HSR braces for $3.7M loss with paused student passes

The city is bracing for a $3.7-million hit to transit revenue with the COVID-19 pandemic keeping post-secondary students away from Hamilton campuses.

HSR transit pass agreements normally offer a subsidized rate and unlimited bus rides for roughly 42,000 students at Mohawk College, McMaster University and Redeemer University College.

But this week councillors agreed to have staff negotiate a temporary suspension of the agreements with lecture halls and classrooms closed for the fall semester.

This moves us into the fall semester where our universities and the colleges have decided that the majority of their courses will be provided online and that students will not be coming into campus," Nancy Purser, manager of transit support services, said during this week's public works meeting.

The city's revenue from the post-secondary transit pass program in 2019 was $8,691,702.

Purser said the goal is to make sure the city's agreements with the post-secondary institutions remain intact" so when students return, the passes can be reissued.

A staff report notes suspending the arrangement from September to December will result in an HSR budget revenue shortfall of $3.7 million.

The city's transit pandemic pain started when the Ontario government declared a state of emergency March 17.

Passenger limits were set to allow for physical distancing, while front-door boarding and fares were suspended. The city asked that only people heading out for groceries, work or medical appointments take the bus.

As of early June, HSR had experienced a ridership drop of roughly 75 per cent, working out to about $7.3 million lost at the fare box.

With the closure of campuses and students taking online courses instead, transit saw a significant reduction" in ridership. The post-secondary contingent accounts for about 23 per cent of HSR's passenger volume.

Staff say it's unknown" what the continued effect of COVID-19 will be on classes and enrolment, leaving future transit revenues in an equally hazy status.

In addition, the Mohawk Students' Association has asked the city to consider offering the few students will still attend campus for lab work a student rate. Post-secondary students normally pay adult fares.

Coun. John-Paul Danko suggested transit staff reach out to the student association to put something on the table" as a possible rate. There will be students that require transit."

Teviah Moro is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach him via email: tmoro@thespec.com