Halifax Transit

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.[6]

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.[7]

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.[8]

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.[9] 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.

Metro Transit bus on Barrington Street, 1990

Metro Transit, a single transit agency serving all of the greater Halifax-Dartmouth metropolitan area, began operations in March 1981.[3] The system was created by the Metropolitan Authority, an agency representing the former cities of Halifax and Dartmouth as well as suburban Halifax County,[10] 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.[11][12]

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.[13] 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.[14] Before the discovery of the leak, Halifax Transit initially claimed that the excess fuel consumption was caused by higher usage during winter.[15]

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.[16]

In January 2014, Halifax Regional Council approved a study to look at a major re-design of the city's transit system.[17] 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.[18] 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.[19]

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.[20] Business groups have also noted both the current lack of service, and lack of proposed future service, along key corridors of the region.[21]

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.[22] 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.[23]

There are 369 conventional buses in the fleet,[4] all of which are low floor and wheelchair accessible.[24]

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 are higher-ridership routes that provide frequent service for most of the day. They serve major destinations and transit terminals.[19] 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.[19]

Local routes provide connect neighbourhoods to corridor routes (at transit terminals).[19] 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 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.[19]

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

A regional express bus (route 320) serving Halifax Stanfield International Airport

Regional Express routes connect outlying areas to the regional centre. A higher fare is charged for these routes.[19]

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.[25]

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

Rural routes provide service to areas outside the Urban Transit Service Boundary which had transit service before the boundary was adopted.[19] There are three such routes, which connect rural areas to the nearest bus terminal.

Viola Desmond ferry at launch in 2016

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.[2] Each ferry carries up to 398 passengers. All routes are handicap accessible and have provision to carry bicycles.

As of 2023, a third ferry route – connecting downtown Halifax and Bedford – is in planning.[26]

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.[27] 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.[2]

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 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.[28]

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.[29]

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.[30] In November 2022, council voted to expand the program to four Dartmouth junior high schools.[31]

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.[32]

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.

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.

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.[33] By January 30, 2017, all conventional buses provided the automated stop announcement.[34] As of June 8, 2017, all conventional buses in the Halifax Transit fleet were low floor and accessible to wheelchairs.[24]

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.[35]

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)

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)

