kevlo86 Posted August 23, 2012 Report Share Posted August 23, 2012 So I saved the best for last with my Atlantic Canada trip photos. Uploaded the final 15 photos from the trip, all Halifax MCI and Nova Bus Classics, to bring the collection to 43. They can be seen http://www.kevinsbusrail.com/halifax_classic.html Some previews here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jc.theriault Posted August 24, 2012 Report Share Posted August 24, 2012 I'm back in HRM for a few weeks and made a point to drive into downtown to listen to Classics driving by. Miss that sound Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hfx_chris Posted August 24, 2012 Report Share Posted August 24, 2012 I really do have to get across the harbour more often. I spend most of my time in Dartmouth (live and work here) and seeing a Classic around here is getting rare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hfx_chris Posted August 25, 2012 Report Share Posted August 25, 2012 Well starting Monday the three Community Transit routes will have route numbers and actual bus stops. My how these routes have evolved. Now most people probably don't give two craps about the CT routes, but as a former 5 day a week rider of the Porters Lake route for a few years (and spending a lot of time on bus 866 in the process) this is a big deal to me. So I decided to drive the Porters Lake route tonight, to see where the new bus stops are located. As you might expect they're not quite as liberal in placing them as they are in the city, but overall not bad. Cole Harbour Road from Ashgrove (where the 59 turns) to Ross Road was in my opinion extremely under-serviced by stops - there were only two, one at Bissett Road and one just before Ross Road. That leaves a very long stretch of roadway with a lot of houses (and side streets) with no bus stops to use. The Ross Road itself however is very well served by stops, as is highway 7 through East Preston and Lake Echo. Porters Lake is decent, although there are no outbound stops near the Myra Road (there are two inbound stops however) - but they might not be finished putting up signs I suppose... No stops near the Porters Lake Community Centre either, which was odd, or the Porters Lake Station Road (and I know there are some transit users on that road.) The 207 through West Chezzetcook was well serviced, however through Grand Desert it was sparse in many places at best - specifically between the Bellefontaine Road and Seaforth there are hardly any stops. Seaforth itself and the Back Road turning loop are serviced well. To me it seems as if stops were placed in areas where there are existing users... and they seemed to almost ignore other areas through Cole Harbour, Porters Lake and Grand Desert when they should be looking to grow the service and attract some more regular users. With the possible new MetroX route along highway 107 with a stop at Porters Lake, this route should be looked at as a feeder route to that MetroX stop, which will take people straight to downtown Halifax. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halifax_Route10 Posted August 26, 2012 Report Share Posted August 26, 2012 The Bridge Terminal, taken this Friday. The landscaping is coming along nicely, they've covered up the side of the bridge, and the paving is complete: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orion VIII Posted August 27, 2012 Report Share Posted August 27, 2012 Anything is better than the existing terminal. It looks like passengers are going to be able to enjoy a safer and more comfortable ride which is definitely a plus. I'm concerned however with the inclusion of multiple types of pavement. Given the amount of time Halifax spends in the rain, ice and snow I don't get the logic of trying to save a little bit of money by using some asphalt and some concrete. The transition points will become collision hotspots as the friction on each of the different surfaces varies greatly. Hopefully this will be realized and rectified in the near future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jc.theriault Posted August 28, 2012 Report Share Posted August 28, 2012 Anything is better than the existing terminal. It looks like passengers are going to be able to enjoy a safer and more comfortable ride which is definitely a plus. I'm concerned however with the inclusion of multiple types of pavement. Given the amount of time Halifax spends in the rain, ice and snow I don't get the logic of trying to save a little bit of money by using some asphalt and some concrete. The transition points will become collision hotspots as the friction on each of the different surfaces varies greatly. Hopefully this will be realized and rectified in the near future. This isn't an issue whatsover. Many other places have the same combination and get the same weather but you don't hear of increased collisions because of it. Maybe, just maybe its because the majority of bus drivers are professionals and drive accordingly. You might want to spend your energy getting worked up about steak knives on the table because people can cut themselves JC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hfx_chris Posted August 29, 2012 Report Share Posted August 29, 2012 So I spent a bit of time this evening studying this Portland Street Corridor, and I have a few observations. First off, hats off to HRM and Metro Transit, having 10 minute off-peak service along Portland Street is excellent, and