'People rely on those services': Continued Halifax Transit disruptions becoming a concern for users, councillors
Transit disruptions are becoming more common in Halifax, with late or cancelled ferry and bus routes leading to frustration among riders.
Several Woodside ferry crossing were cancelled Monday morning due to a mechanical issue.
The service was back making its usual crossing of the Halifax Harbour by the afternoon.
“I use transit almost every day. I primarily take the ferry to get to campus,” said NSCC student Hope Campbell.
That’s been getting harder to do for transit riders, like Campbell.
In the last week, Halifax Transit has announced delays because of technical, mechanical and staffing issues.
The lack of reliability is becoming a concern.
“I think it’s terrible. We can’t operate a functioning transit system where there’s so many cancellations because people rely on those services to get to their jobs, to get their kids to school,” said Halifax councillor Patty Cuttell.
Constant cancellations and delays also affects ridership.
“In various studies around the world, multiple times it was shown that that the transit service needs to be reliable, fast and convenient for people,” said Ahsam Habib, a transportation professor at Dalhousie University.
If it’s not, people will find other ways to commute.
“Last year, the population grew by 28,000 people,” said Jennifer L’Esperance, a senior executive director with the province’s Department of Immigration.
And that’s right on track for the province to meet its goal of 2 million residents by 2060.
Cuttell would like the province to help the city prepare its transit system for this type of growth. L’Esperance says they can assist, but not necessarily with dollars.
“If there’s labour needs to support that transportation system, that’s where we can connect them to markets nationally or internationally that would have that labor, those employees that people need.”
To help now, HRM is running a program to attract and train transit operators to keep the buses and ferries running on schedule.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.