HSR workers should operate Hamilton's new LRT system: Jackson

A Hamilton Mountain city councillor says he wants to make sure local HSR drivers operate the city's new light rail transit (LRT) system and that any revenue the system generates stays local.

The local jobs, for me, are incredibly important.- Tom Jackson, Ward 6 councillor

Tom Jackson, Ward 6 city councillor, says he'll soon bring a motion to the council table pressing for LRT jobs to stay local.

That means he wants HSR staff not Metrolinx to operate LRT. And he wants to haveany revenue generated used for thebenefit ofthe local transit system.

"The local jobs, for me, are incredibly important," Jackson said.

• Two-thirds of city council would have to vote to reopen the LRT debate

"The local jobs component, and HSR maintaining and operating the system, should seriously be part and parcel of LRT going forward."

Jackson's effort matches the stance of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 107, which represents HSR drivers.President Eric Tuck said he's approached all the councillors about this.

It's about public control of our transit system.- Eric Tuck, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 107

Tuck doesn't want LRT to result in local job losses.

"More importantly," he said, "it's about public control of our transit system."

The LRT will run along a critical route through Hamilton's lower city.

The $1 billion system, which the province is funding andMetrolinx is building in consultation with the city, will run alternately along Main and King Streets from McMaster University to the Queenston traffic circle. It will also run down James Street North to the West Harbour GO station.

Metrolinx will own the system.But who will run and maintain LRT, and what will happen to the fare revenue, isstill being negotiated.Revenue and ridership projects are still being determined too, said spokesperson Kelly Anderson.

• Mayor wants to offer more buses to Mountain in bid to get LRT support

The B-line routealong the King-Main-Queenston corridor isn't the busiest single routein Hamilton, the city says. But it is certainly well used.

In 2015, the city says, there were 9.2 million rides alone routes 1, 5, 10 and 51 in that corridor. System wide, Hamilton's total ridership was 21,906,762 trips.

The city says it doesn't know how much revenue the B line generated, since it doesn't track revenue by route. In general, fare box revenue covers about 47 per cent of the cost of operating HSR.

Tuck said fare revenue and local jobs aren't his only concerns. HSR ridership also determines how much Hamilton gets from provincial gas tax revenue. So those numbers still have to count.

In 2015, for example, the city got $10.7 million from the provincial gas tax. Of that, $10,440,516 went to conventional transit, including $9,227,102 toward operatingit and $1,213,414 for capital.

The formula for how much Hamilton gets, the city says, is based 70 per cent on transit ridership and 30 per cent on population.

Federal gas tax revenue, meanwhile, goes mostly toward road repairs.Hamilton receivedabout $33 million in federal gas tax revenue in 2015. Of that, about $30 million went to road repairs, and the rest went to transit.

At city council, LRT is still a hot debate topic. Some councillors namely Chad Collins of Ward 5, who wants a referendum on it in 2018 are skeptical of the plan.

But Jackson said he's a fan of LRT as long as the province pays for it, and any surplus buses go the Mountain, where he said they're needed.

"My continued support (of LRT) is conditional on that," he said.

On that point, Mayor Fred Eisenberger seems to be listening. In May, he asked the city to look into redeploying any buses freed up by LRT to the Mountain.

samantha.craggs@cbc.ca | @SamCraggsCBC