Halifax Transit

Halifax Transit is a Canadian public transport service operating buses and ferries in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Founded as Metro Transit in March 1981, the agency runs two ferry routes, 66 conventional bus routes (including corridor, local, and express services), three regional express routes (called MetroX), and three rural routes. Halifax Transit also operates Access-a-Bus, a door-to-door paratransit service for senior and disabled citizens.

Total ridership in the 2019/20 reporting year was about 30.4 million, with the system carrying an average of 99,320 on weekdays. According to the 2016 census, Halifax had the seventh-highest proportion of workers taking transit to work among Canadian cities.

Preceding services
Halifax was among the first Canadian cities to be served by an integrated public transportation system, pre-dated only by Toronto, Montreal and Quebec City.

The city's first transit service came with establishment of the Dartmouth ferry service, first chartered in 1752. In 1816, the sail-powered ferry was replaced by a horse-powered boat, and in 1830 with a steam ferry. While private omnibus services are known to have begun in the city at least as early as 1854, the roots of Halifax Transit date back to June 11, 1866.

The Halifax City Railroad Company (HCR) began operations with five horse-drawn trams on rails that stretched from the corner of Barrington Street and Inglis Street in the south end to the city’s first railway station, near the corner of Duffus Street and Campbell Road (now Barrington Street), in the north end.

Notwithstanding a ten-year hiatus, horse-drawn street railway services continued in Halifax until April 1896 when the system, now operated by the Halifax Electric Tramway Company, completed the conversion to electric-powered operation. The street railway served Halifax until March 1949, when the war-worn trams were replaced by "trackless" electric trolley coaches.

The bright yellow trolleys, operated by utility company Nova Scotia Light and Power, plied city streets exclusively until 1963, when they were supplemented by diesel buses for the first time. The system became all-diesel on January 1, 1970, the same day the City of Halifax took over operation under the name Halifax Transit. Some of Halifax's T-44 trolleybuses were sold to the Toronto Transit Commission for parts for their Western Flyer E-700A.

Dartmouth Transit provided transit service in Dartmouth, a separate city at that time.

Unification
Metro Transit, a single transit agency serving all of the greater Halifax-Dartmouth metropolitan area, began operations in March 1981. The system was created by the Metropolitan Authority, an agency representing the former cities of Halifax and Dartmouth as well as suburban Halifax County, to consolidate the transit operations of the Halifax Transit Corporation and Dartmouth Transit.

Metro Transit expanded in 1994 with the absorption of the Dartmouth ferry services formerly operated by the city of Dartmouth. Ownership of the transit service was transferred to the newly created Halifax Regional Municipality when Halifax, Dartmouth, Bedford, and Halifax County were amalgamated in 1996. Since then, the service has been operated directly by the municipal government, and since October 2010 the agency has reported though the Transportation Standing Committee of Halifax Regional Council. The municipality announced on July 15, 2014 that it was changing the service's name to Halifax Transit to reflect the city's new brand.

MetroLink
The MetroLink service, a bus rapid transit (BRT) express bus service, was developed in 2003 between the Halifax Regional Municipality, the Province of Nova Scotia and Transport Canada's Urban Transportation Showcase Program, a five-year program designed to demonstrate and promote urban transportation strategies in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The program selected cities across the country to showcase a number of different initiatives in reducing greenhouse gases. Halifax Regional Municipality's $13.3-million proposal for a BRT system was chosen, and $4.1 million was given by the Government of Canada toward this project. The remainder was funded by the Halifax Regional Municipality ($8.06 million), the Nova Scotia Department of Transportation and Public Works ($785,000) and the Nova Scotia Department of Energy ($80,000).

Twenty low floor buses were purchased from New Flyer Industries for the MetroLink service. These buses featured air conditioning, high-back reclining seats with foot rests, carpeted walls and ceiling to reduce road noise and vibration, a special livery and logo, and no advertisements both on the inside and outside. One of these buses, #600, was on public display on April 12, 2005, outside of City Hall. The bus was available for media and members of the general public to tour, and increase awareness of the new service.

