Halifax Transit

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by Drybrain

My assumption is that it’s not COVID staff shortages but our current low-unemployment environment making it hard to attract and retain drivers at current wages.

Yeah, I know nobody cares about Covid anymore, but before Covid you never heard of route reductions due to staffing shortages. During the pandemic you started hearing about that but I expected it to go back to normal now that we're "out of it". But it hasn't, so I'm surprised.

I've known a few people who worked as transit drivers, and my impression was that it was a 'good union job' (decent pay, benefits, etc.) but starting out, it was difficult to get "good" hours. That, and it was at times stressful when dealing with difficult passengers (not wanting to pay, being disruptive or abusive, etc.). Unless Covid caused a rash of retirements, the reason for transit staff shortages is not clear to me, as it's not a low-pay-level job (or at least it never used to be, in the past).

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by swimmer_spe

The ramp on the Halifax side of the Mackay Bridge that was only torn down about 15 years ago.

Ahh, thanks. That's one that I never paid much attention to. It's kind of an ugly area that could use an upgrade, for sure.

[Jstaleness]

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

Ahh, thanks. That's one that I never paid much attention to. It's kind of an ugly area that could use an upgrade, for sure.

Hoping you're right. That whole area is in as bad of shape as the Cogswell Ramps were allowed to get to. Especially the "ramp" from Windsor to Robie, MacKay Bridge.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by Jstaleness

Hoping you're right. That whole area is in as bad of shape as the Cogswell Ramps were allowed to get to. Especially the "ramp" from Windsor to Robie, MacKay Bridge.

It was discussed somewhere on this forum that the MacKay is due for replacement one of these years, and they will probably build the new one right beside the old one, so I suspect they will wait until this plan is secured until they do anything major with it.

[swimmer_spe]

For those within the Halifax area, here is a survey on transit that a friend of mine shared.

https://engage.jrta.ca/rtp/survey_tools/ideas

"As our region grows and changes, our regional transportation system will need to grow and change, too. Nova Scotia achieved a major milestone in 2021 – the province surpassed a population of one million people, following a period of record growth. Over 63% of the population of Nova Scotia live within Regional Transportation Plan area:"

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by Jstaleness

Hoping you're right. That whole area is in as bad of shape as the Cogswell Ramps were allowed to get to. Especially the "ramp" from Windsor to Robie, MacKay Bridge.

Speaking of ramps that are allowed to fall into terrible condition, the elevated outbound ramp from Bayers Rd up to the 102 is full of whoop-de-doos and bad bumps despite a rebuild a dozen or so years back. Another low-bid tender job no doubt. I don't know how DTPW gets away with their ongoing ineptitude and lack of care.

[Antigonish]

I spent Thursday afternoon down on the Halifax waterfront before my flight back to Saskatchewan and was extremely impressed with how much has changed for the better after years of never going down there. However, my experience using Halifax Transit was shambolic. I took the ferry over from Alderney and they don't even do change for cash to buy the tickets. There didn't seem like any kind of tap and pay option. IIRC they don't even have a phone app with a QR code to tap through the turnstiles. What the hell is going on with Halifax Transit? It's like a poor alternative to 1980s infrastructure. Even in Saskatoon there are cash/tap/QR options immediately when you board a bus.

What gives?

[someone123]

I guess on the bright side they might get better ridership if one day they stop being semi-hostile toward their own customers in this way.

I often see comments about how people in Halifax don't like the bus, and maybe they don't, but they heavily use pretty mediocre services. It's the opposite of a lot of US cities with fancy metros or boutique streetcar lines where you can easily find a seat at rush hour (although many of them have crime issues and a lot of aggressive people on the trains).

Halifax Transit has an annual ridership of 30 million or so. TriMet, the transit agency in Portland OR (metro population 2.5 million), which has an extensive streetcar/LRT network, reports just under 54 million annual riders. Seattle's light rail has 24 million annual riders.

[Nouvellecosse]

I remember the first time I used the STM in Montreal back in 2010 I was amazed that electronic tap even existed. It seemed like this incredible, futuristic thing and I figured we shouldn't see it here for several more years. Didn't think over a decade would pass with no sign of progress however.

Although in fairness, the majority of trips seem to be paid for pass which is a lot cheaper than in many cities across the country and are included in the tuition of local universities. So the experience of regular users isn't really impacted.

[Phalanx]

It does affect regular users here, though. Passes and tickets have sold out, purchase locations are few and far between, and in an increasingly cashless society, exact change isn't always easy to come by, either. The people it 'doesn't affect' are the people who use it often enough to get around these foibles. It does not make for a pleasant experience for people new the system and is a barrier to entry for creating new ridership. People take transit here because they have no other option and/or on purely ideological grounds, not because it's convenient in any way shape or form.

