Transit

The HSR (Hamilton Street Railway) is Hamilton’s municipal transit system. The distinctive yellow and blue fleet offers service to McMaster from Ancaster, Dundas and Stoney Creek, as well from the lower and “mountain” areas of Hamilton.

McMaster Student U-Pass: Full-time students who are part of the MSU pay a fee of $94.80 on their tuition which entitles them an HRS bus pass that is good from September to April. Full-time students who are part of the GSA pay a fee of $142.20 for their pass that is good from September to August. Full-time means 18 units or more each term.

McMaster Summer Student Discount
As a McMaster Summer Student you receive a 20% discount on a 4-month HSR buss pass. Contact Compass for more details.

 

GO Transit provides service throughout the Greater Toronto Area and into Hamilton. Two popular routes come right onto campus. The Hwy 407 West GO Bus Service travels between McMaster and York Universities, with stops at Bramalea in Brampton, at Square One in Mississauga, and carpool lots along Hwy 407. Convenient connections to Thornhill, Scarborough and Pickering can be made at York U. The Lakeshore McMaster "train meet" GO Bus Service provides weekday bus connections between McMaster and Lakeshore GO Trains at the Aldershot GO/VIA Station or the Burlington GO Station. Check out the Hamilton QEW Express GO Bus for service to/from Hamilton when the above routes are not operating.

New this fall, GO Transit will be making stops between the Niagara Region and Toronto. There is also a new parking lot in Grimsby at South Service rd. and Casablanca blvd.

More information on GO Transit can be found here.

Information on GO Transit ID Cards can be found here.

 

Coach Canada provides service between McMaster and Kitchener, Cambridge and Waterloo. Service from Niagara stops at the downtown Hamilton bus terminal.

Please be advised that Coach Canada service between Hamilton and Guelph is being reduced to a Tuesday-only service (one trip in each direction), effective August 16. This service is being discontinued effective October 21/09. Please see the attached notice which provides contact information to direct related inquiries.

Note: An alternate option is to take 407 West GO bus from MAC to Square One, then take the University of Guelph GO bus from Square One to the U of Guelph stop.

Or, take the Lakeshore West GO Train & Bus from MAC to Union Station. Then take the Georgetown GO Train & Bus from Union Station to Guelph U.

 

Greyhound offers service between McMaster and London, Ingersoll, Woodstock, Paris and Brantford. Check out their Companion Fare if you're travelling with a friend.

 

Burlington Transit’s #1 Plains/Fairview bus serves downtown Hamilton, where you can transfer to a Mac-bound HSR bus.

 

VIA Rail service exists in the area, but the closest station to Hamilton is in Burlington. This station in Burlington is called the Aldershot VIA/GO Station and is only about 15 minutes from both McMaster's main campus and downtown Hamilton. Connections between this station and Hamilton are provided by GO Transit or taxi. The two taxi companies that serve Burlington are Burlington Taxi (905-333-3333) and Gem Taxi (905-333-1234).

GO Transit

McMaster's GO Bus Terminal provides direct services for two GO Transit routes connecting to the GTA: the Lakeshore West and the Hwy 407 West corridors.

The Hwy 407 West GO Bus Service travels weekdays between McMaster and York U, with a stop in Brampton at Bramalea GO, in Mississauga at Square One, and three carpool lots along Hwy 407 - Trafalgar Rd., Bronte Rd. & Dundas St. Convenient connections to Thornhill, Markham, Scarborough and Pickering can be made at York U. Sunday evening trips to/from McMaster now operate as well.

The Lakeshore McMaster "train meet" GO Bus Service provides weekday bus connections between McMaster and Lakeshore GO Trains at the Aldershot GO/VIA Station or the Burlington GO Station. This service is an excellent route if your access to GO Trains is along the Lakeshore through to Union Station & beyond. As a 'train-meet' service it has minimal wait times at the transfer point. Sunday service to McMaster operates on this route too.

Park & Ride: Most GO Transit stations provide at least limited parking. In addition, the GO bus service along Hwy 407 West includes Park & Ride facilities at three Hwy 407 interchanges - Trafalgar Rd., Bronte Rd. & Dundas St. At these locations, you can park a vehicle for free and there is a well defined area to catch the GO bus. GO Transit has a parking area by Square One, with approx. 200 parking stalls.