they've done a good job making the three routes easy to find. Destination signs are relatively easy to figure out (my further thoughts on this below) and the bus stop re-arrangements at Portland Hills, Penhorn and Alderney Gate mean you only have to wait at one stop for any of the three routes, instead of guessing which one you need to stand at. One thing I'm really not totally sure about though is 10 minute service into the late evening. The 'corridor' (not to be confused with VIA Rail's Corridor of course!) runs at 10 minute headways right up until just before 1am. I can't imagine there's really a need for 10 minute service past 9pm, they could easily drop to 20 minute service. It's rather interesting how they're achieving those headways in the late evenings. After 6pm the 68 goes to a 1 hour headway, and after 9:30pm the 61 goes to 1 hour headway as well. So what they do is they start running "extra" 59s which short turn at Portland Hills. Check it out. Let's examine the schedule for the "corridor" departing the Bridge Terminal between 11pm and 12am. Keep in mind after 10pm the 61 is hourly, and the 68 is no longer running: 11:05 - 59 to Portland Hills 11:15 - 59 to Portland Hills 11:25 - 59 to Colby 11:35 - 61 to Auburn 11:45 - 59 to Portland Hills 11:55 - 59 to Portland Hills You've basically got 59s running every 10 minutes at midnight. Rather an odd sight. I can't help but think though they should be doing this a different way. The problem with running these 59s that short turn at Portland Hills is people see a bus that says 59, and get on it thinking it's going to take them out to Colby Village. The "Portland Street Corridor" really should be its' own separate route, and it should run on a 10 minute headway from Portland Hills to Scotia Square (possibly extended to Summer Street during rush hour.) Then you could turn some routes into feeder routes, like the 58 (terminating at Penhorn), and the 59 and 68 (terminating at Portland Hills). You could do the same with the 61 too, and discontinue the interlining with the 14. Actually didn't the consultants report recommend something like that, by extending the 14 to Portland Hills as the 14B, and making the 61 a feeder route terminating at Portland Hills along with the 59 and 68? Maybe the 14B could be the Portland Street Corridor... I'm really just thinking out loud at this point. My only other issue has to do with destination sign programming. Now, Metro Transit has come a long way since they first started programming the Luminator Horizon signs on the D40LFs, and they're finally taking advantage of the modern destination signs abilities to produce different font sizes, and multi-line stacked messages. But I can't say I totally like the way they programmed these "corridor" route signs. The top line just says "PORTLAND ST" - not sure why they abbreviated street since the sign could easily accommodate the full word. Since they abbreviated street to st, they could easily put the word "TO" on the top line as well, making it "PORTLAND ST TO" - but instead they decided to put the word "to" on the bottom line, which is fine for "TO COLBY" or "TO CHERRYBROOK" - but makes a real mess for Bridge Terminal - they end up having to abbreviate it as "TO BRIDGE TERM'L" - and personally I find that unnecessarily messy. Routes destined for Halifax however say "DOWNTOWN HALIFAX" "TO SCOTIA SQ" - seriously? Also looks messy. I'm just not a fan of abbreviations I guess. Side signs that's fine, less space to work with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hfx_chris Posted August 30, 2012 Report Share Posted August 30, 2012 One thing I really wish they would do is improve their signage at terminals for changes like this. The stupid little blue pieces of paper taped to the bus stop signs are useless, you need to be practically on top of them to read them, and half the people don't see them. For instance at Penhorn they moved the inbound and outbound 68 stops to share with the existing 59/61 stops. They should have some sort of big sign with large writing at the old stop saying the 68 is now over there. Same at Alderney, they did some pretty big rearrangements to the stop locations, they need big easy to read signs at each stop saying which routes moved to where. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orion VIII Posted August 31, 2012 Report Share Posted August 31, 2012 So I spent a bit of time this evening studying this Portland Street Corridor, and I have a few observations. First off, hats off to HRM and Metro Transit, having 10 minute off-peak service along Portland Street is excellent, and they've done a good job making the three routes easy to find. Destination signs are relatively easy to figure out (my further thoughts on this below) and the bus stop re-arrangements at Portland Hills, Penhorn and Alderney Gate mean you only have to wait at one stop for any of the three routes, instead of guessing which one you need to stand at. This sounds great. Obviously what they're trying to accomplish is the creation of a transit-intensive corridor where passengers can rely on the bus without having to worry about the schedule. I haven't dug deep into the schedules however when you say there's 10 minute service off-peak, I would imagine it is nearly twice as good in the peaks. If I recall correctly, 12 minute service is the widely-accepted point at which a route becomes truly usable. This not only makes it easier for captive