Halifax Transit

[Saul Goode]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

News today about the new head of transit. I had not heard that the former chief Dave Reage has been kicked upstairs.

This is a civilized forum, Keith. Please try to avoid Reage-posting.

[Arrdeeharharharbour]

AllNS is reporting this morning that the Wright's Cove transit terminal is going to tender this spring. Construction is expected to start this summer and be completed by the end of the year.

[AnotherNorthender]

Will the new ferry's operate out of this terminal or will they use the old/current ones?

[Arrdeeharharharbour]

Originally Posted by AnotherNorthender

Will the new ferry's operate out of this terminal or will they use the old/current ones?

The closest potential ferry terminal will be at Shannon Park approx. 1 km away. Little doubt that ferry terminal is years out though.

[AnotherNorthender]

Originally Posted by Arrdeeharharharbour

The closest potential ferry terminal will be at Shannon Park approx. 1 km away. Little doubt that ferry terminal is years out though.

Brain fart. Thought it was a ferry terminal, not a traditional bus terminal.

[someone123]

Article about Robie Street corridor:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-...anes-1.7518279

There is a picture of Peggy Cameron in there looking unhappy. Are they reposting the same stock naysayer photo of her or do they keep taking similar pictures of her each time there is a new issue?

[someone123]

The Robie St corridor work seems very good but the pace is so slow. It is just 30 blocks or so with much of the infrastructure already in place and the final time frame is 2032. The city will just keep falling behind with worsening transport options if it can't move faster than this. By then there will be tons of additional demand along Robie. The new hospital is expected to be open in 2031.

[LikesBikes]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-...2030-1.7603671

Three years later and no land has been bought yet so it's delayed another 2 years.

Also, I'm not a planner so don't know how these things usually go, but is it normal to buy the land after the plans/funding has been committed? Seems to give the landowners all the leverage to ask for whatever amount they want, regardless of how much it actually should be worth.

[Arrdeeharharharbour]

Originally Posted by Arrdeeharharharbour

AllNS is reporting this morning that the Wright's Cove transit terminal is going to tender this spring. Construction is expected to start this summer and be completed by the end of the year.

My original post from March 18th. Still no activity on the site of the future Wright's Cove bus terminal. I can report though that weeds have recently been cut short along a local dirt sidewalk on Windmill Rd. allowing bus passengers to access a bus stop without the need to pick burs off of their clothes upon arrival at work/home.

[Arrdeeharharharbour]

Still no activity on the Wrights Cove bus terminal site...other than by the person who lives in the briar patch behind McDonald's. It's doubtful that the project will be completed by the end of November.

Wright Cove Terminal by , on Flickr




And the Windmill Road Functional plan is behind schedule for an update. It's annoying how the city asks for public input/participation and then leaves you in the lurch. I see on Halifax.ca that a participant has asked for an update on the Windmill plan but no update. What a great way to encourage public participation. Maybe the province needs to step-in and help the city out.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by LikesBikes

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-...2030-1.7603671

Three years later and no land has been bought yet so it's delayed another 2 years.

Also, I'm not a planner so don't know how these things usually go, but is it normal to buy the land after the plans/funding has been committed? Seems to give the landowners all the leverage to ask for whatever amount they want, regardless of how much it actually should be worth.

Sorry for the late response. I read this news item back in August and had the same reaction. IIRC this was initially supposed to be up and running sometime in 2026, but how could they even publicize such a target without land acquisitions having been finalized? Or perhaps even started in this case??

I have to say that my confidence in the current and previous versions of council is at an all time low. I am really thinking that they are simply not capable of handling large projects that are necessary to keep a growing city moving. It makes it more clear why our mayor needs more power and also why the province has seen the need to step in and force things along. How many decades can we wait to have infrastructure in place that will likely be insufficient by the time it’s in there (if it ever is)?

[Keith P.]

The HRM bureaucracy never misses an opportunity to demonstrate both their inability to stick to a timeline and their utter ineptitude in executing pretty much any project.

[Jstaleness]

Would anyone happen to know what model numbers of busses Halifax currently runs. I believe they're mostly Nova Bus brands. I thought some models were listed in these threads, but I wasn't able to spot any.

[ScovaNotian]

https://cptdb.ca/wiki/index.php/Halifax_Transit

[Keith P.]

Thanks for that Wiki list of past and present Transit buses. I had forgotten how heavy they once were into New Flyer equipment because in the period I didn’t have to use Transit much. I didn’t mind the Classics much, which seemed serviceable enough. But I well remember school days riding on the GM fishbowl fleet, which despite being rattletraps, seemed pretty zippy compared to some others. The Scanias struck me as particularly slow, but were fairly comfortable. The circa 1999 Novabus LFS were just awful. Haven’t been on their latest ones.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Fishbowls are still my favourite, from a styling POV anyhow.

[Jstaleness]

Thank you very much for the shared info. I passed it along to someone who had been looking for these details as well.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

Fishbowls are still my favourite, from a styling POV anyhow.

Halifax Transit Bus 409 in front of the Simpsons Building by Halifax Municipal Archives, on Flickr

Halifax Transit Bus 418 leaving the Simpsons Mall by Halifax Municipal Archives, on Flickr

[ns_kid]

Thanks for the flashbacks, Mark. Those GM fishbowls were a treat to ride when they were new. And Halifax Transit's first livery, in purple and orange, positively screamed early-70s design.

The 400-series T6H4521 models weren't the first GM fishbowls in Halifax. Those were the TDH4519s acquired by predecessor Nova Scotia Light and Power in 1963. Numbered 301-312, they were repainted for Halifax Transit in 1969 and retained their original numbers. They were the only non-electric transit vehicles NSLP owned (well, since the last horse cars were retired in 1896).


Image credit: David A, Wyatt, University of Manitoba

The photo above, of NSLP 309 on route 8 Bicentennial, was shot just over two months before the city assumed transit operations. The buildings behind are 1895 and 1889 Granville Street. Miller Bros. was a long-lived (c. 1867) supplier of pianos, organs, sewing machines and phonographs. S.S. Keddy & Sons, barber and beauty supplies -- I find the Glidden Paints sign amusing -- is another venerable business. I don't know when it began but it apparently survives today as Eastern Esthetics at 19 Crane Lake Drive, according to a Facebook post by current owner, Susan Keddy.

[Nouvellecosse]

The thing I remember about those buses - at least the few I rode - was how plush the seats and suspension were. It reminded me riding in my grand father's Buick which felt uncanny for a transit vehicle.