Halifax Transit

Halifax Transit is a Canadian public transport service operating buses and ferries in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Founded as Metro Transit in March 1982, Halifax Transit runs two ferry routes, 61 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 seniors and the disabled.

Halifax Transit

From top-left: Halifax Transit bus in new livery, Lacewood Terminal at night, view of Halifax from the deck of the Stannix, warning on Halifax III railing, new entrance to Dartmouth Alderney terminal.
Overview
Area served	HRM Urban Transit Service Area[1]
Locale	Halifax, Nova Scotia
Transit type	Bus, Ferry
Number of lines	67 bus routes 2 ferry routes
Daily ridership	94,475 (average weekday, 2018/19)[2]
Annual ridership	26,940,000 (2018/19)[2]
Key people	Dave Reage, Director
Headquarters	200 Ilsley Avenue, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
Website	http://halifax.ca/transit
Operation
Began operation	1982
Operator(s)	Halifax Regional Municipality
Number of vehicles	312 buses 5 ferries

Total ridership in the 2018/19 reporting year was about 26.94 million, with the system carrying 94,475 on an average weekday.[2] According to the 2016 census, Halifax had the seventh-highest proportion of workers taking transit to work among Canadian cities.[3]

History

Two open (summer) horse cars of the Halifax Street Railway Co, 1894

Preceding services

Halifax was among the first cities in Canada to be served by an integrated public transportation system, pre-dated only by Toronto, Montreal and Quebec City.[4]

The municipality'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.[5]

Tram with plow attachment, 1930s

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.[6]

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 the operation.[7] Some of Halifax's T-44 trolleybuses were sold to the Toronto Transit Commission for parts for their Western Flyer E-700A.

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, a common-services agency representing the former cities of Halifax and Dartmouth as well as suburban Halifax County,[8] 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, 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.[9][10]

System redesign

In January 2014, Halifax regional council approved a study to look at a major re-design of the city's transit system.[11] The "Moving Forward Together Plan" was adopted in principal by Halifax Regional 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 (soon to be Rural Express) and a short reprieve to attempt to increase ridership to save the #15 bus to York Redoubt.

Operations

Bridge Terminal, which opened in 2012

Viola Desmond ferry at launch in 2016

Conventional bus service

There are 322 conventional buses in the fleet,[12] all of which are low floor and wheelchair accessible. [13]

Halifax Transit operates 57 conventional transit routes within the Urban Transit Service Area, 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, Tantallon and Herring Cove. Routes are numbered according to the region or type of service provided.

Express service

Express routes, originally established as Metro Link express bus service operates Monday to Friday. The two express routes began service in August 2005. The system consists of two limited-stop fully accessible express routes, connecting downtown Halifax's Scotia Square bus terminal, with the Portland Hills terminal in Cole Harbour on the Dartmouth side, and the Sackville Terminal in Lower Sackville.

Regional Express Routes, formerly MetroX, is Halifax Transit's rural express bus service. There are three routes which started operating in August 2009 running between Halifax and Tantallon, the Airport, and Porters Lake, respectively. All routes terminate at Scotia Square in downtown Halifax, are handicap accessible and have facilities to carry bicycles.[14]

Rural routes provide some suburban and rural communities access to the regular and express bus system operated by Halifax Transit. There are three rural routes provide service between the Sackville Terminal and Beaverbank; Portland Hills to East Preston, Lake Echo, Grand Desert, and; South Centre Mall and Ketch Harbour via the Old Sambro Road and Highway 349.

Ferry service

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 1.4 million passengers each year[15] Each ferry carries up to 398 passengers. All routes are handicap accessible and have provision to carry bicycles.

Access-A-Bus

Halifax Transit also provides Access-A-Bus, a dial-a-ride paratransit service for elderly and handicapped residents. This was created in 1981, the same year Metro Transit was formed.[16]

Services

A Halifax Transit bus stop sign with new Departures Line info, high contrast route numbers, and Halifax Transit branding. Sign shows westbound routes from stop in front of Lord Nelson arcade on Spring Garden Road east of South Park Street.