The service was launched in phases, with the first phase on August 21, 2005. The first phase saw the construction of a new bus terminal in Cole Harbour called Portland Hills Terminal, with a 230-space parking lot, including some spaces reserved for carpool parking. Two routes were created at this time, the 159 Portland Hills Link and 165 Woodside Link.

The second phase was launched on February 20, 2006. This phase saw the construction of a new bus terminal in Lower Sackville called the Sackville Terminal on Walker Ave, with a 315-space parking lot. One new route was created, the 185 Sackville Link.

Vehicles
In 2005, Halifax Regional Municipality purchased twenty new buses from New Flyer Industries of Winnipeg, Manitoba. It was assumed at the time that HRM would purchase New Flyer's D40i Invero model, which New Flyer was marketing towards BRT services, however HRM resisted and ordered 20 model D40LF instead, and were given fleet numbers 600 - 619. The D40LF was the current bus of choice at the time for Halifax Transit's regular fleet, so they opted to keep the status quo.

These twenty buses featured a new livery on the outside, air conditioning on the inside (a first for Halifax Transit), bike racks, carpeting on the walls and ceiling to reduce road noise and vibrations, and larger plush high-back reclining chairs with arm and leg rests and custom designed fabric design. Also differing these buses from the rest of the Halifax Transit fleet are onboard transmitters for the 3M Opticom system. Opticom is the system in place in HRM used by fire services and MetroLink, to allow emergency and transit vehicles to hold green lights and prevent them from turning red until the vehicle has got through the intersection. The system was also used to trigger transit priority signals at certain intersections, allowing MetroLink buses to move into the intersection using special bus-only lanes before the rest of the vehicles can proceed. This allowed MetroLink buses at a red light to "jump" ahead of waiting cars.

Fares
The MetroLink service had its own fare structure, separate from the rest of the Halifax Transit system. Cash fares costed an extra fifty cents over and above the regular fares. MetroLink had its own monthly bus pass, the MetroLink Pass, which could have been used on any Halifax Transit service. Passengers would have been able to use regular transit tickets or monthly bus passes (MetroPass), but must deposit an additional fifty cents into the farebox.
 * Effective September 30, 2013

Bus stops
Part of Halifax Regional Municipality's plans for distinguishing the MetroLink service from the rest of the Halifax Transit system involved creating special bus stop signs, bus shelters and info posts at MetroLink bus stops. The new bus stop signs featured the same colours and design as the livery on the buses, the new shelters featured the gold and blue MetroLink "swirl" along the back wall, and the new info posts, which displayed maps and schedule information for the three former MetroLink routes, they were also done in the same gold and blue swirl, with the stop name vertically oriented along the side.

Traffic changes
A number of changes were made to streets and intersections along the routes to help the MetroLink buses get ahead of the rest of traffic. The following changes were introduced:


 * Bus-only lanes and traffic priority signals along Portland Street in Dartmouth for the route 159 and 165. The lanes and signals are located at the intersection of Portland Street and Woodlawn Road. The bus-only lanes allowed the MetroLink buses to bypass traffic waiting at a red light. Just before the light turns green, a special transit priority signal (a white vertical bar above the red stop light) comes on, allowing the bus to enter the intersection ahead of waiting vehicles.
 * Bus-only lanes and traffic priority signals along Windmill Road in the Burnside Industrial Park for the route 185. The lanes and signals are located at the intersections of Windmill Road, Wright Ave and Akerley Blvd. They work in the same manner as described above.

Former planned development
Phase three of the MetroLink service was expected to take place within the next five years of the first three lines. This phase would have seen new terminals and MetroLink routes in other busy corridors such as Clayton Park and Spryfield.