Halifax began looking at electronic payment options 12 years ago... Over a decade and we may have the first of a four phase plan to implement electronic fares in the next year or so... may... it was supposed to have gone into effect already in spring, then summer, and now 'later this year', so excuse me if I'm not holding my breath. In that decade we've seen larger and smaller transit services alike implement electronic fares, so we're not too big for the process to go quickly, or too small that it's an overwhelming task... this is pure mismanagement and lack of vision. Even decades old options like ticket vending machines at terminals would be a big ease of access improvement to infrequent users.

On top of that, chronic understaffing has led to constant service disruptions, which doesn't encourage faith in the system. And yes, it's a challenging employment environment these days, but there are some simple QoL and payment issues that would go a long way toward employee retention.

Halifax Transit is an embarrassment.

[Nouvellecosse]

I wasn't suggesting that electronic payment option aren't important. I was responding to the idea that it's partly responsible for most people in Halifax not liking the bus. As a frequent transit user that's fairly far down the list of complaints. Much higher on the list are a lack of reliability with buses sometimes being late, poor frequencies on some routes, and journey times that aren't always competitive with driving due to route design, stop frequency, schedule padding etc.

It also isn't true that we only have captive or ideological riders. We have some of the highest transit usage of any city of our size class in NA and there are many reasons why people choose to ride or not. As someone who has lived, worked, run errands and attended school via transit for a quarter century I've interacted with many other transit users. There are certainly ideological and captive riders, but the reasons people use it are as varied as the people themselves.

Overall, the point is simply to keep everything in perspective. There are many criticisms to be made but it's important to keep them all in proportion. Pointing out that something isn't the biggest problem or isn't a problem for a lot of users isn't denying that it's a problem and it isn't downplaying the problem. It's assigning it the actual importance that it deserves.

[Nouvellecosse]

I should also mention that it's very common for people to use tickets if they don't use the service often enough to warrant buying a pass. The tickets give a discount compared to the cash fare, are sold at many places across the metro area including Shoppers Drug Mart, Lawtons (regional chain similar to Shoppers) and various convenience stores. And they can be bought using debit or credit. When I don't have a pass I always carry a couple tickets just in case. So while that doesn't help out of towners who aren't familiar with the system, most locals don't deal with cash fare even if they don't have a pass.

[Phalanx]

Also a regular transit user (don't even own a car), so I'm also speaking from experience...

Yes, there are alternatives to electronic payment, but they're not always available. The lack of availability and the inconvenience in acquiring those things is absolutely a barrier to entry for new or casual users. Again, the purchase locations are few and far between, and it's not uncommon for them to sell out of the physical passes/tickets (have experienced this personally, and there was a widespread ticket shortage a few weeks ago). This is not an issue in a system that supports electronic fares, and there is no excuse for not having them in place at this point. Why has it taken over a decade (and still counting...) from initial studies to implementation for something that seems so comparatively easy for other systems to implement?

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by Nouvellecosse

I wasn't suggesting that electronic payment option aren't important. I was responding to the idea that it's partly responsible for most people in Halifax not liking the bus. As a frequent transit user that's fairly far down the list of complaints. Much higher on the list are a lack of reliability with buses sometimes being late, poor frequencies on some routes, and journey times that aren't always competitive with driving due to route design, stop frequency, schedule padding etc.

It also isn't true that we only have captive or ideological riders. We have some of the highest transit usage of any city of our size class in NA and there are many reasons why people choose to ride or not. As someone who has lived, worked, run errands and attended school via transit for a quarter century I've interacted with many other transit users. There are certainly ideological and captive riders, but the reasons people use it are as varied as the people themselves.

Overall, the point is simply to keep everything in perspective. There are many criticisms to be made but it's important to keep them all in proportion. Pointing out that something isn't the biggest problem or isn't a problem for a lot of users isn't denying that it's a problem and it isn't downplaying the problem. It's assigning it the actual importance that it deserves.

What a prototypical Halifax response to poor service design and implementation of a service provided by govt.! It's like a person who has to deal with crossing a muddy drainage ditch due to negligence by those responsible saying, "Well, I know I have to cross it every day, so I make sure to always wear my rubber boots" when the real issue is WTF you have to deal with it in the first place. There is no excuse.

Spend a few minutes this time of year at either ferry terminal and see how many out-of-town visitors are totally flummoxed by the requirement for exact change and the lack of any reliable way to get it at the terminal since the ancient change machines often are not working, and nobody with HRM employed there will make change. It is absurd. For a city that touts itself as a tourist haven it is the height of obliviousness. And after having been discussed for over a decade we still have no visible progress towards fare box solutions.

