Changes to Halifax Transit bus services receive mixed reactions

Halifax Transit introduced 13 new bus routes and changed 13 others on Monday.

“This is the biggest change Halifax Transit has seen in a few decades,” said Erin Blay, the organization‘s supervisor of service design and special projects.

Blay made the comments at Lacewood Terminal, where several people were getting used to one of the negative sides of the changes: reduced service on some routes.

“This is wrong. I hate this,” Konor Andrews said as he waited for a Route 21 bus.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "This is wrong. I hate this," Konor Andrews said as he waited for a Route 21 bus.

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The route used to have buses on a 30-minute schedule for much of the week. As of Monday, however, Route 21 operates on an hourly schedule outside of rush hour.

Emma Cooper said her work commute has been impacted by the reduced service on that route.

“It’s just kind of difficult for me to actually get proper transportation,” she said.

Still, Cooper said she appreciated that there is improved service elsewhere.

That includes several new corridor routes, described by Blay as “the spine of the transit network,” where buses leave as frequently as every eight minutes.

“That high-frequency service is a really, really good thing that I think is going to encourage people to take the bus,” said Scott Edgar, a volunteer for public transit advocacy group It’s More Than Buses, during a Global News Morning interview.

“It’s a big day, and I think it’s going to be big improvement over the status quo.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It's a big day, and I think it's going to be big improvement over the status quo."

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Blay said the changes were made based on ridership numbers as part of the Moving Forward Together Plan.

Staff members will occasionally be located at terminals, on buses and at other significant Halifax Transit locations during the next three weeks to answer questions about the changes.

Pamphlets about the changes have been translated into several languages thanks to a partnership with the Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia.

The next big service change is expected to be introduced around this time next year, Blay said.

A full list of the changes can be explored on Halifax Transit’s website.