Fares

Halifax Transit offers 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 or Metrolink service can pay the difference in cash fare to use a more expensive Metrolink or MetroX service.

A Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) Identification card can be used to obtain free travel on Halifax Transit's conventional buses, MetroX buses, MetroLink buses and harbour ferry service. 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.[17]

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 MetroLink and MetroExpress 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 MetroPass or MetroLink Pass do not require transfers.[18]

Schedules and route information

Route information can be accessed through the Halifax Transit Departures number 902 480 8000. Individual route schedules are available online at halifax.ca/transit. Most terminals have TV 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 4-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.[19] By January 30, 2017, all conventional buses provided the automated stop announcement.[20] As of June 8, 2017, all conventional buses in the Halifax Transit fleet were low floor and accessible to wheelchairs. [21]

Transit routes

Route number structure

As the Moving Forward Together Plan takes effect the following number structure will be in effect. Routes 1-19 are Corridor routes. Routes 20-99 are Local routes. Routes 100-199 are Express routes. Routes 300-399 are Regional Express routes. And routes 400-499 are Rural routes. Corridor routes provide high frequency during most of the day and travel long routes connecting different parts of the Halifax Regional Municipality to Downtown Halifax. Local routes provide less frequent service across various parts of the HRM connecting communities to corridor routes. Express routes are limited stop, peak service only routes that provide direct transport from downtown to local communities. Regional Express and Rural routes provide varied levels of service to areas outside of the HRM.

MetroLink routes 159 and 185 are not considered Express Routes, and will eventually be discontinued and replaced by new Express routes.

