Halifax, Nova Scotia re-visited 2015

Halifax, Nova Scotia re-visited 2015 

When travelling outside the UK, it is seldom that we find ourselves re-visiting a city. In 2015 however circumstances dictated we have a layover in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Not only was it a re-visit but it occurred twenty-five years to the week since our last visit and I found myself standing on the same downtown street photographing buses.

Halifax Regional Municipality is the capital of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The metropolitan area had a population of 414,400 in 2014 with 297,943 in the urban area centred on Halifax Harbour. The regional municipality consists of four former municipalities that were amalgamated in 1996; Halifax, Dartmouth, Bedford, and the Municipality of Halifax County.  The Town of Halifax, named after the 2nd Earl of Halifax, was established in 1749. Today it is the most easterly point on the Trans Canadian Railway.

Halifax Transit operates buses and ferries in  Halifax Regional Municipality. Formerly known as Metro Transit, the agency announced on July 15, 2014, that it was changing its name to "Halifax Transit" to reflect the city's new brand. The roots of Halifax Transit date back to June 11, 1866 and the Halifax City Railroad Company, which began operations with five horse-drawn trams on rails.  There are currently 312 buses in the fleet, 273 of them low-floor vehicles. In addition, there is a separate fleet of wheelchair-accessible buses for its Access-A-Bus service. The primary conventional service operates on 65 routes, including three Community Transit routes, two express routes operating as "MetroLink" which began service in August 2005, and three rural express routes operating as "MetroX" which started in August 2009 and include the regular airport link. Halifax Transit also provides two passenger ferry routes, connecting downtown Halifax with Alderney Landing and Woodside in Dartmouth. Each route is serviced by a pair of vessels. The ferry services are integrated with the bus services; the fares are identical, and transfers are accepted between the two systems.

Bridge Terminal, which opened in 2012. This is the largest of the Park & Rides, located adjacent to the north side of the Angus L Macdonald Bridge in Dartmouth.

Route numbers in the 00s, the 10s and the 20s are primarily Halifax-based routes. Routes in the 30s are rush-hour only routes serving Halifax. Routes in the 40s are university routes serving the University campus which normally operate only during the academic year. Routes in the 50s, 60s and 70s are primarily Dartmouth-based routes. Routes in the 80s and 90s are Sackville and Bedford routes. Routes in the 100s are the MetroLink routes, routes in the 300s are the MetroX routes, and routes in the 400s are the Community Transit routes.

So when it comes to buses, it has been evolution rather than revolution. Perhaps just two steps from GM 'New Look' to accessible Nova Bus FLS! If we take it in the context of the UK bus industry where in 1990 the Dennis Dart was just two years old, the Dominator was in full production and Leyland still had four years of Olympian production remaining, none of which were low-floor. In Halifax the last order for GM 'New Look' buses had just been completed, production in Canada ending in 1986 and the first 1990 deliveries of MCI TC40-102N Classic were being introduced. In 2015 New Flyer Industries are delivering the third batch of XD40 Xcelsior, a model first introduced in 2013. It is unfair to dismiss the lack of revolution without putting the operational environment in context. Canada regularly appears in the top three of developed countries with the lowest person taxation. This translates into lack of Government expenditure on roads. Roads which suffer from extremes of weather, causing paving to lift, resulting in continual patching or no maintenance; an environment the British standard light-weight bus would struggle to survive in. Regardless of age the Halifax fleet is virtually rattle free; compare this to the recently delivered First Bus Wright Streetlites which have rattled and squeaked from day one. The heavy weight 'yank tank' construction style is ideally suited to the Halifax urban environment.

Halifax Metro 867 delivered in July 1982. A GM 'New LooK', model T6H-5307N fitted with a Detroit Diesel Series 71 V8 two-stroke diesel engine and Allison V730 transmission, a traditional three-speed automatic with a lockup torque converter. Photographed in 1990.

