Halifax Transit

[Halifax Hillbilly]

One thing to keep in mind with the ferry is that it is VERY expensive to run this particular service. You have two people on the boat, plus one person at each terminal. Four people to run a ferry route vs. one driver for a regular transit bus. That's much more expensive per hour of service. Surely though we could get rid of the commissionaire on each side and use automated ticketing and a proof of purchase system. It works on lots of big systems.

[fenwick16]

It sounds like it is best to cut back on the ferries and use part of the savings to have an all-night cross harbour bus route (such as route # 1).

[someone123]

Originally Posted by fenwick16

It sounds like it is best to cut back on the ferries and use part of the savings to have an all-night cross harbour bus route (such as route # 1).

One of the nice things about night buses is that they tend to be fast because there's so little traffic late at night. At 2 a.m. you could get from downtown Halifax to downtown Dartmouth via the bridge much, much quicker than at 5 p.m. on a weekday.

The night "N" bus routes here in Vancouver are also not necessarily the same as the daytime routes. They are more like Metro Transit's "milk run" routes.

[Dmajackson]

Halifax cuts late-night ferry service
August 7, 2012 - 6:10pm BY PAUL MCLEOD STAFF REPORTER
UPDATED 8:55 p.m. Tuesday

Halifax regional council voted Tuesday to slash late-night ferry service between Dartmouth and Halifax, but urban councillors did win some concessions.

Several suburban and rural councillors joined their counterparts from Dartmouth, Woodside and peninsular Halifax to defeat a more severe proposal 19-5.

That plan would have cut more than 1,000 hours from the ferry service by killing all runs after 10:15 p.m., reducing service from every 15 minutes to every half-hour from noon to 2 p.m., and shutting down all service on Sunday before 11:30 a.m.

Council then voted 18-4 in favour of a compromise motion that enacts almost all those cuts but will save late-night service on Friday and Saturday nights

...

Full Article on thechronicleherald.ca

IMO this isn't too bad of a compromise.

They go on to say the service will be ramped up in 2015 for the MacDonald Bridge closures which is good. By this time King's Wharf will have four or more inhabited buildings including the Iconic Tower (if all goes to plan) and some new developments near the ferry on both sides of the harbour will be completed so the new demand might keep the late-night service alive in the longer-term.

As for the late-night-bus service debate I think starting out with one route (Route 1) is a good start but shortly after that is implemented service should expand to four core routes (1, 52, 80, 87). The idea is to take existing high demand routes and run them between major terminals connecting 24/7 areas.

Route 1 - 15 minute frequencies minimum 24/7 along the entire route.

Route 52 - Normal daytime service with consideration for rerouting in Burnside. At night run basic service with a minimum 30 minute headway from Lacewood to Burnside Transit Centre.

Route 80 - Maintain existing service during daytime hours. At night run with a 30 minute headway from Cobequid - Scotia Square. Consider creating a nighttime detour to Mumford Terminal where it will terminate to service on the 1, 52.

Route 87 - Maintain existing service during daytime hours. At night run with a 30 minute headway from Cobequid - Bridge. To provide better service reroute through Bedford.

These four routes would provide basic service between the four major terminals in Greater Halifax. All of the routes service at least one 24/7 area (Windmill in Burnside, DT Halifax, North Street, and Mill Cove). All four major communities will be serviced and some transit dependent areas like Highfield Park will have service for employment purposes.

[Halifax Hillbilly]

Council with a reasonable compromise motion on the ferry - well done. Friday and Saturday evening service makes sense IMO - forty people per run isn't bad.

[jasonashhh]

The one covers its self so why not add three express routes and call it 1A
Which only stop a intersections bit runs the same route so say pick and drop off
So leaves the bridge picks up once across than will stop once near the water waste plant before going to scotia square for a major drop off and pick up
Than next stop spring garden by the alient building before stoppin on spring garden and south street while keeping its regular 1 one service intact lets try to get this heard the express buses maybe all should have voice systems to tell when next stop is and street name etc it would be a stepping stone could use on the 52 as well without detouring the bus just ones faster than the other

[teddifax]

Voice stop announcements are supposed to be starting on all buses next year.

[teddifax]

I found this in a search today!
http://www.halifax.ca/metrotransit/d...ationsPlan.pdf
It shows plans to Construct new Halifax and Dartmouth terminal buildings and to Construct replacement ferries between 2018 and 2021

[Spire]

Originally Posted by teddifax

Voice stop announcements are supposed to be starting on all buses next year.

Where did you hear this? The latest report to council stated that there were "no immediate plans for implementation."

http://halifax.ca/council/agendasc/d...710ca1141i.pdf

[teddifax]

I just dug it up on the site I showed above! But, I feel, like most things to do with transportation in Halifax, that nothing in this will come to pass!