Current routes

No.	Name	Type	Features	Inner Terminal	Outer Terminal	Notes/History
1	Spring Garden	Corridor		Bridge Terminal	Mumford Terminal
2	Fairview	Corridor		Water Street Terminal	Lacewood Terminal
3	Crosstown	Corridor		Lacewood Terminal	Windmill & Wright
4	Universities	Corridor		Dalhousie University	Lacewood Terminal	Used to provide service to Mount Saint Vincent University.
5	Chebucto	Local		Water Street Terminal	Downs & Milsom	Weekday service only.
7	Robie	Corridor		Merv Sullivan Park	Northridge Loop
8	Sackville	Corridor		Barrington & Duke	Sackville Terminal	Replaced route 80 Sackville.
9A	Greystone - Fotherby	Corridor		Barrington & Duke	Fotherby & Herring Cove
9B	Herring Cove	Corridor		Barrington & Duke	St Paul's & School
10	Dalhousie	Corridor		Dalhousie University	Invenary & Strath
11	Dockyard	Local		Bridge Terminal	Halifax Dockyard	Partially a re-reinstatement of a former route with the same number.
14	Leiblin Park	Local		Barrington & Duke	Leiblin & Juniper
21	Timberlea	Local		Lacewood Terminal	Charles Road	Used to service downtown Halifax.
22	Armdale	Local		Mumford Terminal	Ragged Lake Transit Centre
25	Governors Brook	Local		Mumford Terminal	Titanium Crescent
28	Bayers Lake	Local		Mumford Terminal	Lacewood Terminal
29	Barrington	Local		Point Pleasant Park	Bayers Road Centre
30A	Clayton Park West	Local		Lacewood Terminal	Lacewood Terminal	Travels in a clockwise loop.
30B	Clayton Park West	Local		Lacewood Terminal	Lacewood Terminal	Travels in a counter-clockwise loop.
32	Cowie Hill Express	Express		Barrington & Duke	South Centre Mall	Weekday service only.
39	Flamingo	Local		Bridge Terminal	Lacewood Terminal
41	Dartmouth – Dalhousie	Local		Dalhousie University	Bridge Terminal	Weekday service only.
51	Windmill	Local		Bridge Terminal	Princess Margaret & Killkee	Weekday rush service extends from Bridge Terminal to Princess Margaret & Killkee to Joseph Zatzman Dr.
53	Notting Park	Local		Highfield Terminal	Bridge Terminal	Weekday rush service extends from Bridge Terminal to Summer & Trollope.
54	Montebello	Local		Dartmouth Ferry Terminal	Caledonia & Du Portage
55	Port Wallace	Local		Bridge Terminal	Portobello Loop
56	Dartmouth Crossing	Local		Portland Hills Terminal	Wright & Countryview	Used to service Westphal
57	Russell Lake	Local		Woodside Ferry Terminal	Portland Hills Terminal	Used to service Mic Mac
58	Woodlawn	Local		Bridge Terminal	Dorthea & Lucien
59	Colby	Local		Bridge Terminal	Ashgrove & Cole Harbour	Weekday rush service extends from Bridge Terminal to Summer & Trollope.
60	Eastern Passage / Heritage Hills	Corridor		Bridge Terminal	Caldwell & Shore
61	Auburn / North Preston	Local		Barrington & Duke	North Preston Recreation Centre	Used to service Bisett.
62	Wildwood	Local		Bridge Terminal	Cole Harbour Place	Used to be the 62 Cherrybrook.
63	Woodside	Local		Bridge Terminal	Irving & Franklyn	Weekday service only.
64	Burnside	Local		Highfield Terminal	Bancroft & Marketplace	Replaced route 64 Akerley, no service to Bridge Terminal, weekday only.
65	Caldwell	Local		Portland Hills Terminal	Caldwell & Cole Harbour
