Halifax Transit

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by Bedford_DJ

Turning from the Windsor St Exchange onto Joe Howe. The corner that flips trucks all the time now...

Yep, the infamous hairpin turn. Traffic comes to a standstill there every time a big truck tries to go thru. It really needs a proper overhead ramp.

[hfx_chris]

Oh that one. I don't even like driving it in a car...

[Dmajackson]

I doesn't look like the #89 will be onservice soon:

Upcoming Route & Schedule Adjustments, effective August 31, 2008



Please note the following route & schedule adjustments effective August 31, 2008. For exact timetable information, visit our website or refer to the updated Rider’s Guide, available August 22 at most retail outlets.



#1 Spring Garden – Increase to 15 minute frequency from 11 am to 6 pm Sundays

#41 Dartmouth/Dalhousie – Service resumes

#42 Lacewood/Dalhousie – Service resumes

#52 Crosstown – 30 minute service beginning at 11 am to 6 pm Sundays

#63 Woodside – 30 minute service to Penhorn weekdays

#82 Millwood – 30 minute service, midday, off peak

#84 Glendale – Leaving Sackville Terminal at 5:57 am
For additional information, contact the HRM Call Centre at 490-4000.

[hfx_chris]

Correct, I don't believe the 89 is supposed to be online until October at the earliest, depends on when the streets are finished being worked on in the area.

[Keith P.]

They need a total rethink of their route maps. There is so much duplication and redundancy that it makes no sense.

[Dmajackson]

It looks like the MetroX has been postponed until the Spring. Still nice to see it go ahead though.

'MetroX' bus link coming to communities off Highway 103

By AMY PUGSLEY FRASER City Hall Reporter
Mon. Oct 27 - 6:16 PM
Halifax’s successful MetroLink commuter bus is about to get a new rural cousin.

“MetroX” will be launched next spring.
The service will link communities along Highway 103 from Tantallon to downtown Halifax.

The first phase of the project is slated to be awarded when council meets Tuesday night. It includes a $1.35 million tender award for 10 buses to Overland Custom Coach (2007) Inc.

The whole project — which will eventually expand to 30 buses over three years at a cost of $4.23 million — will be completed as funding through future capital budgets is approved by council, a staff report outlines.

The MetroX route will depart from the Tantallon Sobey’s shopping centre at Exit 5 on Highway 103 and cost around $4 or $5 per trip to the downtown, he said.

“This will hopefully get started next spring and it will take a lot of traffic off the roads,” Coun. Gary Meade (Hammonds Plains-St. Margaret’s) said Monday.

Transfers to other bus routes in the downtown will not cost extra, he says.

“So when you think about the price of gas and parking, it will make up for it,” he said.

Monthly passes will likely be offered too, he said, but the details will be worked out over the next few months.

Since he’s been councillor, transit issues in the district have been high on his priority list.

So he feels good that at his last official council meeting – Mr. Meade didn’t re-offer in last week’s election — will include the tender for that service.

“It’s nice to get it,” he said.

Future phases of MetroX will include service on the Highway 101, 102, and 107 corridors.

The MetroLink debuted in Portland Hills back in August 2005. The direct-service commuter bus, which connects bedroom communities with downtown Halifax, then started in Lower Sackville in February 2006.

The service has been so popular that park-and-ride lots at both locations had to be expanded.

[hfx_chris]

Good, maybe they can take the time to re-think that name...

I'm curious to see which model the tender is for... Overland is just a distributor.

[alps]

It would be nice if they'd add support for Google Transit. It was insanely handy in San Francisco and Denver - give it a try:

http://www.google.com/transit

[phrenic]

Originally Posted by hfx_chris

Good, maybe they can take the time to re-think that name...

Silly name. What does the X stand for? "Metro Transit EXtreme!"?

[alps]

Originally Posted by phrenic

Silly name. What does the X stand for? "Metro Transit EXtreme!"?

Metro Transit: EXurbs!

[Dmajackson]

Originally Posted by phrenic

Silly name. What does the X stand for? "Metro Transit EXtreme!"?

Lol....

It actually stands for Metro Express

[Jonovision]

Good news for sure.

On a side note, I had never heard of Google Transit. That thing is friggin brilliant!!!!

