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Transit Neighbourhoods for Hamilton

Towards a Neighbourhood Transit Pass

Image - Environment Hamilton Logo

Environment Hamilton is a not-for-profit created by a group of citizens from east Hamilton. This two-year-old organization has proven its ability to deliver projects with measurable positive impacts in the community.

What are they doing?

While pass programs have been introduced to employers (Ecopass) and students (Upass), an innovative pass program targeting the neighbourhood level offer great potential to deliver results. The Neighbourhood Eco (NECO) pass program would be offered to residents of neighbourhoods that successfully mobilize a minimum of 100 adjacent households to pool their finances towards the collective purchase of a steeply discounted yearly transit pass.

In the city of Boulder, Colorado, a similar program attracted a significant number of first-time transit users and saw a 50% increase in ridership amongst previous transit users through their NECO Pass. The success of the neighbourhood pass is premised on the economy of scale and reduced administrative costs provided by bulk purchasing.

What did the project accomplish?

The research found a high level of public support for public transit and its environmental and economic benefits. It also confirmed a NECO program would be an effective tool for increasing transit ridership in selected areas when used in conjunction with other transit system improvements. Notable results include:

  • Targeted information packages to 3,500 individuals in two study neighbourhoods
  • 14 families involved directly in research
  • Several hundred thousand people were exposed through distribution 8,000+ flyers, project website and extensive media coverage
  • Numerous public meetings
  • Hamilton Transit Users Group (HTUG) formed as an autonomous and ongoing citizens transit advocacy group in fulfillment of project objectives
  • Facilitated formation of Hamilton's first transit users group, Transit Users Group (TUG), with a paid membership of over 80 individuals, a contact list of over 200 individuals, regular meetings, newsletters and campaigns.
  • 5% decrease in number of SOV trips with family study group
  • 66% of individuals living in multi-unit residences in target neighbourhood indicated they would purchase a Neighbourhood Transit Pass if available

Where can you find more information?

Environment Hamilton - Transit



Date modified:
2010-02-03