66	Penhorn	Local		Highfield Terminal	Gaston Loop	Used to provide service to the Woodside Ferry, Cobequid Terminal and Forest Hills.
68	Cherrybrook	Local		Bridge Terminal	Cherrybrook & Hwy 7	Weekday peak service extends from Bridge Terminal to Summer & Trollope. Used to provide service to Ross Road and Auburn.
72	Portland Hills			Portland Hills Terminal	Finlay & Shuble
78	Mount Edward Express			Woodside Ferry Terminal	Cole Harbour Place	Weekday rush hour service only.
79	Cole Harbour Express			Woodside Ferry Terminal	Colby Village	Weekday rush hour service only. Replaced former MetroLink route 165.
82	First Lake	Local		Sackville Terminal	Cobequid Terminal	Partially replaced route 82 Millwood.
83	Springfield	Local		Sackville Terminal	Springfield Estates
84	Glendale	Local		Scotia Square	Sackville Terminal	Partially replaced route 87 Glendale, peak extension to Summer St.
85	Millwood	Local		Sackville Terminal	Sackville Terminal	Partially replaced route 82 Millwood.
86	Beaverbank	Local		Sackville Terminal	Kinsac Community Centre	Replaced route 400 Beaverbank.
87	Sackville - Dartmouth	Local		Bridge Terminal	Sackville Terminal	Partially replaced route 87 Glendale.
88	Bedford Commons	Local		Sackville Terminal	Bedford Commons	Used to service Atlantic Acres. New extended service to Sackville Terminal.
90	Larry Uteck	Local		Water Street Terminal	West Bedford Park & Ride
91	Hemlock Ravine	Local		Mumford Terminal	West Bedford Park & Ride	Partially replaced route 81 Hemlock Ravine.
93	Bedford Hwy	Local		Scotia Square	Union Street	Peak only.
123	Timberlea Express	Express		Scotia Square	Charles Road	Weekday service only.
135	Flamingo Express	Express		Scotia Square	Lacewood Terminal	Weekday service only.
136	Farnham Gate Express	Express		Scotia Square	Lacewood Terminal	Weekday service only.
137	Clayton Park Express	Express		Scotia Square	Lacewood Terminal	Weekday service only.
138	Parkland Express	Express		Scotia Square	Lacewood Terminal	Weekday service only.
159	Portland Hills	Express		Barrington & Duke	Portland Hills Terminal	Weekday service only.
182	First Lake Express	Express		Cobequid Terminal	Summer/Bell	Replaces route 82 First Lake at peak times.
183	Springfield Express	Express		Summer Street	Springfield Avenue
185	Millwood Express	Express		Sackville Terminal	Bell/Summer	Replaces route 85 Millwood at peak times.
186	Beaverbank Express	Express		Scotia Square	Kinsac Community Centre	Peak only.
194	West Bedford Express	Express		Summer & Trollope	Innovation Dr. & Gary Martin Dr.	Weekday service only.
196	Basinview Express	Express		Summer & Trollope	Hwy 1 & Rockmanor	Weekday service only.
320	Airport/Fall River	Regional express		Albemarle & Duke	Halifax Stanfield International Airport
330	Tantallon	Regional express		Albemarle & Duke	Tantallon Rink Park & Ride	Weekday service only.
370	Porters Lake	Regional express		Albemarle & Duke	Porters Lake Rink Park & Ride	Weekday service only.
401	Porters Lake	Rural		Portland Hills Terminal	Grand Desert, Highway 207	Weekday service only.
415	Purcells Cove	Rural		Desmond Ave	Bayers Road Shopping Centre	Weekday service only.
433	Tantallon	Rural		Lacewood Terminal	Tantallon	Weekday service only.

