Halifax Transit

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.

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]

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.

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 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.

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.

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]

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]

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.

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.

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]

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.

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)
University routes that only operate during the university academic calendar year (September – April).

No.	Name	Type	Features	Inner Terminal	Outer Terminal	Notes/History
1	Spring Garden	Corridor		Bridge Terminal	Mumford Terminal	Travels Roslyn Road at Peak Times
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	Route 7 has 2 branches in a clockwise and counterclockwise 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	Thru-Route to route 61 Auburn
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	Travels to Heritage Hills at peak times only.
61	Auburn / North Preston	Local		Barrington & Duke	North Preston Recreation Centre	Thru-route to route 14 Leblin Park.
62	Wildwood	Local		Bridge Terminal	Cole Harbour Place	Used to be the 62 Cherrybrook.
63	Woodside	Local		Bridge Terminal	Irving & Franklyn	Weekday service only until 5 PM.
64	Burnside	Local		Highfield Terminal	Bancroft & Marketplace	New 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 Cobequid Terminal.
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. Replaces former MetroLink route 165.
82	First Lake	Local		Sackville Terminal	Cobequid Terminal
83	Springfield	Local		Sackville Terminal	Springfield Estates
84	Glendale	Local		Scotia Square	Sackville Terminal	Partially replaces route 87 Glendale, peak extension to Summer St.
85	Millwood	Local		Sackville Terminal	Sackville Terminal	Partially replaces route 82 Millwood
86	Beaverbank	Local		Sackville Terminal	Kinsac Community Centre
87	Sackville - Dartmouth	Local		Bridge Terminal	Sackville Terminal	Partially replaces route 87 Glendale
88	Bedford Commons	Local		Sackville Terminal	Bedford Commons	Used to service Atlantic Acres. New extended service to Sackville Terminal.
89	Bedford	Local		Lacewood Terminal	Cobequid Terminal	Weekday service only.
90	Larry Uteck	Local		Water Street Terminal	West Bedford Park & Ride
91	Hemlock Ravine	Local		Mumford Terminal	West Bedford Park & Ride	Partially replaces 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.
400	Beaver Bank	Rural		Sackville Terminal	Beaver Bank Villa, Highway 354
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.

Halifax Transit has been criticized as inefficient and unreliable.[23][24] 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.[25] Business groups have also noted both the current lack of service, and lack of proposed future service, along key corridors of the region.[26]