riders to use transit, but also makes transit more appealing to choice riders who would otherwise not be on the system. Transferring becomes easy at this high level of service, allowing trips to be made across large grid networks. Think about it; in a hub-and-spoke system, you ride out of your way to make a convenient transfer, whereas in a grid system you may make 2 transfers but your trip is a direct one. The higher the level of service, the faster your trip becomes. At 30 minute frequency, a trip with two transfers could take an extra hour versus one on routes with 5 minute frequency where you're unlikely to have to wait at all. I know that a transit-intensive corridor is being established in Brampton, ON. The area is currently undeveloped however the city wants "excellent" transit to operate as soon as the first development happens along the corridor. The figure they are planning on using is 5 minute peak service and 10 minute off peak service, so I would imagine that this is not at all dissimilar to the Portland Street corridor in Dartmouth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calamin Posted August 31, 2012 Report Share Posted August 31, 2012 this is the first corridor no doubt some work will need to be done. I think North street will be next, I dont know if that will be across the bridge to mumford. I hope it does mean that as it will truly give people from Halifax and Dartmouth a way to get across the bridge back and forth and be able to do it in less then an hour. That would truly help capture new passengers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hfx_chris Posted August 31, 2012 Report Share Posted August 31, 2012 This sounds great. Obviously what they're trying to accomplish is the creation of a transit-intensive corridor where passengers can rely on the bus without having to worry about the schedule. I haven't dug deep into the schedules however when you say there's 10 minute service off-peak, I would imagine it is nearly twice as good in the peaks. They've done a pretty good job with the schedules in the riders guide/schedule booklet: http://www.halifax.ca/metrotransit/Schedules/documents/Rider_Guide_Print_August_15.pdf Starting on page 5 they have all three routes in one schedule grid for the corridor section. Unfortunately it doesn't tell you outbound which 59s continue to the routes proper terminus at Colby, and which ones short turn at Portland Hills. And on the other end, it doesn't tell you which inbound 59s and 68s continue to Halifax in the AM and which ones go out of service at the Bridge Terminal. I would be curious to get some feedback on the idea of the Portland Street corridor being its' own separate route, with 10 minute off-peak and 5 minute peak time headways running from Portland Hills to downtown Halifax / Scotia Square all day. This would allow shortening the route 58 to terminate at Penhorn, as well as the 59, 61 and 68 at Portland Hills. The route 14/61 interlining would be abandoned. The route would also be extended up Spring Garden to Summer Street during peak times. Or, run it at 10 minute headways off-peak and terminate it at the Bridge Terminal, but interline it with the route 1 continuing on to Halifax. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halifax_Route10 Posted September 5, 2012 Report Share Posted September 5, 2012 I would be curious to get some feedback on the idea of the Portland Street corridor being its' own separate route, with 10 minute off-peak and 5 minute peak time headways running from Portland Hills to downtown Halifax / Scotia Square all day. This would allow shortening the route 58 to terminate at Penhorn, as well as the 59, 61 and 68 at Portland Hills. The route 14/61 interlining would be abandoned. The route would also be extended up Spring Garden to Summer Street during peak times. Or, run it at 10 minute headways off-peak and terminate it at the Bridge Terminal, but interline it with the route 1 continuing on to Halifax. I could see this making sense: it's far cleaner and easier to grasp when looking at the schedules. However, I wonder if MT is concerned that 59/61/68 riders won't accept having to make a transfer at Portland Hills that they never had to before? Even if the transfer is convenient, some riders seem to loathe them. The 14/61 interlining situation is interesting. On one hand, the combined route is a monster 4-hour round trip to drive, making it difficult to adhere to the schedule. On the other, it gives people in, say, Spryfield the ability to get to Cole Harbour without having to make a transfer, as it does for the numerous communities inbetween. Again, it all comes down to the perception of having to transfer buses. I just came back from Toronto, and the TTC's grid-based bus system with ridiculously high frequencies meant that transferring always felt natural and painless, no matter where in the city you were. Here, however, if the Portland corridor runs every 10 minutes, but you missed your transfer from it to another route that only runs every 30 minutes, due to traffic or what have you, you'll be ticked off, and the idea of seamless transferring is shattered. So the key is that more and more routes have to be over that magic 12-minute frequency to make the transferring feel painless, and the perception of transferring needs to be improved. I don't know how you go about doing that, probably because it's 2AM at the moment... