ACPD voted unanimously to repeat their calls for Hamilton City Council to reverse its 2024 decision to end a voluntary pay program that allowed individuals with visible disabilities or who used mobility devices to ride the HSR and DARTS for free.

ACPD members plan to delegate at the June 11 Council General Issues Committee meeting.

The original meeting preview story follows.

Hamilton’s Advisory Committee for Persons with Disabilities is planning to again call on the City Council to provide free transit fare for people with disabilities. Public works managers will consult the committee on new intersection designs, and the committee will receive the 2024 DARTS ridership statistics.

HSR Fares: ACPD is looking at a new method of requesting Council return to free fare on the HSR and DARTS for persons with disabilities, seeking to have a “sibling program” to the new HSR Fare Assist 30 percent discount for low-income Hamiltonians that will provide free transit to low-income persons with disabilities.

The HSR ended “voluntary pay” for persons with disabilities using mobility devices on July 1, 2024. This followed nearly two decades of free fare. ACPD opposed the change before it occurred and has sought to have it reversed. Council has decided to continue with HSR fare assist.

Protected Intersections: The City plans to build “protected” intersections in the future as part of its updated complete streets guidelines. The City wishes to hear from ACPD regarding design elements, including the community’s preferences regarding accessibility features.

This item was not presented.

DARTS 2024 Numbers: DARTS received 847,595 trip requests in 2024, an increase from 818,239 in 2023, but still below pre-COVID levels of 1,188,727.

The meeting begins at 4:00 p.m. in the Room 264 Boardroom at City Hall. Here are the links for the agenda, and the YouTube live stream.

Production Details
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Published: May 13, 2025
Last updated: May 13, 2025
Author: Joey Coleman

Update Record
v. 1.0.0 original version
v. 1.1.0 updated post-meeting.

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  1. Try living a day in a disabled persons shoes and see what it takes just to be able to get out in the world. I’m sure with all the city waste going on, we can find it in our hearts to allows people with disabilities to ride for free. The busses are already going down the route anyway. Furthermore, if there is abuse to the system then have Disabled folks register for a pass to cut down on this abuse. Very few are going to go through what it takes to have their doctor sign a form accrediting their disability and then take this to HSR’s desk downtown to get a pass which is something easily instituted. City Hall should try living a day in a wheelchair or blindfolded and see how easy life is. Although one could argue City Hall is blind folded given how they go about things.

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