Swearing, panhandling, being shirtless among violations in new HSR law

Swearing. Spitting. Panhandling. Not wearing a shirt.

All are things you already aren't supposed to do on Hamilton city buses. But soon, they'll officially be against the law.

The city is poised to ratify a new transit bylaw, a wide-reaching document that governs everything from overcharging for HSR tickets to unsavoury behaviour such ascarrying an open bottle of liquor.

The maximum fine is $10,000 on first offence, and $25,000 for subsequent offences. But Sam Merulla, Ward 4 councillor, says it's unlikely anyone will actually be fined $10,000 for swearing or not wearing shoes. It's a range, and it's comparable to other city bylaws.

We've seen coffee thrown on a driver.- Eric Tuck, president, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 107

"It's a maximum. It could be a penny or it could be $10,000," he said. "The number itself is a deterrent."

The new bylaw stems from a call last year to prevent convenience store owners and other vendors from marking up the price of HSR ticketsso the store gets a take.

This new bylaw wards off that too. It says only authorized vendors can sell tickets, and no vendor can sell a ticket for a greater amount than the fare price.

• Hamilton wants to stop stores from overcharging for bus tickets

Amalgamated Transit Union Local 107 has wanted a bylaw like this for years, said president Eric Tuck. In the past, the only way to legallyward off rule breakers was to go to court to try to get a trespassing order, he said.

"There was no bylaw on the books specifically around behaviour on transit," he said.

The city is installing surveillance cameras on buses this year, Tuck said. Now there are bylaws to go with it.

In the past, he said,drivers have been assaulted. "We've seen coffee thrown on a driver," he said. "They get spit on and verbally or physically assaulted."

But "it's very difficult to kick someone off without having a bylaw there. This way you can tell the police and they can address it."

Here are some other infractions listed:

• Riding, standing on or holding onto the exterior of a transit vehicle.
• Leaning out of the bus.
• Putting large, bulky or sharp objects in a spot that endangers other passengers.
• Urinating.
• Using "profane, indecent, abusive, foul, insulting or obscene language."
• Carrying an open container of alcohol.
• Not wearing a shirt or shoes.
• Damaging transit property, including graffiti.
• Trying to sell any merchandise without the transit director's permission.

Nancy Purser, manager of transit support services, says drivers have been asking people to leave buses for years for such infractions.

"In a lot of circumstances, the bylaw just kind of formalizes what we were doing already," she said. "There's more strength to their words."

The city's public works committee approved the new bylaw on Monday. City council will vote to ratify it next week.