Future Transit System [22]

No.	Name	Features	Inner Terminal	Outer Terminal	Notes/History
1	Spring Garden		Bridge Terminal	Mumford Terminal
2	Fairview		Water Street Terminal	Lacewood Terminal
3	Crosstown		Lacewood Terminal	Windmill & Wright	Used to provide service to Bayers Lake.
4	Universities		Dalhousie University	Lacewood Terminal	Used to provide service to Mount Saint Vincent University.
5	Portland		Bridge Terminal	Portland Hills Terminal	Replaces Routes 59, 61, and 68 on Portland Street.
6A	Woodside		Bridge Terminal	Woodside Ferry Terminal	Replaces Route 63 Woodside.
6B	Eastern Passage		Bridge Terminal	Oceanview Manor	Replaces Route 60 Eastern Passage.
6C	Heritage Hills		Bridge Terminal	Samuel Danial Drive	Replaces Route 60 Heritage Hills.
7A	Peninsula		Northridge Loop	Northridge Loop	Replaces 7 Gottingen
7B	Peninsula		Northridge Loop	Northridge Loop	Replaces route 7 Robie
8	Sackville		Barrington & Duke	Sackville Terminal
9A	Greystone - Fotherby		Barrington & Duke	Fotherby & Herring Cove
9B	Herring Cove		Barrington & Duke	St Paul's & School
10A	Mic Mac		Dalhousie University	Mic Mac Terminal	Replaces route 10 Mic Mac Terminal
10B	Westphal		Dalhousie University	Booth Street	Replaces route 10 Westphal
10C	Bridge Terminal		Dalhousie University	Bridge Terminal	New route 10 branch from Dalhousie to Bridge Terminal
21	Timberlea		Lacewood Terminal	Fraser Road	Replaces old route that starts at Mumford Terminal
22	Armdale		Mumford Terminal	Grassy Lake Drive
24	Leiblin Park		Inglis/Robie	Leiblin & Juniper	Shorter version of Route 14 Leiblin Park
25	Governeors Brook		Mumford Terminal	Alabaster Way
26	Springvale		Mumford Terminal	Mumford Terminal	Replaces route 5, Peak only
28	Bayers Lake		Mumford Terminal	Lacewood Terminal
29	Barrington		Point Pleasant Park	Bayers Road Centre
30A	Clayton Park		Lacewood Terminal	Lacewood Terminal	Travels in a clockwise loop.
30B	Clayton Park		Lacewood Terminal	Lacewood Terminal	Travels in a counter-clockwise loop.
39	Flamingo		Bridge Terminal	Lacewood Terminal
50	Dockyard		Bridge Terminal	Halifax Shipyard	Peak service only. Replaces Route 11 Dockyard
51	Windmill		Bridge Terminal	Princess Margaret & Killkee	Weekday rush service extends from Bridge Terminal to Wrights Cove Terminal.
53	Notting Park		Highfield Terminal	Alderney Gate	New route 53 extending to Alderney Gate
54	Montebello		Bridge Terminal	Breeze Drive	Revised route will service Bridge Terminal
55	Port Wallace		Bridge Terminal	Waverley/Charles Keating
56	Dartmouth Crossing		Bridge Terminal	Wrights Cove Terminal	Added service to Burnside
57	Portland Estates		PenHorn Terminal	Portland Hills Terminal	Peak only, service to Woodside replaced by new route 67
58	Woodlawn		Portland Hills Terminal	PenHorn Terminal	Service to Portland Street/Bridge Terminal removed
59	Colby		Portland Hills Terminal	Portland Hills Terminal	Service to Portland Street replaced by new route 5.
61	Cherry Brook		Portland Hills Terminal	Cherry Brook Road	Replaces route 68 Cherry Brook, service to Portland replaced by new route 5.
62	Grahams Cove		Bridge Terminal	Gaston Road	Replaces route 62 Wildwood and route 66 PenHorn.
63	Mount Edward		PenHorn Terminal	Portland Hills Terminal	Replaces route 78 Mount Edward Express
64	Burnside		Highfield Terminal	Wrights Cove Terminal	Replaces route 64 Akerley, no service to Bridge Terminal, weekday only.
