HSR will not be offering free transit on New Year’s Eve this year

The Hamilton Street Railway (HSR) has announced that they will be doing things differently this year by not offering free transit service on New Year’s Eve.

Though the HSR traditionally offers free service on its buses on the evening of New Year’s Eve to discourage drunk driving on one of the most, um, alcohol-fuelled nights of the year, this year is going to be different due to the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

#HSRAlert: To encourage safe celebrations at home with your immediate household, HSR will not be offering free or extended service for New Year’s Eve. The safety of the community, and our employees is our number one priority. We will operate a regular weekday service on Dec 31. pic.twitter.com/nrggEHKJDK

— Hamilton Street Railway (@hsr) December 21, 2020

By not offering free bus service this year, the HSR is hoping to discourage locals from gathering at New Year’s Eve gatherings during a time when social gatherings are high risk events.

It’s an especially important gesture given that Hamilton is currently under COVID-19 lockdown until at least January 23rd, meaning that restaurants and bars are closed and any gatherings with those outside of your immediate household are illegal and subject to a fine.

The usual HSR weekday bus schedules will be in place as usual on December 31st, but nonetheless, Hamiltonians are strongly urged to keep New Year’s Eve celebrations small this year, only ringing out 2020 with those you live with and staying home except for essential reasons such as grocery shopping and medical appointments.

Read more on the HSR website.

Lead image courtesy of @hsr

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