As you know, Halifax Transit is no longer collecting fares, in order to make sure bus drivers can maintain physical distancing and stay safe. But that means Halifax Transit’s revenue has disappeared, and they’re being forced to cut routes — routes that people rely on to get to essential jobs. Call your MP and your MLA and then them that you the Federal and Provincial […]

It’s not often that Halifax Transit surprises us with bigger plans than anyone was expecting, but that’s what’s happening this week. Tomorrow (May 26), Regional Council will be discussing Halifax Transit’s latest report on their Rapid Transit Strategy — the plan for a high-frequency bus rapid transit (BRT) network and a fast ferry from Bedford. You’ll remember that plan from back in March. It’s an […]

You’ve probably seen Halifax Transit’s cuts to service. The increased wait times on lots of routes, including the ferries, are an inconvenience. But the wholesale elimination of certain routes is a disaster. Even if it affects only a small number of people, there are some people who rely on that service to get to jobs we all now recognize as essential. So why did Halifax Transit […]

We talked yesterday about the longer-term vision that’s missing from Halifax Transit’s Rapid Transit Strategy. How is the bus rapid transit (BRT) network going to grow after 2030? Will it be extended to Bedford? How can Bedford be connected to Burnside and north Dartmouth? Today we need to start talking about why that longer term vision is so important. Let’s start with a basic fact […]

We talked yesterday about what’s great about Halifax Transit’s new Rapid Transit Strategy. It connects a lot of different places to downtown Halifax and downtown Dartmouth, it would have enough transit priority to keep buses out of traffic, and the buses would run every ten minutes, all day, every day. That’s a great network. But now we need to start thinking about what’s missing from […]

Last week, Halifax Transit gave the public its first look at something its calling a Rapid Transit Strategy. There’s too much to say about it in a single post, so I’ll be posting a few different thoughts over the course of the week. The Rapid Transit Strategy is a 10-year plan to built a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) network and a new fast ferry from […]

After yesterday’s Council vote, it looks like commuter rail plans are dead. Why did the plan die, and what does HRM do now? Council’s discussion yesterday was in camera, so we’ll probably never know exactly how the decision was made. But the argument against pursuing commuter rail has been hiding in plain site for a few years now. Since Council got a look at the […]

Last week’s big transit news is that Halifax Transit asked for, and council approved, a 10% increase in fares for later this year. A regular fare is going from $2.50 to $2.75. On one hand, Halifax Transit’s fares are low by Canadian standards and will still be pretty close to average after the increase. On the other hand, any increase in fares runs the risk […]