Between 1990 and 2015 Halifax Metro took ten different batches of vehicles. From 1994-96 the TC40-102N Classic remained the preferred model, although now manufactured by NovaBus, some were propane-powered test buses, later converted to diesel. In 1999/2000 NovaBus supplied eleven LFS models, originally designated for use on low floor routes, but suffered from malfunctioning ramps and “kneeling” mechanisms. Also in 1999 New Flyer Industries delivered three D30FL fully accessable models and became the supplier of choice for the next ten years, delivering 184 D40FL and D60LFR articulated hybrid diesel-electrics. Only other vehicles delivered during this period were ten GMC/Glaval C5500 Titans. From 2010 to 2012 NovaBus supplied 56 LFS/LFS Artic models. In 2013 Freightliner/Glaval delivered six S2C Legacy's. New Flyer Industries returned as supplier between 2013 and 2015 with forty-five XD40 Xcelsior's.

Halifax Metro 931, MCI TC40-102N Classic. Photographed in 1990 and now withdrawn. 

Halifax Transit 987, NovaBus TC40-102N, new in 1996. Fitted with Detroit Diesel V8 engine and Allison gearbox. One of eleven delivered. Photographed in 2015.

Halifax Transit1197, New Flyer XD40 Xcelsior delivered in 2014. This model has an 8% weight reduction compared to previous models; measures 12m long, 2.6m wide and has Cummins ISL 280 engines with Allison gearboxes and weighing in at slightly less than a Mercedes Citaro. Halifax buses like all heavy weight single-decker buses have messy interiors, with seats at various levels fitting around wheel-arches and fuel tanks. Windows are double glazed, seats are metal bucket type covered in moquette without any padding. One noticeable difference is around the driver’s area. The driver sits on a plinth with a solid bulkhead behind, but no cab door or security screen. The cash collection shoot sits atop a bank note reader, protruding from the dashboard.

Halifax Transit 528, NovaBus FLS delivered in 2012.This is one of nine exclusively for the Fall River/Airport MetroX service. Fitted with Cummins ULSD ISL 8.9L 280hp engine and Allison transmission. Photographed at the downtown on street terminus in 2015.

Away from the municipal operations, other changes taken place include the reduction in services offered by private operators between downtown and the airport. In 1990 this was an eighteen hour-a-day service to most hotels, now this is reduced to middle of the day, but the Halifax MetroX service 320 has increased to hourly, although only picking up from one stop in downtown.

Airport transfer service in 1990.

Also in 1990 Nova Scotia had an extensive express network with the major operator being Acadian Lines, today this operator no-longer exists.  The company was established in Halifax, Nova Scotia on 1 August 1938 as Nova Scotia Coach Lines and remained Nova Scotian-owned until December 1995, when the Irving Transportation Group purchased the business and merged SMT (Eastern), an Irving subsidiary which also operated scheduled and chartered bus services in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. Irving expanded Acadian Lines throughout the Maritimes, north into Newfoundland and south into Maine, USA. In 2004, Irving Transportation Group sold Acadian Lines to the Orléans Express (Keolis group), known in the UK for operating partnerships in Southern Trains and the Nottingham tram. Between 2006 and 2011 most of the route expansions undertaken by Irving were cancelled due to low ticket sales. From 2 December 2011 until 16 May 2012 the company completely shut down its New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island operations after it locked out 59 drivers from the Amalgamated Transit Union over a contract dispute. Service restarted in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island on 16 May with a limited route network. Acadian Lines ceased operations in all three provinces on 30 November 2012, citing financial losses due to regulatory inflexibility for routes, and about 120 people lost their jobs and the 38 coaches were sold off.

A sign of things to come, a Prevost built coach of Acadian Lines passes an Irving gas station in downtown Halifax 1990.

The main depot and departures point in Halifax photographed from the interstate  in 1990.

Today Coach Atlantic Group under the name Maritime Bus operates a limited people & parcel network in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. The group owns over 100 vehicles and is involved in all forms of the coaching business.

Is it a bus, coach or van? A Ford truck conversion of the Maritme Bus fleet on Prince Edward Island in 2015.

A Coach Atlantic close to its home depot in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island 2015.

The Canadian route licensing system, managed by the State, is reminiscent of the UK pre deregulation and Companies are heavily unionised.

It is very apparent that the structure of tourism in Nova Scotia has changed dramatically over the past twenty-five years. Coach touring is no longer a major element of tourism. Locals say the state of roads deter visitors from travelling longer distances and the growth of the cruise liner market with its dock/look/depart culture, limit visits to local attractions around Halifax.