Having been away from Halifax for so long, I actually don't mind the fact tall ships would be every 3 years. I'm annoyed my work schedule didn't allow me to go this year. As for Stampede, I look at that and things like Tall Ships for the tourism and spin off in terms of economy (not just for the enjoyment). Stampede was huge this year...I wouldn't be upset if Halifax had an event like that every year. The spin offs would be great.
Keith does make a good point about the roads though. Poorly timed construction doesn't help and some friends were saying that MT hadn't really done a good job at advertising the fact that there was different services for Tall Ships. But Keith is right, there doesn't seem to be any 'special' services as far as their website is concerned.
Metro Transit Tall Ship Service