Plans existed to introduce a new route to service the Cobequid Terminal, also in Lower Sackville shortly after the 185 Sackville Link came into service. Destination signs on board the buses were even programmed with a route 184 Cobequid, and early maps of the MetroLink service showed a route 184 between Cobequid Terminal and downtown Halifax, however this plan seems to have been abandoned.

Impacts

 * The route 185 Sackville Line improved transit connections to downtown Halifax from Lower Sackville, since standard bus service on routes 87 & 1 takes 43 minutes in optimal conditions, and bus service on the route 80 (which travels via Bedford) takes 1 hour 10 minutes.
 * Both routes 159 Portland Hills Link and 185 Sackville Link saw unprecedented ridership in the first few months of service. Initial rush hour schedules saw both routes running on 15-minute frequencies, however within months this was changed to 10-minutes. Also, both Portland Hills Terminal and the Sackville Terminal underwent expansions to their parking lots, bringing the combined capacity of both lots to 545 cars. Still, both parking lots were frequently full, with people parking on the driveways to the lots.

Fuel leak
In 2014, a massive fuel leak spilling close to 200,000 litres of fuel at Halifax Transit's Burnside bus depot went undetected for almost four months. In addition to the cost of lost fuel, cleanup from local environmental damage and groundwater contamination as far as 1 km away cost Halifax Regional Municipality approximately $2.5 million. Before the discovery of the leak, Halifax Transit initially claimed that the excess fuel consumption was caused by higher usage during winter.

The municipal auditor general investigated the incident and recommended that Halifax Transit improve monitoring of fuel usage and inventory and improve training of employees involved in fuel handling.

System redesign
In January 2014, Halifax Regional Council approved a study to look at a major re-design of the city's transit system. The "Moving Forward Together Plan" (MFTP) was adopted in-principle by council in April 2016. Proposed amendments to the plan were defeated in November 2016, with the exception of a change to the route of the Porters Lake MetroX and a short reprieve to attempt to increase ridership to save the #15 bus to York Redoubt.

The Moving Forward Together Plan is Halifax Transit's five-year improvement plan that outlines planned changes to the transit network from late 2016 to 2020. The plan aims to increase the proportion of resources dedicated to high-ridership routes, simplify the system and make it more understandable, improve service quality and reliability, and give priority to transit in the transportation network. The plan created a new classification system for bus routes, designating them as corridor, local, express, regional express, or rural routes. Corridor routes form the backbone of the revamped bus system, providing frequent service connecting transit terminals.

Some critics called the plan inadequate, outlining various criticisms including inefficient and redundant route design, missing data and analysis, a long implementation period causing nuisance to riders, and a lack of network connectivity. In addition, critics characterised the "Moving Forward Together Plan" as disregarding the key principles that Halifax Transit identified through years of public engagement and consultation. Business groups have also noted both the current lack of service, and lack of proposed future service, along key corridors of the region.

The changes proposed under the Moving Forward Together Plan were implemented in stages each year, with the first round of changes taking place during the 2017/18 fiscal year. The latest major round of changes came into effect on 22 November 2021. The final round of MFTP adjustments, originally scheduled to come into effect in November 2022, was (with the exception of the introduction of route 50) postponed to 2023 due to chronic staff shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bus services
There are 369 conventional buses in the fleet, all of which are low floor and wheelchair accessible.

Halifax Transit operates 66 conventional bus routes within the Urban Transit Service Boundary, broadly similar to the metropolitan region of Halifax Regional Municipality (Halifax, Dartmouth, Bedford and Sackville), including the areas of Eastern Passage, North Preston/Cherry Brook and Herring Cove. Routes are numbered according to the region or type of service provided. The agency also operates three regional express routes and three rural routes.

The bus fleet is stored and maintained at two depots, namely the Burnside Transit Centre and Ragged Lake Transit Centre.