[Dmajackson]

Lately I have been noticing Fairview is starting to undergo a major transformation. With three major projects on Dutch Village Road the area will soon require better transit especially since many of its main routes (ie 52) are already near capacity. Up the hill Mount Royale is currently not serviced and Bayers Lake beyond that is under-serviced. With all this in mind I thought the route below could be introduced;

ROUTE 12 (BAYERS LAKE via MAIN AVE / DOWNTOWN via CHEBUCTO)

-Leave Chain Lake Drive (@ Horseshoe Lake Drive)
-Washmill Lake Drive
-Northwest Arm Drive
-Main Street
-Joseph Howe Drive
-Scot Street
-Desmond Avenue
- >BAYERS ROAD TERMINAL
-Bayers Road
-Joseph Howe Drive
-Mumford Road
- > MUMFORD TERMINAL
-Mumford Road
-Chebucto/Cunard
-North Park Street
-Trollope/Summer
- > QEII HOSPITAL
-Spring Garden Road
-Barrington Street
-George Street
-Water Street
- > WATER STREET TERMINAL
-Duke Street
-Albemarle Street
- > METRO EXPRESS STOPS
-Cogswell Street
-Barrington Street
- > SCOTIA SQUARE
-Spring Garden Road
-Summer Street
- > QEII HOSPITAL
-Bell Road
-Quinpool Road
-Windsor Street
-Chebucto Road
-Mumford Road
- > MUMFORD TERMINAL
-Mumford Road
-Joseph Howe Drive
-Scot Street
-Desmond Avenue
- > BAYERS ROAD TERMINAL
-Bayers Road
-Dutch Village Road
-Main Street
-Northwest Arm Drive
-Washmill Lake/Susie Lake
-Horseshoe Lake Drive
-Arrive Chain Lake Drive (@ Horseshoe Lake Drive)

This route would have the added benefit of reducing overloading on Route 52 and for those heading deep into Bayers Lake they would avoid the traffic jams in the retail portion and backtracking through Clayton Park.

Since this would be a core route it should have the normal headways (30 min offpeak, 15 min peak), and it could allow Routes 2,4, or 5 to terminate at Mumford Terminal.

[teddifax]

Maybe you should get a job with MetroTransit! Their service has to be improved to increase ridership, but nothing seems to get done and then less people use the service. It becomes almost a self-fulfilling prophecy in reverse. I would love to see a better service having used it for over 30 years before retiring. The service to and from Clayton Park in the peak hours was good, but the rest of the time....

[Dmajackson]

Haha but then I would have to listen to their "buses are the only thing Halifax needs" rantings.

With what I proposed above Metro Transit could even go a step further and introduce mini-bus routes as neighbourhood feeders. Route 5 as an example would essentially be duplicate through the new route so I would cancel it and introduce a short run between Fairmount and Mumford Terminal (called '405 Fairmount'). This would free up standard buses for runs on busier routes. Because of the short route only one bus is needed for 30-min frequency.

Also this could be expanded to Routes 15, 65, 83, and 88.

[resetcbu1]

Unbeleivable.... I haven't seen the Mount Royal development in person living so far away these days but from what I have seen in photo's it has some major density and it is sad thad an area with that much density would be not serviced by transit ...... almost makes me sick to think of how poorly the HRM does at these types of things as if it is no big deal???

[someone123]

Unfortunately transit planning in Halifax seems to be totally reactionary. The development goes in, demand increases, and then Metro Transit fiddles with routes 5-10 years later. By then it is mostly too late; the developments are all built around cars and people living in those neighbourhoods already own cars and commute to work by car, so getting them to switch to transit is an uphill battle. It would be much better to have more proactive planning. Road networks could be designed with transit in mind and the service could go in earlier.

I really hope the "nothing but buses" attitude goes away soon. Transit planning requires thinking ahead because it takes years to build something like rapid transit. Calgary's LRT planning began with a study in 1967 and trains did not enter service until 1981. The real question is "what will Halifax's transportation needs be in 2020 or 2030?" If Metro Transit waits until there's no alternative but to aggressively build bus lanes or LRT then the city will suffer through years of unnecessarily slow commutes and the eventual cost will be much higher than necessary.

[teddifax]

Can it be too much to hope that things will start to change with the upcoming civic election. I would love to see Halifax be all that it can be, but historically (hysterically) this city reacts and has never planned in advance. Someone has to take the time to plan what is required for transportation throughout the HRM for now AND for its future. Bring in an expert and listen to that person. We obviously haven't done things right. We have to upgrade our transit and do it properly!