The Hamilton QEW Express Bus is a very frequent service that operates seven days a week between Union Station in Toronto & downtown Hamilton's GO Centre. Note that it does not come onto campus. The first bus stop for this service as it enters Hamilton is however only 8 blocks from campus - thus a quick walk. Relying on this service for a return trip to Union Station is not as convenient as the bus stop closest to Mac is approximately a 30 minute walk from campus at the intersection of King & Dundurn Streets (click here for a map).

GO Transit ID Cards

GO Transit offers student discounts of approximately 10% to 30% on the adult 10-ride ticket price and adult monthly passes with a valid identification.


Full-time undergraduate and graduate students, whose validation sticker possesses the “HSR” section, can use their McMaster Student ID card to demonstrate eligibility for GO Transit student tickets and monthly passes.
Part-time students are not eligible for GO student discounts. Full-time students, whose validation sticker does not possess the 'HSR' section, must proceed with the application process described below.


For the following groups, your McMaster student ID card now acts as your GO student discount card:

Undergraduate Students (full-time)
Graduate Students (full-time)
Physician's Assistants
Health Science Students (full-time)

GO Student ID Card Application Process:


STEP ONE: Obtain a letter stating that you are a full-time student and includes your session start and end dates.

Where to obtain this letter:

Undergraduate Students: Office of the Registrar, Gilmour Hall Rm 108

Medical Students: Do not need a letter. Please proceed to STEP TWO below

IAHS Students (full-time): Mohawk Registration Centre IAHS Rm 121

Divinity Students (full-time): Divinity College, Business Office Rm 211

MBA (co-op or commerce students going on work term) do not need a letter. Please proceed to STEP TWO below

MBA (full-time): do not need a letter. Please proceed to STEP TWO below

OHS students (full-time): Health Science Centre Rm 3H50

Nursing Consortium – Mohawk: Office of the Registrar, Gilmour Hall Rm 108

Nursing Consortium – Conestoga: Office of the Registrar, Gilmour Hall Rm 108

Child Life Studies (full-time): do not need a letter, please proceed to STEP TWO below

Students who are registered with both CSD and MAPS: you do not need to obtain the letter as described above. Instead, please download and fill out the following form before proceeding to STEP TWO.
CSD.MAPS GO application form (pdf.)

STEP TWO: Bring this letter (only if you needed one) to get an application form authorized by a University representative (they have the forms, so don't worry about finding them ahead of time).

Here's where you go to get your GO ID form authorized on campus:

Undergrads: Parking Services, E.T. Clarke Centre

Medical Students: Education Services Office, MDCL 3101

IAHS students (full-time): Mohawk Registration Centre IAHS Rm 121

Divinity students: Rm 211, Business Office, Divinity College

MBA (co-op or commerce students going on work term): DSB Rm 112

MBA (full-time):  DSB Rm 104
OHS students (full-time): Parking Services, E.T. Clarke Centre

Nursing Consortium – Mohawk: Parking Services, E.T. Clarke Centre

Nursing Consortium – Conestoga: Parking Services, E.T. Clarke Centre

Child Life Studies (full-time): Child Life Studies Office, Health Sciences Center Rm 2E7

Students who are registered with both CSD and MAPS: McMaster University Student Centre room 234

STEP THREE: Deliver the signed form to Union Station. This can be done in one of three ways:

1) Take the signed form to Union Station Customer Service where your card will be made up on the spot. Hours are weekdays 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., weekends and statutory holidays 10:20 a.m. to 6 p.m.

2) Take the signed form to any GO Train station. It will be sent to Union Station and processed, and then returned to the station of your choice for you to pick up. (Please allow 2-4 weeks for processing).

3) Mail the signed form, along with a self-addressed, stamped return envelope to: Union Station, Customer Service, 140 Bay St., Toronto, M5J 2L5. (Please allow 2-4 weeks for processing).

For students registered for 7 consecutive months or more, GO Transit ID cards are valid throughout the summer months and expire October 31 of the following year. Your student 10-ride ticket does not expire, but it can only be used when you have a valid GO Student ID card, which may mean holding onto any leftover GO student tickets until you get your GO ID card for the next school year.

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