65	Caldwell		Portland Hills Terminal	Caldwell & Cole Harbour
67	Baker		Woodside Ferry Terminal	Mic Mac Terminal	Partially Replaces route 57 Baker and route 66 PenHorn.
68	North Preston		Portland Hills Terminal	North Preston Turning Loop	Partially replaces route 61 North Preston
72	Portland Hills		Portland Hills Terminal	Lamont & Commodore
82	First Lake		Sackville Terminal	Cobequid Terminal
83	Springfield	[	Sackville Terminal	Springfield Turning Loop
84	Glendale		Scotia Square	Sackville Terminal
85	Millwood		Sackville Terminal	Sackville Terminal
86	Beaverbank		Sackville Terminal	Kinsac Community Centre
87	Sackville - Dartmouth		Bridge Terminal	Sackville Terminal
88	Bedford Commons		Cobequid Terminal	Bedford Commons
90	Larry Uteck		Water Street Terminal	West Bedford Park & Ride
91	Hemlock Ravine		Mumford Terminal	West Bedford Park & Ride
93	Bedford Hwy		Scotia Square	Union Street	Peak only.
123	Timberlea Express		Scotia Square	Fraser Road	Peak service only.
127	Cowie Hill Express		Scotia Square	Herring Cove Road	Replaces route 32
135	Flamingo Express		University Ave	Bedford Hwy	Peak service only.
136	Farnham Gate Express		Farnham/Dunbrack	University Avenue	Peak service only.
137	Regency Park Express		University Ave	Lacewood Terminal	Peak service only.
138	Parkland Express		University Ave	Dunbrack/Wentworth	Peak service only.
158	Woodlawn Express		University Ave	Portland Hills Terminal	Replaces route 58 Woodlawn at peak times.
159	Colby Express		University Ave	Portland Hills Terminal	Replaces route 59 Colby at peak times.
161A	Cherrybrook Express		University Ave	Portland Hills Terminal	Replaces route 61 Cherrybrook at peak times.
161B	Auburn Express		University Ave	Portland Hills Terminal	Replaces route 61 Cherrybrook at peak times.
165	Caldwell Express		University Ave	Portland Hills Terminal	Replaces route 65 Caldwell at peak times.
168	North Preston Express		University Ave	Portland Hills Terminal	Replaces route 68 North Preston at peak times.
178	Mount Edward Express		Woodside Ferry Terminal	Cole Harbour Rd	Peak only.
179	Cole Harbour Express		Cole Harbour Rd	Woodside Ferry Terminal	Peak only.
182	First Lake Express		Cobequid Terminal	Summer/Bell	Replaces route 82 First Lake at peak times.
183	Springfield Express		Sackville Terminal	Summer/Bell	Replaces route 83 Springfield at peak times.
185	Millwood		Sackville Terminal	Bell/Summer	Replaces route 85 Millwood at peak times.
186	Beaverbank Express		Kinsac Community Center	Scotia Square	Peak only.
192	Southgate Express		Bell/Summer	Larry Uteck/Starboard	Peak only.
194	West Bedford Express		West Bedford Park & Ride	Bell/Summer	Peak only
196	Starboard Express		Starboard/Larry Uteck	Bell/Summer	Peak only.
310	Middle Sackville Regional Express		Margeson Park & Ride	Albemarle St
320	Airport/Fall River		Albemarle & Duke	Halifax Stanfield International Airport
330	Tantallon Regional Express		Albemarle & Duke	Hubley Centre Park & Ride	Weekday service only.
370	Porters Lake Regional Express		Albemarle & Duke	Porters Lake Rink Park & Ride	Weekday service only.
401	Porters Lake		Portland Hills Terminal	Porters Lake Park & Ride	Weekday service only.
415	Purcells Cove		Desmond Ave	Bayers Road Shopping Centre	Weekday service only.
433	Tantallon		Lacewood Terminal	Hubley Centre Park & Ride	Weekday service only.