[Dmajackson]

To no ones surprise this sailed through council last night without a single debate. It looka like a great service to me. Maybe this will help the traffic problems at the Roundabout...

City approves MetroX bus service to Upper Tantallon


Residents in western Halifax County will have a new commuting option into downtown Halifax next spring.

Regional council unanimously approved the awarding of a tender for 10 buses to service communities along Highway 103 as far out as Upper Tantallon.

The $1.35-million tender, awarded to Overland Custom Coach (2007) Inc., officially heralds the arrival of MetroX.

Starting in May, MetroX buses will leave from the Sobeys shopping centre at Exit 5 and stop only at park-and-ride lots at exits 4 and 3. The trip to the downtown will take about a half-hour and cost passengers $4 to $5 each. The service will eventually be expanded to 30 buses

[terrynorthend]

Google Transit? Fun!!

What the? Vancouver, Ottawa, Montreal, FREDRICTON? Reminds me of the Simpsons- "NewYork, LA, Chicago, Springfield!!"

Not a hard one for them to database i guess. If you are here..you can go there... sometime in the next hour. Thats about all.

[Dmajackson]

I don't think anybody has mentioned this before but Ragged Lake has been chosen as the home of the new transit garage. Expected to be operational in 2010

Council approves Ragged Lake as site for new transit garage
BURNSIDE AND RAGGED LAKE
LYNNE WELLS
The Burnside News

Metro Transit has a new general manager and plans to build a new bus garage. Halifax Regional Council approved a site in Ragged Lake Business Park for a new garage at a meeting in early October.

Patricia Soanes, who now heads the management team at Metro Transit, says her priority is getting a new bus garage built and operational by April 2010.

“I’m very excited about this new project. We need it in order to move ahead with the five-year transportation plan.

“Everything hinges on this new garage. We can’t significantly increase the number of buses because we have no place to put them; therefore, we can’t significantly expand our routes or services. We’re really limited until 2010. We’ll add 15 expansions to routes in November and a few more next February, but after that we’re in a holding pattern until we have more space.”

Approximately $25 million is set aside for a new garage. Soanes says requests for design-build proposals are going out and a project manager is assigned.

Metro Transit has two garages, both in Burnside. Both facilities are operating above capacity with almost 300 buses needing service.

The new Ragged Lake facility is expected to cover the day-to-day requirements of the bus fleet, i.e. servicing vehicles, running repairs and preventative maintenance repairs. The facility will be open round the clock. The site will also provide parking for as many as 150 buses.

The facility will not be responsible for major component rebuilding, major accident repair, bus rebuilds and full bus painting. These functions will remain at 200 Ilsley Ave.

A number of sites in HRM were evaluated for accessibility, environmental impacts, community impacts, traffic implications, savings and planning implications.

City staff recommended Ragged Lake Business Park as the preferred site as it was the only one to meet all of the listed criteria. However, the site isn’t without problems.

Traffic congestion on the Prospect Road and the adjoining St. Margaret’s Bay Road is a serious consideration. Traffic lights at the intersection of Prospect Road and Ragged Lake Boulevard are expected to cost $150,000.

The staff report states, “In preliminary discussions with the province, staff believe an emergency egress can be established from Ragged Lake Industrial Park to the 103 off ramp allowing buses to exit the park if a major accident occurred at the intersection of Prospect Road and the St. Margaret’s Bay Road.”

Soanes, who comes to Metro Transit from Coast Mountain Transit out west, says Burnside and Bayers Lake Parks shouldn’t expect any significant increases or changes in service until 2010.

“We’ve done what we can in Burnside to meet evening needs in light of our budget constraints,” Soanes says. “Transit in Bayers Lake isn’t great, but it’s not an optimal situation out there. Because the buildings are so far back from the road, buses are traveling through parking lots, over speed bumps and so on. We have safety issues to consider.”

Soanes and her team are ready to submit a five-year operational transit strategy to HRM.

“The plan addresses needs so we can meet the expansion plans outlined in the transit strategy. Metro Transit has operated in a highly constrained fiscal environment in the past,” Soanes says. “Needs have just barely been met with nothing going toward future expansion. The good news is there’s a high level of commitment from the community to have a transit system that meets its needs.”

