Sometimes, just for the heck of it, June Noonan hops on a bus that says "Detour."

She may be venturing out from her east Hamilton home, or finishing Sunday mass at St. Patrick's Church, or heading to one of her 10 weekly exercise classes, but Noonan doesn't believe the shortest HSR route is always the best option. She knows the journey can be as rewarding as the destination.

"I love to get on a bus that says 'Detour,'" she says. "I hop on and it takes me some place I've never been. I see flowers and houses and neighbourhoods I didn't know were there."

Noonan, 78, grew up in New York City, where public transit is the way most folks get from A to B. Then she moved to Oakville and, eventually, to Hamilton, a city she chose in part because of its buses.

She uses her Presto Pass a lot. As in more than 3,000 rides in 15 months.

That impressive factoid earned Noonan a round of applause from an appreciative group of about 40 HSR users gathered Saturday morning at the Hamilton Public Library for the launch of the Hamilton Transit Riders' Union (HTRU).

The fledgling HTRU intends to be an independent voice for riders that will bring the needs, ideas and concerns of transit users to the ears of HSR management and city council. It believes that good, efficient transit is a "social equalizer."

A show of hands at the meeting indicated that nearly everyone has been riding transit for five years or more. The number of hands dwindled, of course, as the years increase, until just one arm was left sticking up.

That appendage belonged to John Thompson, 72, who lives on the east Mountain now but originally came from Toronto.

"I probably rode the transit home from the hospital on the day I was born," he says. And back in those days, he adds, that would have meant a streetcar.

"I probably use the HSR almost every day," Thompson says. "The HSR does a pretty good job. The buses are pretty clean and they usually arrive on time, in my experience. But there's always room for improvement."

There have been many attempts to get an HSR riders group going over the years, but the HTRU — spearheaded by Environment Hamilton and the Hamilton and District Labour Council — appears to be well organized, with a steering committee and an interim executive made up of a diverse group of transit users.

The union was born last November out of an emergency meeting for transit riders who were alarmed at the particularly poor service the HSR had been delivering. Many missed routes, due to a shortage of drivers during that time frame, became big news and left riders stranded and bitter.

The HTRU plans to form various committees to better represent the needs of specific rider groups, such as people with a disability or older persons.

Jeanne Mayo, a member of the interim executive, says she brings "an older adult perspective" to the transit issue. She points to a Hamilton Council on Aging program called "Let's Take the Bus" that teaches older adults and newcomers to the city how to use the HSR.

"Social isolation is a big, big factor in poor health outcomes," Mayo says. "So if you don't have access to transit, your probability of becoming more isolated just rises."

For more information, go to: HTRU.ca

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