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M.Bienwald Posted September 5, 2012 Report Share Posted September 5, 2012 The "Portland Street Corridor" really should be its' own separate route, and it should run on a 10 minute headway from Portland Hills to Scotia Square Why not extend route 1 to Portland Hills, providing a direct service beyond Scotia Square (and taking a step away from the current more or less separate Halifax/Dartmouth networks). --- Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buschic Posted September 8, 2012 Report Share Posted September 8, 2012 Why not extend route 1 to Portland Hills, providing a direct service beyond Scotia Square (and taking a step away from the current more or less separate Halifax/Dartmouth networks). --- Martin Route 1 Spring Garden is an already over burdeoned route, try driving it, its a nasty bugger to keep on time much less extend it, the 61 currently will connect you from scotiasquare to Alderny Terminal, where its a simple 'get off, STAY standing at stop' & a Portland corridor bus will be right along within 10 minutes.. (espicially 59's & 60's) I use the 61 a lot, from Scotia Square as well as from HSC Mumford Terminal, (as a 14) to avoid the Bridge Terminal & save time, when I need to connect with my home route, 54 Montebello at Alderny Terminal, its VERY fast, to get home from Mumford Terminal, to where I live, if the connections are good.. ((I also live on a route that between 9am-3pm weekdays, is once an hour as well as after 6pm & on weekends )) so the connections can get pretty nasty... my alternitive is the Ferry, from Lower Water street (Water Street Terminal) to Alderny, but its sometimes a race to get form the Ferry, to the 54, its sometimes a nasty run at full speed, with white cane just tapping wildly!! LOL.. FUNNY!!......... except NOT.... I hate the 10, its a nasty bugger now that the universities are back in, we get nasty gaps out here (Westphal) during the day, (sometimes even nastier during rush hour), its the only connection to the bridge Terminal or halifax, from out here, & the 54 is NOT a viable alternitive! its only once an hour, (30min peak wkdays) & is dead after 9pm 6 days a week! ( service is 1x hour, 8am-5pm sundays) Ask ANY M.T driver that drives the 1 or 52, they'll tell you just how impossible those 2 routes are! (think of the 54,34,35,36,39,84,85 or 86 in TTC) btw, I THE DARTMOUTH/HALIFAX FERRY! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halifax_Route10 Posted September 9, 2012 Report Share Posted September 9, 2012 On this very overcast day, a few pictures of the Bridge Terminal site: Apart from the trees now blocking my shot, the lines have been painted on the pavement, and the wooden canopy is finished. Note the tiny "no trespassing" sign. The whole site is no longer fenced, and this lone sign is now the only deterrent to prevent anyone from walking onto the site! The "bus only" turning lane into the terminal is nearly done... ...but not quite! Eight days 'til it opens...mark your calendars, ladies and gentlemen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hfx_chris Posted September 10, 2012 Report Share Posted September 10, 2012 Three buses on fire at the Ilsley garage right now.. Fire reporting they're in the back corner of the lot. Supervisor reporting 2 'Flyers' (assumed D40LF) and 1 Access-A-Bus. Update: 1022 and 1054 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buschic Posted September 10, 2012 Report Share Posted September 10, 2012 oh man, so sad to hear D40LF's get destroyed, ( Yes, I like those buses a LOT) not only that, but 1054 was a regular on the 54.... lol, the morning driver thats been at MT for a LONG time ( He has been driving the 54 a very long time, so long infact that he's a legend out here, really cares about his passengers & takes excellent care of people with disabilities), always tried to get it when he could, he liked that bus, a lot, it was FAST & also had the fans in the roof hatches, a good bus gone... RIP 1054 1022, slow bugger, nasty hot on a cool day! you roasted on hot days & it had a nasty, horrible whine... Just a treat for you all, some shots I got with my big camera, over the last few weeks, both are D40LF, Both are Ragged Lake units I think.. New Paint sceme old paint sceme On this very overcast day, a few pictures of the Bridge Terminal site: Apart from the trees now blocking my shot, the lines have been painted on the pavement, and the wooden canopy is finished. Note the tiny "no trespassing" sign. The whole site is no longer fenced, and this lone sign is now the only deterrent to prevent anyone from walking onto the site! The "bus only" turning lane into the terminal is nearly done... ...but not quite! Eight days 'til it opens...mark your calendars, ladies and gentlemen. according to a supervisor I was talking with the other day @ Bridge "playing Chicken with buses & lives" Terminal, the new one is still a little behind the new opening date, so DO NOT be surprised if its NOT ready on the 17th... also there's no braille signage or tactile paths... ( pet peeve of mine!) I'll be SO happt when the new one opens, I avoid the current one as much as possible! its nasty on the best of days, but with it being so dangerous, I just dont like it one bit, I get very nervous walking around it & using it for transferring buses.. also a little side note, the change to the routing of Route 10 Westphal/Dalhousie, has been met with mostly positive remarks, Drivers like it, its