Redeemer’s campus is located on Hamilton’s west mountain, but almost 40% of students are engaged in various ways with downtown Hamilton — they live, volunteer, study, shop and work there. However, there is currently no bus access between Redeemer and downtown Hamilton after 9:00 pm, or on Saturdays or Sundays. That may change soon. On February 13, HSR brought a proposal to City Council to expand bus service on the Hamilton mountain. Included in that plan (summarized here by hamiltontransit.ca) is expanding bus service on the 44-Rymal line to include full-time and weekend service. “This increase in service would transform Redeemer students’ access to the City of Hamilton,” notes Steve Dykstra, Community Development Coordinator at Redeemer. “There are many on-campus students who volunteer at various organizations in the central core. They also have internships and other academic placements at a number of businesses and NGOs in our city,but there is potential for so much more.” In a recent survey, 82% of students cited “lack of transportation” as a barrier to becoming more involved with the city. That same survey also noted that student use of the HSR would more than double with better bus access. Redeemer and Student Senate are among those encouraging Hamilton City Council to adopt the HSR proposal when it meets on February 25. There will be a delegation of students and staff at the meeting, but there are other, ongoing measures to demonstrate their support for the motion. “The campaign in support is called ‘Garnering Support’,” says Dyksta, “and there are number of ways that people can get behind this.” Dykstra believes this increased service would also benefit many of the neighbours along Garner Road and in the rapidly-expanding residential areas surrounding our campus. “Increased service on the 44-Rymal line would realize great benefits for not just Redeemer students and its immediate neighbourhood, but the entire City of Hamilton.”