Halifax Transit

[hfx_chris]

I would have imagined that many more people take the bus from downtown to Spryfield

[Dmajackson]

Well Sunnyside is the same way here. Eventhough all the buses go through to Sackville or downtown a lot of people get off at the mall. Most of the people on the 80 for example don't come from downtown. Quite a few of them are simply going between Bedford and Sackville.

The 82 is supposed to go all the way from sackville to downtown but when MT realised that many people just want to go within Sackville they made the route full time in Sackville but only occasional trips downtown. Despite what it may seem like many people here in bedford and sackville dont work downtown. I know i work oujt here, go to scholl out here and rarely ever go downtown for anything.

[hfx_chris]

But a huge number of people do. People were and are always complaining about the crush loads on the 80 along the Bedford highway, which leads me to believe a large number of people (enough to fill the buses) are heading from Sackville/Bedford to Halifax, not just between Sackville and Sunnyside.
Same with the 20, a number of times I've been at Mumford and seen it arrive outbound from downtown standing room only. Unless they all got on at the stop around the corner, the logical connection to make is that they are coming from downtown.

[Dmajackson]

True but the loads between Bfd and Sunnyside have three seperate routes that serve it (66, 80, 82) so the problem isnt shown in overcrowding. The Bfd highway does have some bus capacity problems but many of those people get on in either bedford south or larry uteck. Manyof the people who get on in bedford inbound also only go to bayers road, joe howe area not downtown. THis is why they invented the 89. It doesnt go downtown, instead it just goes to where many people are destine for, which is around lacewood. Many people who get off around joe howe and bayers road do it not only cuz their work might be nearby they also do it because they can get transfers to bayers lake, lacewood or dartmouth. i think the 80 may seem overcrowded in town because it is a direct route for people from mainland halifax and bayers road to get downtown or to sgr.

[someone123]

The bus routes are complicated and serve different riders at different points. In the evenings a lot of people just want to get from the downtown to Mumford, so they take a 1 or 20 or whatever shows up first. For the 80, people get off at Sunnyside and then more get on later at MSVU etc.

I was actually a commuter on both of those routes at various times.

Given the way the system works I still maintain that the goal should be to have a really high quality light rail type services on the peninsula (not actually that many km of track required but benefits many riders). Basically it would trivialize transfers for everybody and they could get onto some appropriate suburban MetroLink type route at peak hours that could use a new bus lane along Bayers Rd. If a third bridge is built there could also be a bus lane going across to Dartmouth.

[someone123]

Just looked at the route maps for the 19 and 89 after seeing them mentioned in the Chebucto Rd thread.

These are different from, say, the 33 or 14. They make a lot more sense to me since they rely on transfers rather than snaking through random parts of the city and doing nothing particularly well. Of course, to make the transfer system work there has to be high frequencies for key routes like the 1 (including at off-peak times).

[Dmajackson]

The #89 is perfect for students attending SMU that live in Sackville or Bedford.

I used to attend school near SMU and I had to use the 80 and transfer to the 18 or 17 somewheres in town (usually on SGR). This will allow for the transfer to take place at Lacewood and avoid the traffic on the Bfd Hwy. It'll probably be a bit quicker via the 89 than the 80.

[Aya_Akai]

New bus terminal is crucial, drivers say...

By AMY PUGSLEY FRASER City Hall Reporter
Mon. Nov 17 - 4:42 PM

Dartmouth will lose out on new transit routes if a bus terminal isn’t constructed up the hill from the Sportsplex, says the head of the drivers union.

"Unless we get this facility, Dartmouth is going to remain stagnant," Dan MacDonald, president of the local chapter of the Amalgamated Transit Union, said Sunday.

Plans are in the works for a new Nantucket Street facility but the enabling legislation could be held up at Province House this week, Mr. MacDonald explained in an interview.

A final stamp of approval on the new terminal must come from provincial politicians because the city-owned land is part of the Dartmouth Common, he said.

And under an agreement passed years ago by Dartmouth municipal politicians, the province’s OK on the land’s usage is necessary.

However, Mr. MacDonald says the facility, which would also house a community policing office, would benefit the people of Dartmouth.

"It’s for the thousands of people who would use this facility every day," he said.

The terminal, which would double as a turn-around point for dozens of Dartmouth bus routes, would get people out of the rain and the snow.

And its police office would act as a deterrent for the "bad guys" who hang out across the street at the shopping mall or in the woods next to Dartmouth High School, Mr. MacDonald said.