[Dmajackson]

Route & Schedule Adjustments

Effective Sunday, November 23, 2008

----------



Route #14 - Leiblin Park

• 7:13 am additional service from Scotia Square

• 7:55 am additional service from Mumford to Scotia Square

• 3:40 pm additional service from Mumford to Scotia Square

• 4:58 pm additional service from Scotia Square



Route #19 - Greystone to Mumford Terminal

• Additional service provided from 6 am to 10 pm

• Route #19 will provide accessible low floor service



Route #26 - Shuttle

• Service discontinued - increases on Route #52



Route #32 - Cowie Hill

• 7:06 am additional service from Mont St & Herring Cove Rd

• AM departure adjustments



Route #52 - Crosstown

• Two-directional peak service extended

• 6:35 am & 7:06 am additional service from Ilsley Ave.

• 7:53 am additional service from Chain Lake Dr.

• 4:01 pm additional service from Wright / MacDonald



Route #61 - Auburn/North Preston

• 6:38 am additional service from Portland Hills

Terminal

• 4:10 pm additional service from Scotia Square



Route #63 - Woodside

• Two-directional peak service



Route #64 - Akerley

• 3:25 pm additional service from Bridge Terminal



Route #65 - Astral

• Additional am & pm service between Penhorn

Terminal and Woodside



Route #80 - Sackville

• 8 am additional service from Cobequid Terminal

to Scotia Square



Route #82 - Millwood

• 3:59 pm additional service from Sackville to

Cobequid Terminals



Route #83 - Springfield

• 5:30 pm & 6:20 pm additional service from Sackville

Terminal



Route #86 - Basinview

• 7:20 am additional service from Rockmanor Dr.

• 5:05 pm additional service from Summer /Bell



Route #89 - Bedford

• Offers weekday service travelling from Cobequid Terminal to Lacewood Terminal via the Bedford Highway, Hammonds Plains Road, Bluewater Road, Kearney Lake Road and Parkland Drive to Lacewood Terminal and back.



(Modified routing may be in effect until road improvements are completed)

The new changes look good. Especially the new #89 in Bedford! and the expansion of #86!

The article in my previous posts states that this will be the largest increase until the new Garage is built, the rest will be smaller. All these increases should help big time though.

Just as a side note they finished the bus lane extension inbound on the Magazine so that should help the Link

[hfx_chris]

Originally Posted by Bedford_DJ

...and the expansion of #86!

Hah!

[Dmajackson]

Originally Posted by hfx_chris

Hah!

Well it's technically doubling its capacity. Two times a day per direction still isnt enough though....

Route 89 should help it out though since it has similar but shorter route.

BTW since it didn't mention it in the updates the 89 will provide weekday only half-hour service (non-peak) and 15 min peak service. This route will probably become more popular though.

And does anyone know where Greystone is? It has it listed as a new service but i cant find the place on a map for the life of me...

[hfx_chris]

Greystone is off of Herring Cove, just south of the Spryfield area. In fact it may be considered part of Spryfield.

The part I find interesting about the 19 Greystone is that it will only service between Greystone and Mumford Terminal, it won't service downtown Halifax, not even during rush hour. This seems backwards to me, as I would have thought the purpose of the 19 is to take some of the load off of the 20 Herring Cove... are they actually expecting people to take the 20 from downtown to Mumford and transfer to the 19 for the last 10-15 minutes of their journey?
There used to be a route named the 19 Fotherby, which terminated just a bit farther down Herring Cove on Fotherby Avenue, now that route did go all the way to downtown during rush hour, and I would have guessed the new 19 would have done the same...

[Halifax Hillbilly]

Originally Posted by hfx_chris

The part I find interesting about the 19 Greystone is that it will only service between Greystone and Mumford Terminal, it won't service downtown Halifax, not even during rush hour. This seems backwards to me, as I would have thought the purpose of the 19 is to take some of the load off of the 20 Herring Cove... are they actually expecting people to take the 20 from downtown to Mumford and transfer to the 19 for the last 10-15 minutes of their journey?

Many people use the 20 to get from Mumford to Spryfield and vice-versa. I've watched a half empty twenty pull into Mumford heading to Spryfield and leave so full that people get left behind. Mumford's a destination in its own right and a big transfer for people heading onto buses like the 52. It makes sense to me because the Spryfield section of the route is what appeared to be very under-serviced.