Yes, if you are a transit devotee you know all those things but that is only a segment of users - and many of those would surely prefer some other options in any event rather than trying to do an Easter egg hunt for tickets or having to buy a pass (the latter of which only makes sense for those who are commuters using it twice a day every day). This is symptomatic of the many problems with Transit here, with poor route design, very poor service generally, and what is often a frightening or even dangerous user experience on the buses or at terminals. There is zero consideration of customer needs. Transit has long needed major reform and it is pure Halifax that nothing has changed in decades on that front.

[bartekci]

It is clear Halifax Transit is suffering from leadership issues. Incredibly poor (or non existent) implementation, communication is vague and sparse, no clear drive to work with province/federal for improved funding and execution of important projects like BRT. Instead, shiny frills like electrification and a new ferry no one will use are pushed forward.

When I see this happen in any other environment, I look towards the leadership. From a quick search, I see that Dave Reage has been exec director for 7+ years. Perhaps time for a change.

[Nouvellecosse]

Originally Posted by Phalanx

Also a regular transit user (don't even own a car), so I'm also speaking from experience...

Yes, there are alternatives to electronic payment, but they're not always available. The lack of availability and the inconvenience in acquiring those things is absolutely a barrier to entry for new or casual users. Again, the purchase locations are few and far between, and it's not uncommon for them to sell out of the physical passes/tickets (have experienced this personally, and there was a widespread ticket shortage a few weeks ago). This is not an issue in a system that supports electronic fares, and there is no excuse for not having them in place at this point. Why has it taken over a decade (and still counting...) from initial studies to implementation for something that seems so comparatively easy for other systems to implement?

There are 47 location across metro that sell the tickets according to the HT site so for a small metro area they're definitely not few and far between. Again I'm not saying electronic payment options aren't good or important. Just keeping things in proper perspective.

[Jstaleness]

Originally Posted by Antigonish

I spent Thursday afternoon down on the Halifax waterfront before my flight back to Saskatchewan and was extremely impressed with how much has changed for the better after years of never going down there. However, my experience using Halifax Transit was shambolic. I took the ferry over from Alderney and they don't even do change for cash to buy the tickets. There didn't seem like any kind of tap and pay option. IIRC they don't even have a phone app with a QR code to tap through the turnstiles. What the hell is going on with Halifax Transit? It's like a poor alternative to 1980s infrastructure. Even in Saskatoon there are cash/tap/QR options immediately when you board a bus.

What gives?

They're an embarrassment to this "bold" city. Haha! Who am I kidding, I am embarrassed for tourists who come here and have step back in time with pretty much all of our infrastructure. Way to go HRM, Halifax Transit, and while I am here NSP, and Halifax Water.

[Nouvellecosse]

Originally Posted by fatscat

It is clear Halifax Transit is suffering from leadership issues. Incredibly poor (or non existent) implementation, communication is vague and sparse, no clear drive to work with province/federal for improved funding and execution of important projects like BRT. Instead, shiny frills like electrification and a new ferry no one will use are pushed forward.

When I see this happen in any other environment, I look towards the leadership. From a quick search, I see that Dave Reage has been exec director for 7+ years. Perhaps time for a change.

I would definitely consider electrification to be pretty important on several levels and certainly not a "frill". They make the service more efficient to operate due to reduced energy costs which lessens the financial burden on taxpayers and service users. It reduces air and noise pollution in the urban environment. And it makes buses more comfortable for users. Currently they're very rough and noisy, especially for anyone sitting toward the back.

Buses are really an ideal candidate for electrification since they operate so much more than private cars which spend the majority of their time parked. Plus diesel fumes are more harmful to human health due to the particulate, and buses are proportionately in the busiest, most urban areas.

[Phalanx]

Originally Posted by Nouvellecosse

There are 47 location across metro that sell the tickets according to the HT site so for a small metro area they're definitely not few and far between. Again I'm not saying electronic payment options aren't good or important. Just keeping things in proper perspective.

I should not have to visit multiple locations or be redirected to an entirely different location if I'm just trying to get access the bus, and the distribution is far from even. Saying '47 is a lot for a small metro area' does not take into account geography or where you're trying to access tickets, not to mention that the sales points are not clearly indicated or consistent. Buying passes and tickets should not be a scavenger hunt.

An electronic fare system bypasses the need for all of this. Even decades old technology like ticket kiosks at terminals, or reloadable/reusable fare cards would negate some of this. But Halifax has done none of this even years after these things are becoming obsolescent with the broader adoption of electronic fares.

Why are we constantly okay with accepting lesser service? Why is it okay not to expect the basic quality of life features that other bigger AND smaller cities have? We're far too tolerant of mediocrity.

[Haliguy]

Its ridiculous we don't already have a modern payment system for transit, but isn't his coming this fall?