Widespread Public Transit Cancellations Expected in Hamilton Starting Next Week

Hamilton’s public transit system will be unable to provide regular service next week, with cancellations continuing on at least seven bus routes into mid-September, according to an internal memo obtained by TPR.

Hamilton’s Acting Director of Transit Jeff Poljanski states in the memo that the earliest the HSR will be able to provide regular scheduled service is mid-September, with no firm date for the HSR to provide regular “extra” service to Hamilton’s secondary schools.

The internal memo, which the City did not intend to be shared with the public, states service cancellations will begin with Routes 51, 2 Barton, 20 A-Line Express, 22 Upper Ottawa, 25/26 Upper Wentworth and Wellington, 33 Sanatorium, and 44 Rymal. Poljanski states cancellations on other routes are possible.

Route 51 primarily services McMaster University students, Route 2 primarily services the lowest income areas of Hamilton, and Routes 20, 22, and 44 are heavily used by essential low-wage workers to get to warehouse jobs and the Maple Leaf plant.

During past significant service cancellations, which were the result of mismanagement, the HSR has completely cancelled service on route 51.

Numerous HSR front-line employees, granted anonymity because the risk of City Hall reprisal, say the problem relates to a change in procurement practices by HSR managers that resulted in a failure to properly order needed replacement parts for buses.

Poljanski’s memo states that if residents ask questions regarding HSR service, the recommended response is to say “some buses are temporarily unavailable while maintenance and repairs are completed,” and that “all affected routes are running, and service will improve as buses return to the road.”

In the memo, the Acting Transit Director recommends encouraging HSR riders to use third-party apps to see if the bus they plan to take is in service.

General Manager of Public Works Jackie Kennedy, in an interview outside of Monday’s Council Public Works Committee meeting, stated the HSR is “mitigating any impacts to service, as we always do.”

“Parts are coming in. Buses are being repaired,” Kennedy said. “There’s more buses going on the roads daily, we’re increasing the number of buses on the road.”

Service cancellations became widespread in the middle of August.

The HSR’s fleet of 60-foot articulated buses, the double-length buses that are the backbone of service to McMaster University and Mohawk College, is most impacted by the parts shortage. Only 26 of the 47 articulated buses were operational on September 3, 2026, according to real-time transit data transmitted by the HSR on Thursday.

Worsening the problem, the HSR’s annual purchases of new buses have not occurred this year, meaning the HSR continues to operate approximately 40 buses that are past their end of useful service. These buses are more prone to breakdowns, which has been occurring with frequency this summer.

HSR’s frontline maintenance workers have committed to working extra hours to install parts as they arrive and to get buses operational as quickly as possible.

The ongoing transit situation was not discussed at Monday’s Public Works Committee meeting. Ward 3 Councillor Nrinder Nann is the Chair of the Committee.

The expected bus cancellations come at the beginning of a new school year that will see classroom attendance and participation count for 15 per cent of final grades in Grades 9 and 10, and 10 per cent of final grades in Grades 11 and 12.

Due to the service shortage, the HSR has not posted the school “extra” schedules for this coming school year. The internal memo does not state an expected timeline for the HSR to resume secondary school “extras.”

This is a developing story. More information will be added on Friday as it becomes available.

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Published: September 4, 2026
Last updated: September 4, 2026
Author: Joey Coleman

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