Withdrawn

No.	Name	Started	Ended	Notes
2	Wedgewood	1990	2018	Discontinued due to Moving Forward Together Plan modifications. Merged with route 4 to form new route 2; new route 30 replaced Clayton Park Section.
3	Gottingen	1927	1989	Merged with route 7.
3	Mumford	1993	2012
4	Rosedale	1949	2018	Discontinued due to Moving Forward Together Plan modifications. Replaced by new routes 2 and 30.
6	Quinpool	1980	2017	Discontinued due to Moving Forward Together Plan modifications. The route overlapped or was close to other routes.
8	Windsor	1963	1999	Discontinued due to overlapping service from other routes.
8	Waterfront	2010	2013	Discontinued due to inadequate ridership.
9	Barrington	1928	2017	Discontinued due to Moving Forward Together Plan modifications. Mostly replaced by new route 29.
11	Macdonald Bridge	1955	1988	Merged with route 1, later partially reinstated.
12	Flamingo	1970	2003
16	Stanley Park	1995	1998
16	Parkland	2018	Discontinued due to Moving Forward Together Plan modifications. Replaced by new routes 30 and 39.
17	Saint Mary's	2018	Discontinued due to Moving Forward Together Plan modifications. Replaced by new route 4.
18	Universities	2018	Discontinued due to Moving Forward Together Plan modifications. Replaced by new routes 4 and 39.
19	Fotherby	1991	1996
19	Greystone	2008	2017	Discontinued due to Moving Forward Together Plan modifications. Replaced by new route 9A.
20	Herring Cove	1970	2017	Discontinued due to Moving Forward Together Plan modifications. Replaced by new route 9B.
22	Exhibition Park	1993	2004	Reinstated with service to Exhibition Park with the opening of the Ragged Lake Transit Centre in 2010. Service to Exhibition Park was discontinued again in 2017 due to Moving Forward Together Plan modifications.
23	Timberlea Express	2006	2018	Discontinued due to Moving Forward Together Plan modifications. Replaced by new Express route 123.
26	Shuttle	1993	2008
30	Glenforest	1975	1999
31	Main Express	1975	2018	Discontinued due to Moving Forward Together Plan modifications. Replaced by new Express routes 135, 136, 137 and 138.
33	Tantallon Express	1995	2018	Discontinued due to Moving Forward Together Plan modifications. Replaced by new Express routes 135, 136, 137 and 138 and Rural route 433.
34	Rockingham Express	1982	1990
34	Glenbourne Express	1995	2018	Discontinued due to Moving Forward Together Plan modifications. Replaced by new Express routes 135, 136, 137 and 138.
35	Rosedale	1995	2000
35	Parkland Express	2003	2018	Discontinued due to Moving Forward Together Plan modifications. Replaced by new Express routes 135, 136, 137 and 138.
40	Mumford–Dalhousie	2006	2006
42	Lacewood-Dalhousie	2006	2018	Discontinued due to Moving Forward Together Plan modifications. Replaced by new route 4.
48	Highfield	1990	1999
50	Portland Estates	1980	1996
50	BIO	2001	2004
52	Crosstown	1980	2018	Discontinued due to Moving Forward Together Plan modifications. Replaced by new routes 3 and 28.
56	Westphal	1980	1989
57	Mic Mac	1980	1989
61	Bisett	1980	1998
64	Akerley	1980	2019	Rerouted and renamed 64 Burnside.
66	Forest Hills–Woodside Ferry	1987	1989
68	Auburn	1980	1998
68	Ross Road	1998	2000
71	Forest Hills Express	1982	1989
80	Sackville	1979	2019	Discontinued due to Moving Forward Together Plan modifications. Replaced by corridor route 8, which follows the same routing.
81	Bedford	1980	1985
81	Hemlock Ravine	2006	2019	Discontinued due to Moving Forward Together Plan modifications. Replaced by new route 91.
82	Millwood	1980	2019	Discontinued due to Moving Forward Together Plan modifications. Replaced by new routes 82 and 85.
84	Glendale Express	1990	2019	Discontinued due to Moving Forward Together Plan modifications. Replaced by new local route 84.
85	Bedford Express	1980	1991
85	Downsview Express	1997	2019	Discontinued due to Moving Forward Together Plan modifications.
86	Bedford–Dartmouth	1987	1988
86	Basinview Express	1990	2019	Discontinued due to Moving Forward Together Plan modifications. Replaced by new route 196.
87	Connolly	1990	1997
87	Glendale	2000	2019	Discontinued due to Moving Forward Together Plan modifications. Replaced by new routes 84 and 87.
88	Atlantic Acres	1993	1994
89	Bedford	2008	2019	Discontinued due to Moving Forward Together Plan modifications. Replaced by new routes 91 and 93.
165	Woodside Link	2005	2014	Replaced by new conventional route 79
185	Sackville Link	2006	2019	Replaced by new Express routes 183 Springfield, 185 Millwood, and 186 Beaver Bank, which each follow the same routing as the previous route 185, but continue beyond Sackville terminal to serve various residential areas.
400	Beaver Bank		2019	Discontinued due to Moving Forward Together Plan modifications. Replaced by new route 86.
402	Sambro	2009	2017	Discontinued due to Moving Forward Together Plan modifications. The route had low ridership.

Moving Forward Together Plan (2016-2020)

The Moving Forward Together Plan is Halifax Transit's 5 year improvement plan that outlines planned changes to the transit network from late 2016 to 2020.[23]

Rapid Transit Strategy (2020-Present)

In May 2020 Halifax Transit presented a plan to Regional Council to implement a new Rapid Transit Strategy. This would:

• Add four new Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) lines
• Add additional ferry terminals in Mill Cove, Larry Uteck & Shannon Park and link to existing terminals in Halifax, Alderney Landing, and Woodside.

