses, or blithely assuming they will walk or bike (doubling from 5 to 10%; remember winter?)), and there will be fewer cars.)
Rory Nisan said residents will have to do this. I say, that if it takes 25 years and increased taxes can be ignored, this is just ignoring reality – Plan transit ridership must be completely reversed and exponentially energized upward continuously by 600% by 2029-2031 or so?
I see empty buses all the time so please explain why we need many more?
Does anyone really think the many people assumed as riders, are actually going to willingly give up cars and get on the bus? Please tell me how that works?
For most of my needs, the bus doesn’t go there. How to get to Costco, Walmart, Longos, Fortinos, Sobeys, Clappisons Corners, Terra Landscape, Connons Garden Center, Canadian Tire, and so on.
The bus doesn’t go there. I need a case of beer, a lawnmower, lumber, groceries for a week, hockey for the kids, music lessons, all of this on Saturday, etc etc. Try walking, biking or busing this stuff there and home.
For most commuters, except as noted for route 1 and 101, the bus doesn’t go there I believe. I have never sensed any significant latent demand for a transit service on the part of the majority of residents.
People might like the idea of transit existing, and supporting it, as recent polls indicate, but not that it is all that exists. It has to fit the practical reality, not the ideological one, with out of control property tax costs, something like Burlington appears to have recently, also with the help of the Province taxes for subsidies to developers..
Remember, Burlington cannot fund transit from DCs, as the transit plans to add service are considered to be mostly “benefits to existing” residents. So there are large hard additions to be funded, and very small contributions for transit from developers as part of the ever-growing need for transportation services due to growth in Burlington and Halton Region.
You can buy and supply all the buses you want, but getting people to demand and use these is an entirely different matter, conceptually and practically. I don’t think it legitimate to try and force people. It’s not just people not liking the change, or the change itself. It’s the change based on impossible levels of different behaviours people are expected to manifest for no reason.
I see no rationale or explanation for why people should or could use a significant and costly increase in transit and pay the estimated large cost share, as calculated. I support some transit increase, but I see no demonstration and evidence-based reasoning to support what I see here.
This needs a rationale to show how the transit system configuration proposed will work to provide real results. All I have seen so far are assumptions that people will somehow and magically change.
Finally, remember a basic premise in any planning exercise is, “that everything that starts with a faulty premise is bound to fail”
I’m of an age where I just don’t trust stats thrown at me whilly-nilly. It seems to me that BT ridership stats may be somewhat inflated? Why? to suit a council agenda perhaps?..ie, buy more buses, etc. Spend, spend spend. The buses I see around my neighborhood might, on a good day, have 1 or 2 passengers on board. Where’s the logic on spending more on BT?
Page 175 of this document
https://www.burlington.ca/en/council-and-city-administration/resources/Budget-and-Finances/Proposed-Budget-Book/2024/2024_Financial_Needs_and_Multi-Year_Forecast.pdf
Shows the operating and capital budgets for transit in 2024. 64.8 million and 54.6 million.
Works out to $40 a ride at 2,97 million rides. Taxis would cost less.
My problem is with these stats they throw around.
what is the utilization rate?what percentage of bus seats are filled?20%?75%?
Of course more people are using buses when you offer free rides??
As a senior I can’t see my growing demographic group waiting in a bus stop in the cold climate we have for most of the year.
How many of these city council members and staff take a bus to work?
Total BS.
My problem with Burlington Transit is it doesn’t go late enough. Especially on weekends I’d like to see buses go to at least 2:00am or 3:00 a.m. On Fridays and Saturday nights. And then 1:00 am the rest of the time some of us are on budgets