Corridor routes
Corridor routes are higher-ridership routes that provide frequent service for most of the day. They serve major destinations and transit terminals. Following the latest round of service adjustments implemented in November 2021, there are ten corridor routes, numbered 1-10.

Corridor routes, considered the backbone of the bus system, operate at headways of 5-15 minutes during peak hours.

Local routes
Local routes provide connect neighbourhoods to corridor routes (at transit terminals). Local routes operate all day, except for four routes that operate at peak hours only: 26, 50, 57, and 93 (as well as parts of route 51).

Express routes
Express routes provide limited-stop services to major destinations (e.g. downtown Halifax) at peak hours. Express bus stops are designated with a red route decal.

Express routes are sometimes paired with a local route, providing service along the local route before continuing along the express portion of the journey. For example, route 182 First Lake Express is an extended version of route 82 First Lake.

This service type consolidated the former MetroLink and "Urban Express" services.

Regional Express routes
Regional Express routes connect outlying areas to the regional centre. A higher fare is charged for these routes.

Also branded as MetroX, there are three Regional Express routes. These started operating in August 2009 and connect Tantallon, the Airport, and Porters Lake, respectively, to Scotia Square in downtown Halifax. The routes are handicap accessible and have facilities for bicycle carriage.

Among the three Regional Express routes, only route 320 (serving the airport) provides service on the weekend.

Rural routes
Rural routes provide service to areas outside the Urban Transit Service Boundary which had transit service before the boundary was adopted. There are three such routes, which connect rural areas to the nearest bus terminal.

Ferry services


Halifax Transit also provides two passenger ferry routes, one connecting downtown Halifax with Alderney Landing in Dartmouth, and the other connecting with Woodside. Each route is serviced by a pair of vessels. The ferry services are integrated with the bus services; the fares are identical, and transfers are accepted between the two systems. The harbour ferries board 1.78 million passengers each year. Each ferry carries up to 398 passengers. All routes are handicap accessible and have provision to carry bicycles.

The agency operates a fleet of five ferries built in the 2010s by A. F. Theriault Shipyard. As of 2023, a third ferry route – connecting downtown Halifax and Bedford – is in planning.

Access-A-Bus
Halifax Transit also provides Access-A-Bus, a dial-a-ride paratransit service for people who cannot use the conventional transit service due to physical or cognitive disability. This was created in 1981, the same year Metro Transit was formed.

In the 2019/20 financial year, the Access-A-Bus service had approximately 178,500 boardings.

Fares and passes
Halifax Transit has four main fare categories: Adult (16 years & up), Senior (65+ years), Child (5 – 15 years), and Student (for full-time students with valid student photo ID card). Anyone with a ticket, pass or transfer for the regular service can pay the difference in cash fare to use the more expensive Regional Express (MetroX) service. Monthly passes allow for unlimited use of ferries and buses, and are sold through various channels including municipal service centres, drug stores, some supermarkets, and the convenience store at the Bridge Terminal.

Digital tickets and passes can be purchased using HFXGO, the agency's free mobile fare payment app. Launched on 2 November 2023, the app is available for Android and iOS devices. Digital tickets or passes must be shown to the bus driver upon boarding, or to the ferry terminal attendant. In the future, Halifax Transit intends to introduce fare validators on transit vehicles as well as contactless reloadable smart cards.

A Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) identification card can be used to obtain free travel on Halifax Transit's buses and ferries. A university student bus pass (called U-pass) is available to students of Saint Mary's, Mount Saint Vincent, King's College, Dalhousie, Nova Scotia Community College (Halifax campuses) and Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. The cost is included in tuition fees. Halifax Transit offers a low-income bus pass sold for 50 per cent of the regular price to eligible applicants.

In 2021, Halifax Transit launched a pilot program to provide high school students with free transit passes. The program aims to provide youth with convenient transportation and encourage the use of public transit. The program is currently being piloted at four schools, namely Dartmouth High School, École Mosaïque, École du Sommet, and Prince Andrew High School. In November 2022, council voted to expand the program to four Dartmouth junior high schools.