There’s no way to expand the current terminal site, next door at the Dartmouth Sportsplex.

"We’re currently at overcapacity," Mr. MacDonald said of the number of buses that use the city sports centre parking lot as a stop along their route.

Close to 1,300 bus trips are made through the facility each weekday, he said.

The terminal sees about 8,000 passengers go through during the morning peak and again on their way home.

"It’s just absolutely amazing the number of buses that go through there . . . We can’t add one more route."

"If we build this facility, it’s going to make bus travel in Dartmouth a lot safer."

Despite the benefits of the facility, there are fears provincial politicians will not push the required legislation through during this week’s House session.

"It looks like to us that this might be an item that’s going to die on the order paper . . . and that’s what concerns us so dramatically," Mr. MacDonald said.

Drivers plan an information picket this morning at the Sportsplex to make their riders aware of what they could be missing. And with 16,000 riders going through the area each day, it translates into a widespread picket.

"It’s a lot of voters," he says.

Coun. Gloria McCluskey (Dartmouth Centre) says she’s totally in favour of the new building.

"That terminal is extremely important because there is no other place . . . that we can put it," she said Sunday.

The urban wilderness park that’s currently on the land is "nothing but trouble," she said.

"I have never seen anybody strolling through there," she said.

"I’ve talked to police about it and it’s a trouble spot and the land could be put to much better use for the good of the people."

She stressed that she’s in favour of protecting the Common when it’s warranted and mentions the "beautiful" Dillman Park one block over from the Sportsplex.

"The definition of the Common is for the ‘common good’ and that’s what the land is for. I can’t think of anything that would be more for the ‘common good’ than the bus terminal."

"I hope the government and the opposition think about this very carefully and realize the importance of it and what we will do if we don’t get it."

Mayor Peter Kelly acknowledged Sunday that there have been "some complications" in moving ahead with the project.

"We are trying to put in a new facility over behind the Sportsplex, but it’s been a bit of a challenge," he said in an interview.

"We know that there is some congestion there that needs to be addressed and, for the long term, we hope to be able to do that."

( [email protected])

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[Jonovision]

Great news. That bus terminal is horrible. It needs a big upgrade. I just hope it gets through.
In my travels the best design for a bus terminal I have come across was the main terminal in Hamilton in Bermuda. It would be nice if we could get something like this. Each separate route has its own spot in the terminal and they each have a display to show when the next bus is arriving.

I found this pic on Picasa, courtesy of MarkE

[someone123]

The bus terminals are pretty awful all around the city, although I agree that the Dartmouth one is the worst I know of. Even Mumford is pretty bad despite being only a few years old - the layout is inconvenient, it's not sheltered enough, and there are not enough displays.

I would also think that with a bit of creativity it would be possible to get a lot more out of a new terminal by partnering with private developers who could build some retail, office buildings, apartments, etc.

[hfx_chris]

Originally Posted by Jonovision

In my travels the best design for a bus terminal I have come across was the main terminal in Hamilton in Bermuda. It would be nice if we could get something like this. Each separate route has its own spot in the terminal and they each have a display to show when the next bus is arriving.

They have to back out of the bays? That's horrible...

By far the coolest bus terminal I've ever seen is the Eglinton bus terminal in Toronto. Well, that is before they tore it down.
It had these surface level bus lanes each with its own platform and shelter on 3 sides (plus roof) and two staircases at each end descending down to the passenger waiting area underneath (which was of course connected to the Eglinton subway station). The bus would enter its lane and stop at the unloading area where passengers would get off and walk down a flight of stairs to the waiting area below. Then the bus would move ahead to the boarding area (the platform was divided by a fence) at which point a light would turn on downstairs to indicate the bus was at the platform, then passengers would go through the doors and up the other set of stairs to the boarding section of the platform. You couldn't enter the platform from outside, you had to go through the terminal and up the stairs to get to the platforms.

Retro? Yes. Cool? Yes. Impractical? Hell yes.

[someone123]

A few years ago I actually lived near Eglinton and would often transfer to a bus from the subway. By that time there was an empty lot next to the office building the subway station was in, which I guess is where this terminal was..? When I took them the buses would just pull up to a curb in a covered area. The exit to get back onto Eglinton was also a little awkward.

I agree that backing out doesn't work very well. Of course, having people going back and forth in front of or behind the buses is also undesirable.

[Jonovision]

The backing out worked in this case. I didn't see any hitch in the process. This was on a side street just off one of the main streets of Hamilton. And there was also a traffic control centre in the middle that overlooked the whole thing as well as having traffic officers help guide the buses out.