[Dmajackson]

In a lot of cities LRT's are introduced after an established BRT route reaches its capacity . Most bus routes in Halifax are a joke and as such very few are successful at attracting riders. Only Route 1 has truly become a high quality route and with Route 14 approching this threshold I was thinking it it time to establish Halifax Peninsula's first BRT corridor, by upgrading Oxford Street. Basically I think the plan should be this;

PHASE 1: Establish the corridor
- > Install permanent bus lanes in both directions between Coburg & Bayers
- > Ban all parking on the street, and only allow stopping off-peak
- > Ban right-on-red movement

PHASE II: Rezoning & Rerouting
- > Create a visioning process for Oxford Street including;
- - > Higher density zones along Oxford
- - > Removal of driveways on street (access via side street/laneways)
- - > Transit Adjacent Development for as-of-right/small projects
- - > Transit Oriented Development for larger/corner-lot projects
- > Reroute some nearby buses onto road to create a "transfer zone"

PHASE III: Street Enhancements
- > Limit bus stops to major intersections only
- > Follow bus stop after intersection design standard
- > Upgrade all bus stops to look like MetroLink stops (routes map, schedule, name, seating, ect)
- > Complete aesthetic makeover of Oxford Street (buried power lines, street trees, pedestrian improvements, ect)
- > Install transit-priority technology at all stoplights (ie MetroLink uses this at some intersections)

PHASE IV: Mumford - Bayers Corridor
- > New corridor via rail-cut linking Mumford and Bayers Road Terminals
- > Brand new road over tunneled rail cut for transit/emergency use only with adjacent multi-use trail
- > Accessed via new Mumford Terminal near West-End Mall Tim Hortons
- > Accessed via new stoplights on Bayers Road (until Village redevelopment)

Once all of this is built out some major changes could be made to the route structure in the area. Using an extended "1" (to Bayers Road) as a backbone many routes could truncate at the two terminals allowing for higher frequency on the core routes and new feeder routes. If successful it could transform Oxford Street into a dense corridor that would eventually feed a LRT route on/near the street. Also with the rail cut moved underground the neighbourhood would increase in attractiveness and the opportunity would arise to allow for rail improvements, specifically to allow rail-based transit (ie day-liners). If Mumford could be expanded enough Bayers Road Terminal could be decommissioned and the new rail-cut corridor would take pressure off of Mumford Road and Joseph Howe Drive.

[armorand93]

Originally Posted by someone123

Unfortunately transit planning in Halifax seems to be totally reactionary. The development goes in, demand increases, and then Metro Transit fiddles with routes 5-10 years later. By then it is mostly too late; the developments are all built around cars and people living in those neighbourhoods already own cars and commute to work by car, so getting them to switch to transit is an uphill battle. It would be much better to have more proactive planning. Road networks could be designed with transit in mind and the service could go in earlier.

I really hope the "nothing but buses" attitude goes away soon. Transit planning requires thinking ahead because it takes years to build something like rapid transit. Calgary's LRT planning began with a study in 1967 and trains did not enter service until 1981. The real question is "what will Halifax's transportation needs be in 2020 or 2030?" If Metro Transit waits until there's no alternative but to aggressively build bus lanes or LRT then the city will suffer through years of unnecessarily slow commutes and the eventual cost will be much higher than necessary.

Please don't pull a Winnipeg. We just barely finished our first leg of Rapid Transit, and we're still having issues with funding and especially our mayor. That and I ride crowded buses to work daily, so I personally know how bad it is.

[Jstaleness]

A group in Halifax is asking Metro Transit to rethink its routes. It wants the city to focus on shorter waits for service on the peninsula.

Here is the link to the news clip.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-s...it-routes.html

[Dmajackson]

G.B Isnor residents are requesting a rerouting of Route 6 in the north downtown area to serve their manor which has no day-time service in the wake of Route 3's discontinuance. The manor is two blocks from Cogswell Street and Gottingen Street. It still has rush-hour service via the 5 and 82.

IMO the 6 shouldn't be rerouted since a fixed-route public transit system is not designed to to serve everyone at their doors. I do feel for the mobility impaired but we have Access-A-Bus for that reason. Also only 5 people a day were using that stop which is nothing compared to the 70+ using Cogswell Street. Longer trip times also play into account.

Route 6 Rerouting Petition

South Mainland residents are complaining about the service cuts to Route 15 which is to run to 8pm only seven days a week. The route doesn't meet the service standard of 15 passengers per hour which could of cut it back to 6pm. I think what MT is planning is adequate and a good compromise.

Route 15 Service Adjustments

And in case anyone is interested in the agreement for new buses

Bus Purchase Agreement for 2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16

I think when it comes to service adjustments MT should consider a slightly different approach. Passenger counts should be conducted twice a year (October/April). Take the local route standards of 15 passengers/hour;

1) Reduction: If the standard is not met announce the cuts and give the residents 6 months to either use or lose. When the next count rolls around and the numbers are still low cut the service in the next major adjustment (August and February). If there is still 10ppl/hour or more keep 90-minute frequencies.

2) Increase: If the counts warrant an increase introduce the route for 12 months then adjust accordingly. Make sure all nearby residents get notice of the changes and new schedule. For our example 15-30ppl/hour woud be 60-minute frequency, 30-45ppl/hour would be 30-minutes, and above 45ppl/hour would be 10-20 minute frequencies. When the number comes within 5ppl/hour of the next set (25 or 40) the new frequency would be tested for a trial run of 12 months.