Transfers are issued upon request on all Halifax Transit buses and ferries. A transfer allows the user to transfer between multiple conventional route buses and ferries travelling in any direction without having to pay an additional fare. A transfer also allows users to transfer to MetroX buses at a reduced fare. Transfers are valid for 90 minutes after the last scheduled stop on the current run of the route where it was issued. Holders of a valid XPass (the monthly pass for the MetroX) do not require transfers.

Schedules and route information
Route information can be accessed through the Halifax Transit Departures number 902 480 8000. Individual route schedules are available on Halifax Transit's website. Most terminals have screens that display anticipated arrival times of buses that service the terminal.

Departures
In early 2016, Halifax Transit released their next-generation AVL-based system called Departures. The system was first launched on May 15, 2016, with the introduction of the Departures Line, and as of July 2016 the rollout of the updated Departures Board that replaces the older GoTime departure displays found at terminals across the system. The Departures Board works similar to the previous GoTime-based departures display, with the exception that instead of showing the next two bus arrival times, will display the bay number and the next bus departure time, either showing the next hour and minute or the number of minutes before the bus departs, or "delayed" if the bus is behind by a certain number of minutes. It will also only show buses set to arrive in the next while, versus the older display which would show "(not scheduled)" for any route not running at that point in time.

The Departures Line works similarly to the previous GoTime IVR (Interactive Voice Response) system. Instead of dialling (902) 480- plus the four-digit number found on bus stop signage, one dials (902)-480-8000 and following the voice responses, one would input the bus stop number to access route departure times. The system gives the estimated departure time if available, scheduled times if the bus is not reporting real-time data or is delayed by a number of minutes, adjusted time to depart when schedule adjustments are made, and will announce when a bus is arriving within the minute.

Accessibility
On December 16, 2016 Halifax Transit began piloting an automated stop announcement system on several bus routes, providing both auditory and visual notice of approaching bus stops, as well as announcing the route of each bus on arrival at a bus stop. By January 30, 2017, all conventional buses provided the automated stop announcement. As of June 8, 2017, all conventional buses in the Halifax Transit fleet were low floor and accessible to wheelchairs.

Although Halifax Transit's vehicle fleet is considered accessible, many of the bus stops are not. At some stops, the lack of an appropriate landing area prevents the deployment of a bus wheelchair ramp. Other stops lack sidewalk connections. Halifax Transit is upgrading bus stops and aims to make all stops accessible by 2030.

Route number structure
As mentioned above, the Moving Forward Together Plan created a new classification system for bus routes, which is reflected in a new route numbering system:


 * Corridor routes (numbered 1-19)
 * Local routes (numbered 20-99)
 * Express routes (numbered 100-199)
 * Regional Express routes (numbered 300-399)
 * Rural routes (numbered 400-499)

Current routes
''Wheelchair – Uses Accessible Low Floor (ALF) buses only. Rush Hour Service Only. Designated Bike Route. MetroLink Service (see MetroLink section above) MetroX Service (see MetroX section above)

Rapid Transit Network
In May 2020, Halifax Transit presented a plan to regional council to implement a new Rapid Transit Strategy. The strategy proposes the creation of a new Rapid Transit Network comprising four new bus rapid transit (BRT) lines and three new ferry routes. The estimated capital cost is around C$300-325 million, while operational costs are estimated at $15-22 million. Halifax Regional Council unanimously endorsed the plan on 26 May 2020.

As of 2021, Halifax is seeking funding for the project from other levels of government. Funding for the planning and design of one of the proposed ferry routes, the Halifax-Mill Cove (Bedford) service, was announced in June 2021. Halifax Transit plans to launch the service in 2024.

In popular culture

 * The characters of Phillip and Phillmore the ferry twins from the children's TV show Theodore Tugboat are modelled after the Halifax-Dartmouth ferries.