Halifax Transit's initial estimate is $300-325M CAD in capital and $15-22M in operational costs to implement these new routes.[24]

Criticism

Halifax Transit has been criticized as inefficient and unreliable.[25][26] Some transit advocates have called Halifax Transit's "Moving Forward Together Plan" inadequate, identifying four major concerns:

1. The lack of a connective network which will result in dramatically less travel choice for transit users
2. Inefficient and redundant route design that will cause ridership to remain low
3. Missing data and analysis making it difficult to have good, evidence-based discussion
4. A five-year implementation, which will cause unpredictability for riders as routes continuously change

In addition, the "Moving Forward Together Plan" is characterised as a plan that disregards the key principles that Halifax Transit identified through years of public engagement and consultation.[27] Business groups have also noted both the current lack of service, and lack of proposed future service, along key corridors of the region.[28]

Environmental controversy

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.[29] 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.[30] Before the discovery of the leak, Halifax Transit initially claimed that the excess fuel consumption was caused by higher usage during winter.[31]

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.

See also

• Transportation in the Halifax Regional Municipality

References

1. Regional Plan 2014 Urban Transit Service Boundary Map (PDF) (Map).
2. "2018/19 – Year End Performance Measures Report" (PDF). Halifax Transit. 2019.
3. "Commuters using sustainable transportation in census metropolitan areas". Statistics Canada. November 29, 2017.
4. Wyatt, D.A. (2015). All-time list of Canadian transit systems: http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~wyatt/alltime/
5. Canadian Railroad Historical Association Bulletin 17 (1954) http://www.exporail.org/can_rail/Canadian%20Rail_CRHA_Bulletin_no17_April_1954.pdf
6. Cunningham, D. and Artz, D. (2009). The Halifax Street Railway: 1866–1949. Halifax: Nimbus
7. Leger, P.A. and Lawrence, L.M. (1994), Halifax – City of Trolleycoaches. Windsor ON: Bus History Association
8. An Act Respecting the Metropolitan Authority of Halifax, Dartmouth and the Municipality of the County of Halifax. Statutes of Nova Scotia. 1978. c. 9.
9. Halifax Transit brand unveiled The Chronicle Herald
10. "Halifax Transit's Multi-Year Transformation Underway". Halifax Regional Municipality. Retrieved July 10, 2016. As part of the evolution of our transit system, and in keeping with the brand strategy, the name Metro Transit was changed to Halifax Transit
11. Gillis, Sean (January 6, 2014). "Transit First – Big changes for Metro Transit". Spacing Atlantic. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
12. , Halifax Transit Annual Service Plan, 2017/18.
13. , Metro News, June 8 2017.
14. Halifax Transit, Metro Express page (with planning documents) Archived June 3, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
15. Metro Transit, Dartmouth-Halifax Harbour Ferries Archived June 3, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
16. Halifax Transit, Access-a-bus
17. "Low income transit pass program". Halifax Transit. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
18. Halifax Transit, 2008 News Archive
19. Halifax Transit Stop Announcements
20. The Signal January 30 2017.
21. , Metro News, June 8 2017.
22. https://www.halifax.ca/transportation/halifax-transit/moving-forward-together/appendix-b-detailed-route-descriptions
23. "Moving Forward Together". Retrieved December 3, 2017.
24. "Rapid Transit Strategy | Shape Your City Halifax". www.shapeyourcityhalifax.ca. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
25. Burke, David (August 1, 2016). "Halifax Transit's poor reliability costs people work, says Cole Harbour man". CBC.
26. Ryan, Haley (December 1, 2016). "The long, long bus ride: Dartmouth man takes councillor on his hour-and-a-half commute". Metro Halifax.
27. "Open Letter to Council – Halt Moving Forward, Bring in an Expert (updated)". It's More than Buses. November 18, 2016.
28. Berman, Pam (November 22, 2016). "Bus routes needed to link Dartmouth communities: business groups". CBC.
29. "Metro Transit diesel leak hits Burnside groundwater". CBC News. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
30. "Transit garage fuel leak cleanup costs spike to $2.5 million". CBC News. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
31. "AG slams city over fuel spill issue". The Chronicle Herald. May 20, 2015. Retrieved April 18, 2017.

External links

• Media related to Halifax Transit at Wikimedia Commons
• Official website
  • Route map
  • Schedules, maps for individual routes, riders guide