Riding with HSR
Bus Stop Seat Pilot
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Email your questions to the (Re)envision the HSR team at
What We Heard
(And what we're doing about it)
Through the (Re)envision the HSR project, the Transit Division heard from customers that comfort and amenities at bus stops are important factors when choosing to use transit services.
Based on this feedback, to improve customer experience by increasing customer satisfaction and meeting customer expectations, HSR is piloting a prototype combination of a bus stop pole and a bench for customer seating. HSR is exploring this as a potential solution for existing HSR bus stops where conventional benches have been requested but cannot be installed due to a lack of space.
About the pilot
The original prototype bench was temporarily installed at the stop on Upper James at Rymal (northbound side) for customers to test and provide feedback. This frequently used stop was chosen in order to increase awareness by a larger number of customers.
Additional benches have been installed at these existing stop locations throughout the City that meet the criteria of not having enough space for conventional benches:
- Whitney at Rifle Range
- Longwood at King
- Stinson at Emerald
- Stinson at Wellington
- Highland at First Road W
- At 590 Arvin Ave
- Dewitt at Arvin Ave
- Fiddlers Green at Oakley
- Governors Rd at Overfield
Additional locations installed at existing stop locations as of October 2021:
- Airport Passenger Terminal
- At 100 Macklin
- Barton at Fairfield
- Burlington at Hillyard
- Burlington at Stapleton*
- Herkimer at Caroline
- Longwood at King**
- Mill at Wellington
- Parkside at Hamilton
- Quigley at Pinard*
- Quigley at Veveers
- San Remo at Lavina
- Stinson at Wellington**
- Upper Paradise at Scenic
- West 5th at Sonata
- Whitney at Mericourt
- York at Hunter*
*Denotes one-seat bench **Denotes phase 2 locations that have been converted to one-seat benches in phase 3
This prototype combination of a bus stop pole and a bench for customer seating as a potential solution where conventional benches cannot be installed due to a lack of space. These are not intended for stops on major arterials or where other stop infrastructure (shelters, benches) are already in place.
- HSR Planning staff recommend the following:
- including grab bars with high visibility grips
- adding yellow/black reflective tape on base of seats for people who are blind or partially sighted,
- increasing the seat size
- increasing the base plate for better stability
- In addition to the ACPD committee, HSR Planning staff consulted with City of Hamilton Transportation Operations and Maintenance Division, Risk Management and Transit Operations staff.
- Based on initial staff, customer and committee feedback through this pilot, we’ve updated our prototype to reflect the following:
- Rounded seat corners
- Reoriented grab bars perpendicular to seats to improve grasp
- Fold-up seats not considered due to pinch hazards.
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