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	Marketplace & Bancroft
4	Universities	Corridor		Dalhousie University	Lacewood Terminal	Used to provide service to Mount Saint Vincent University.
5	Portland	Corridor		Barrington & Duke	Portland Hills Terminal	Replaces old routes 59, 61, and 68 on Portland Street
6ᴀ	Woodside	Corridor		Bridge Terminal	Woodside Ferry Terminal	Partially replaces old route 63 Woodside
6ʙ	Eastern Passage	Corridor		Bridge Terminal	Oceanview Manor	Replaces old route 60 Eastern Passage
6ᴄ	Heritage Hills	Corridor		Bridge Terminal	Samuel Danial Drive	Replaces old route 60 Heritage Hills
7ᴀ	Peninsula	Corridor		Northridge Loop	Northridge Loop	Travels in a clockwise loop
7ʙ	Peninsula	Corridor		Northridge Loop	Northridge Loop	Travels in a counter-clockwise loop
8	Sackville	Corridor		Upper Water Street	Sackville Terminal	Replaced route 80 Sackville
9ᴀ	Greystone - Fotherby	Corridor		Upper Water St	Fotherby & Herring Cove
9ʙ	Herring Cove	Corridor		Upper Water St	St Paul's & School
10	Dalhousie	Corridor		Dalhousie University	Raymoor/Main
21	Timberlea	Local		Lacewood Terminal	Charles Road	Used to service downtown Halifax.
22	Armdale	Local		Mumford Terminal	Ragged Lake Transit Centre
24	Leiblin Park	Local		Inglis/Robie	Leiblin & Juniper	Shorter version of old route 14 Leiblin Park. No service to downtown.
25	Governors Brook	Local		Mumford Terminal	Titanium Crescent
26	Springvale	Local		Mumford Terminal	Downs & Milsom	Replaces route old 5 but no longer travels downtown. Peak only.
28	Bayers Lake	Local		Mumford Terminal	Lacewood Terminal
29	Barrington	Local		Point Pleasant Park	Bayers Road Centre
30ᴀ	Clayton Park West	Local		Lacewood Terminal	Lacewood Terminal	Travels in a clockwise loop.
30ʙ	Clayton Park West	Local		Lacewood Terminal	Lacewood Terminal	Travels in a counter-clockwise loop.
39	Flamingo	Local		Bridge Terminal	Lacewood Terminal
41	Dartmouth – Dalhousie	Local		Dalhousie University	Bridge Terminal	Weekday service only. Route has been temporarily suspended since February 2023 due to staff shortages.
50	Dockyard-Shipyard	Local		Bridge Terminal	Halifax Shipyard	Replaced former route 11 Dockyard. Peak only.
51	Windmill	Local		Bridge Terminal	Princess Margaret & Killkee	Peak service extends to Bedford Institute of Oceanography and Joseph Zatzman Dr. in Burnside.
53	Highfield	Local		Highfield Terminal	Alderney Gate	Replaced route 53 Notting Park (with simplified routing through Highfield Park and new extension to Alderney Ferry Terminal).
54	Montebello	Local		Bridge Terminal	Breeze & Columbo	Revised route will service Bridge Terminal
55	Port Wallace	Local		Bridge Terminal	Waverley/Charles Keating	Revised route, no services past Charles Keating
56	Dartmouth Crossing	Local		Bridge Terminal	Lamont/Lemlair
57	Portland Estates	Local		Penhorn Terminal	Portland Hills Terminal	Peak only, service to Woodside replaced by new route 67
58	Woodlawn	Local		Portland Hills Terminal	Penhorn Terminal	Service to Portland Street/Bridge Terminal removed
59	Colby	Local		Portland Hills Terminal	Colby Village	Service to Portland Street replaced by new route 5.
61	North Preston	Local		Portland Hills Terminal	North Preston Turning Loop	Partially replaces route old 68 in Cole Harbour. No service to Bridge Terminal.
62	Grahams Grove	Local		Bridge Terminal	Gaston Road	Replaces route 62 Wildwood and route 66 Penhorn.
63	Mount Edward	Local		Penhorn Terminal	Portland Hills Terminal	New route for Mount Edward
64	Burnside	Local		Highfield Terminal	Marketplace & Bancroft	Replaces route 64 Akerley, no service to Bridge Terminal. Weekday only.
65	Caldwell	Local		Portland Hills Terminal	Caldwell & Cole Harbour
67	Baker	Local		Woodside Ferry Terminal	Mic Mac Terminal	Partially Replaces route 57 Baker and route 66 Penhorn.
68	Cherry Brook	Local		Portland Hills Terminal	Cherry Brook & Main	Partially replaces old route 61 in Cole Harbour. Service to Portland replaced by new route 5.
72	Portland Hills	Local		Portland Hills Terminal	Commodore & Countryview
82	First Lake	Local		Sackville Terminal	Cobequid Terminal
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	Millwood & Sackville	Partially replaced route 82 Millwood
86	Beaverbank	Local		Sackville Terminal	Kinsac Community Centre
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 replaces route 81 Hemlock Ravine
93	Bedford Highway	Local		Scotia Square	Cobequid Terminal	Peak only.
123	Timberlea Express	Express		Scotia Square	Charles Road	Weekday service only.
127	Cowie Hill Express	Express		Scotia Square	Cowie Hill & Peter Saulnier	Weekday peak service only.
135	Flamingo Express	Express		Scotia Square	Mount Saint Vincent University	Weekday service only.
136	Farnham Gate Express	Express		Scotia Square	Wentworth & Dunbrack	Weekday service only.
137	Clayton Park Express	Express		Scotia Square	Regency Park Dr. & Lacewood Dr.	Weekday service only.
138	Parkland Express	Express		Scotia Square	Dunbrack & Ross	Weekday service only.
158	Woodlawn Express	Express		University Ave	Portland Hills Terminal	Replaces route 58 Woodlawn at peak times.
159	Colby Express	Express		University Ave	Colby Village	Replaces route 59 Colby at peak times.
161	North Preston Express	Express		University Ave	North Preston Loop	Replaces route 61 North Preston at peak times.
165	Caldwell Express	Express		University Ave	Astral Drive	Replaces route 65 Caldwell at peak times.
168ᴀ	Auburn Express	Express		University Ave	Auburn Drive	Replaces route 68 Cherry Brook at peak times.
168ʙ	Cherry Brook Express	Express		University Ave	Cherry Brook Road	Replaces route 68 Cherry Brook at peak times.
178	Mount Edward Express	Express		Woodside Ferry Terminal	Cole Harbour Place	Peak only. Route has been temporarily suspended since February 2023 due to staff shortages.
179	Cole Harbour Express	Express		Woodside Ferry Terminal	Cole Harbour Road	Peak only. Route has been temporarily suspended since February 2023 due to staff shortages.
182	First Lake Express	Express		Summer/Bell	Sackville Terminal	Replaced route 82 First Lake at peak times.
183	Springfield Express	Express		Summer Street	Springfield Avenue
185	Millwood Express	Express		Millwood & Sackville	Bell/Summer	Replaced route 85 Millwood at peak times.
186	Beaverbank Express	Express		Scotia Square	Kinsac Community Centre	Peak only.
194	West Bedford Express	Express		Summer & Trollope	West Bedford Park & Ride	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 Park & Ride	Weekday service only.
401	Porters Lake	Rural		Portland Hills Terminal	Porters Lake Park & Ride
415	Purcells Cove	Rural		Mumford Terminal	York Redoubt	Weekday service only.
433	Tantallon	Rural		Lacewood Terminal	Tantallon	Weekday service only.