[hfx_chris]

Originally Posted by someone123

A few years ago I actually lived near Eglinton and would often transfer to a bus from the subway. By that time there was an empty lot next to the office building the subway station was in, which I guess is where this terminal was..? When I took them the buses would just pull up to a curb in a covered area. The exit to get back onto Eglinton was also a little awkward.

That's the one, that would probably be after they tore down the platforms. Corner of Eglinton and Duplex Avenue, I think was the name of the street. What you recall was the temporary terminal while they build the new one, the garage like area where the temporary terminal is located used to be a streetcar maintenance/storage garage.

[Dmajackson]

I have to say its awesome seeing more buses around Bedford now. Especially with the #89 in service

[Dmajackson]

Council commits $18.7m to buy new buses

By AMY PUGSLEY FRASER City Hall Reporter
Wed. Dec 10 - 5:40 AM

Council committed $18.7 million to transit buses on Tuesday night, reaffirming a commitment made earlier this year to one of its biggest priorities.

The money will come from council’s next two budgets (2009-10 and 2010-11) but the approval Tuesday means the buses can be ordered and delivered faster, according to a staff report. If the regular budget approval process were followed, the buses would not arrive in time for proposed service improvements in the next few years to be implemented on schedule.

Part of the plan includes spending $2.5 million next year on six new buses.

The possible service improvements include shortening the wait between buses during midday on weekdays to 10 minutes from 15 on Route 1 Spring Garden and to 30 minutes from 60 on Route 66 Penhorn. Also, Saturday service would be offered on Route 20 Herring Cove and Route 16 Parkland.

Coun. Bill Karsten (Portland-East Woodlawn) wanted to thank staff for arranging for earlier delivery of the six new buses.

"I think this is one of the first signs that council will indicate to Metro Transit that we are serious, that this is going to be an issue that this council will be focusing on."

Council also earmarked about $16.2 million in 2010-11 for 18-metre articulated buses for high-volume routes. The conventional 12-metre buses now in use can be moved to lower-volume routes, the staff report says.

Coun. Brad Johns (Middle & Upper Sackville-Lucasville) said he hopes the purchases will address service deficiencies like the current one in Lucasville.

"We might then have an opportunity in the future to look at expansions of service to other areas," he said.

[Dmajackson]

Ummm...I did some more newpaper reading and there seems to be a slight disagreement between the Metro and the CH so heres the Metro version since I dont know which one is more accurate;

Improved service expected after $2.5 million approved for transit
PAUL MCLEOD, METRO HALIFAX
December 10, 2008 05:00




HRM will see more and newer buses after council approved an influx of millions of dollars to Metro Transit.


Metro Transit has long said it needed new buses to deal with overload on off-peak hours. But they can’t handle more buses until a new bus garage is built. That won’t be done until summer 2010, but citizens will now see improvements a year early.


Yesterday, Halifax Regional Council approved $2.5 million for Metro Transit to replace six old buses with new models by next summer. The new buses can spend more time on the road, allowing for several potential improvements:


• The 1 Spring Garden bus could run every 10 minutes instead of 15 on midday weekdays.


• The 66 Penhorn could go from every hour to every half hour on mid-day weekdays. It could also expand its route to Cobequid Terminal in the evenings.


• The 20 Herring Cove could expand into downtown Halifax on Saturdays.


• The 16 Parkland could start Saturday service.


Council voted unanimously for the move, saying it’ll allow them to look at expansion next.


“My hope being that by purchasing some of these vehicles and addressing some of the deficiencies … then we might have the opportunity to look at expansions of service to other areas,” said Middle and Upper Sackvile-Lucasville Coun. Brad Johns.


“The Lucasville area and a number of other municipalities in this area (are) looking for extensions of transit and aren’t able to do that until these deficiencies are met.”


Down the road, council also approved more than $40 million in funding over three years for new buses. The budget includes $16.2 million in 2010/11, $17 million in 2011/12 and $15.2 million in 2012/13.

[Keith P.]

Based on their performance last night, our esteemed Kouncillors probably don't even know what they voted for.

[worldlyhaligonian]

Mosher was amazing, she really made the council look rediculous... They cancel meetings too much.

[Halifax Hillbilly]

Originally Posted by Brad Johns

“The Lucasville area and a number of other municipalities in this area (are) looking for extensions of transit and aren’t able to do that until these deficiencies are met.”

I really hope that was a misquote or Johns mispoke. Other municipalities?