HSR explained: how fares and transfers work, and where to check for detours and cancellations

The network in brief

HSR, the Hamilton Street Railway, is the City of Hamilton's bus service. The City's HSR Next page says it serves more than 500,000 residents across 250 square kilometres, with 35 routes, 2,300 stops, a fleet of more than 300 buses and more than 900 employees. The City's system map and route directory (a PDF) shows every route, common destinations and landmarks, including the myRide zone in Flamborough and the Trans-Cab zones in Glanbrook and Stoney Creek. The Frank A. Cooke Transit Terminal downtown, with its washrooms, is open Monday to Saturday from 5 am to 1:30 am and Sundays and holidays from 5 am to 12:30 am.

• Regular and express routes: the A-Line (Route 20) and B-Line (Route 10) are the express routes in the City's schedule list.
• myRide On-Demand: a stop-to-stop service in Waterdown that adjusts its route to ride requests, booked by app or phone up to 48 hours ahead. The City lists weekday hours of 5 am to 1 am, Saturdays 6 am to 1 am and Sundays 6 am to midnight.
• Trans-Cab: a shared-ride taxi link in parts of Glanbrook and Stoney Creek where buses do not run. You travel as far as you can on HSR first, and PRESTO users pay a 50 cent premium.
• Accessible Transportation Services (ATS) and DARTS: door-to-door service for people with physical or functional disabilities or health conditions who cannot use regular buses; eligibility is considered case by case.

Fares

HSR uses an exact-fare system, and drivers do not handle money, tickets, passes or PRESTO cards. You can pay by cash, a paper ticket, a PRESTO card (physical or digital), a PRESTO E-Ticket, or by tapping a debit or credit card or phone, which costs the same as a cash fare. Fares are set by the City and change from time to time, so confirm the current amount on the City's Fares and Photo IDs page.

• Weekly frequent-rider discount: no additional fare after 11 paid PRESTO trips in the same week (Monday 12:01 am to Sunday 11:59 pm). It applies to PRESTO cards only, not E-Tickets, and excludes monthly passes and transfers.
• Fare Assist: Hamilton residents who receive Ontario Works or ODSP, or have household incomes below the Low Income Measure, get 50 per cent off single-ride PRESTO fares for themselves and their family. The City lists $1.43 for an adult and $1.18 for a youth or senior.
• Youth fares need photo ID from the government or school, or an HSR photo ID. Seniors 65 to 79 do not need photo ID but must show proof of age if asked.
• Post-secondary students at McMaster, Mohawk and Redeemer get passes through their school's voucher process and must show a student card.
• The HSR Customer Service Centre at 36 Hunter Street East (Hamilton GO Station) issues photo IDs and PRESTO cards and sells Senior Annual and Golden Age passes, Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, closed on holidays.

Transfers and connections

With a PRESTO card, transfers are recorded automatically: you have two hours from your first tap, and the next tap within that window deducts no fare. The same two-hour window applies to transfers between HSR and Burlington Transit. If you pay cash or with a paper ticket and need a second bus, ask the driver for a free paper transfer at the time you pay; it is valid for two hours and is not needed with a monthly pass or PRESTO.

Between HSR and GO Transit, the City says a co-fare discount equal to the adult single-ride HSR fare is applied automatically when you pay with a PRESTO card. Going from GO to HSR, the HSR transfer is free. The discount applies only to adult single-ride fares paid by PRESTO card, not E-Tickets, cash or passes.

Detours, cancellations and where to check

The City separates planned detours, such as construction or event closures that can last a day or many months, from unexpected disruptions caused by accidents or emergencies. It says an unexpected detour is posted only after riders and operators are safe and a route is chosen, so there can be a delay between what is happening on the road and what is posted, and some short disruptions may not be posted at all.

• HSR Alert Map (City interactive map): shows planned detours and unexpected disruptions by route. The City says it marks where the disruption is on the route but does not show the detour path.
• Schedules and Detours page: the City's list of planned detours, stop closures and relocations, seasonal schedule changes and PDF schedules for every route.
• Third-party trip planners: Google Maps, Moovit and Transit App use HSR's real-time data; Apple Maps uses scheduled (static) data only. The City says it does not own, operate or endorse these apps and cannot support them.
• Trip-planning line: 905-546-2489, daily from 7:30 am to 8 pm, including holidays.
• Customer service and lost and found: 905-528-4200, weekdays 8 am to 4 pm, closed on holidays.
• HSR on X (@HSR) is monitored Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm.

Service changes and what is coming

HSR announces regular schedule and stop changes in a seasonal Bus News bulletin and on the Schedules and Detours page; its Fall 2026 changes took effect on Sunday, September 6, 2026, when routes on summer schedules returned to regular service. Holiday service levels are listed on the City's HSR Holiday Schedules page.

The larger change is HSR Next, the redesign of the bus network approved by Council in September 2025. The City says changes will roll out annually over about seven years starting in 2027, with annual maps and details, bus stop signage and pop-up events as each phase approaches. The specific changes for each year are subject to change and are finalized before that year's engagement.