Raise the Hammer

...and it doesn't even have to be expensive.

Fortunately, HSR fleet is GPS tracked and its real-time data is accessible by Open Data these days (Kudos). So other apps now routinely use HSR data.

Thanks to HTML5 embeds (Google Maps embed, Transit App embed; TTC uses it at bottom-right corner), the cost of building a HSR website has probably fallen 90%! Just hire a place like Factor[e] or Wise&Hammer, no need for mega corporations for such a bus service.

There's already content on hamilton.ca for maps and www.busweb.hamilton.ca:8008/ (doesn't work through a firewall, I can't look this up from my office) for HSR info. Just merge it into the new website. Give a small local business some business!

Just get it done. It's cheap nowadays, and could help us win alternate sources of funding for HSR improvements of all kinds (including helping getting the bus garage funded). Send a small 5-figure sum to one of the local web outfits. Maybe even low 6-figure if you're looking for a Rolls Royce, but there's so many islands of existing HSR bus content and functioning HSR-compatible 's available (that even works on iPads too!), that they can easily be merged into an official website.

For example, look at how impressive the Matthew Green campaign website had been (they used Wise&Hammer!), and he didn't have to spend a million dollars to run a campaign website almost worthy of a country presidential campaign.

We need to win funding for an HSR expansion.
All cylinders need to be fired, including low-lying apples like these, line up all ducks in order.

Whether online fixes or offline fixes. Low lying apples.

Offline fixes: Even a simple thing such as a "LIMITED SERVICE" or "HOURS: XX:XX] sign on specific bus stops (that has no buses at all during some daylight hours), to things like merging the existing content into a unified mobile-friendly HSR bus website, to provide a "united front" of cheap HSR bus improvements. Whether it's a 20 A-Line Express bus stop (no buses for several hours midday -- in large text rather than fine schedule print) or one of those multiple bus stops near City Hall on Main (separated by route numbers, so that some stops has service at some hours, and it's super easy to stand at the wrong bus stop). I got a very bad impression the first three times I used HSR in Hamilton, because of newbie mistakes like confusing #10 B-Line Express versus #1 bus route, or standing at a bus stop that had no service, etc.

"First-time user marketability of HSR needs to improve"

How about low lying apple fixes???

Clarity. Consistency.

Heck, maybe they can begin by spending just a mere $XX,XXX (five figures) (on one quick fix at a time, like new unified website) to dramatically increase online visibility (and become mobile web friendly too) to better impress the hell out of other government levels who's trying to decide which city X and Y are worthy of what amount of seven, eight, nine or more figures of transit funding. Can't this proceed?

Obviously this is a separate question than "How much should a bus garage cost?" (this article fodder) but if all of this were done, then funding to fill the ENTIRE bus garage, could follow a heck lot more easily in the future if we all spent time focussing on the little things (physical and online), all of which are individually cheap. HSR need to be trusted that they CAN quickly do low-lying-apple improvements, to win the bigger fish.

Comment edited by mdrejhon on 2016-03-04 14:47:18