faster & cuts a few minutes off the running time, the only complaint I've heard, is that the lights at the top of the new routing, are really slow & are a pain in the rear, also there's not enough stops along the new stretch, according to the operators I've spoken with, there's been some grumbling about that.. I've been using the Portland street corridor a lot, its easy to get to my pharmacy & laundrymat I use.. as well as one of my fave coffee shop.. I've been taking 54 to alderny, then any corridor route or 54 to 66 or 72 from Mic Mac Mall, to penhorn, then any corridor route) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hfx_chris Posted September 10, 2012 Report Share Posted September 10, 2012 Re the route 10, I noticed that too, I didn't see any outbound stops between Nantucket and Boland (the road it used to take), assuming this is where you were referring to. The buses at the garage were parked in the back corner, and I had a look at them today. Basically just a frame is all that's left. I didn't see the third bus (supposedly an Access-A-Bus). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buschic Posted September 10, 2012 Report Share Posted September 10, 2012 Re the route 10, I noticed that too, I didn't see any outbound stops between Nantucket and Boland (the road it used to take), assuming this is where you were referring to. The buses at the garage were parked in the back corner, and I had a look at them today. Basically just a frame is all that's left. I didn't see the third bus (supposedly an Access-A-Bus). Yep, it was an access-a-bus, a retired one (according to a supervisor that i saw today)..the 10, is a screwed up route, why is it only every HOUR on Sundays, thats a really nasty inconvenience, when living out here, the only direct connections between here & Halifax on sundays & holidays, are once an hour, also the 54 dies at 5pm, its asinine, no wonder people dont rely on the bus, (those that can) take their cars, or ride a bike, those who are captive riders, just have to be content, basically going no where...Thankfully, I dont mind just staying within dartmouth on sundays, its a good day to go do laundry.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hfx_chris Posted September 11, 2012 Report Share Posted September 11, 2012 Transit in this city during rush hour, or even during the weekdays, isn't bad. Weekends and especially Sundays it's a complete disaster. And the fact HRM still doesn't have any sort of late-night service on Friday and Saturday nights is unforgivable Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buschic Posted September 11, 2012 Report Share Posted September 11, 2012 Transit in this city during rush hour, or even during the weekdays, isn't bad. Weekends and especially Sundays it's a complete disaster. And the fact HRM still doesn't have any sort of late-night service on Friday and Saturday nights is unforgivable Rofl! your preaching to the choir there Chris, even in my hometown, of Hamilton, they have late night service, last round trips from downtown on 4-6 major routes start at 01:20x!! meaning, that last bus fromt he end of the line on the 2 big routes was 01:50x...with all the Universities I was shocked when I moved here & found out that the LAST bus across the Bridge to get back here to the Tacoma, Calidonia, areas, was 11:28pm! on a friday night!! yeah, appalled was not the word I used, but I digress, I wont swear...but COME ON METRO TRANSIT!! bloody hell! when a city as small as BRAMPTON ONT, as well as YRT, Run buses LATER THAN HALIFAX??? ok, thats sick!!OY!! I feel like I'm back in 1995 in Hamilton!Sheesh! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hfx_chris Posted September 11, 2012 Report Share Posted September 11, 2012 I think your post got a bit messed up there Last route 1 bound for Dartmouth leaves Barrington and Duke at 12:40, arriving at the Bridge at 12:52 - but as you've noticed, not much good if nothing is going to take you any farther than that! The last 10 Westphal leaves the Bridge at 11:38, which is pretty pitiful. The last Portland-bound bus departs the Bridge at 12:25 (59), the last 60 is 12:10, and the last bus bound for the north end departs at 12:55 (52). So it looks like when you take that last route 1 to Dartmouth, the only route you can transfer to is the 52. Not much better in Halifax. The last 20 leaves Scotia Square at 11:12, and the last 80 leaves at 12:10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armorand Posted September 11, 2012 Report Share Posted September 11, 2012 I think your post got a bit messed up there Last route 1 bound for Dartmouth leaves Barrington and Duke at 12:40, arriving at the Bridge at 12:52 - but as you've noticed, not much good if nothing is going to take you any farther than that! The last 10 Westphal leaves the Bridge at 11:38, which is pretty pitiful. The last Portland-bound bus departs the Bridge at 12:25 (59), the last 60 is 12:10, and the last bus bound for the north end departs at 12:55 (52). So it looks like when you take that last route 1 to Dartmouth, the only route you can transfer to is the 52. Not much better in Halifax. The last 20 leaves Scotia Square at 11:12, and the last 80 leaves at 12:10. And I thought Calgary was bad, for last buses/trains of the day... jeeze. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OC Transpo 8238 Posted September 11, 2012 Report Share Posted September 11, 2012 I see on the wiki the fire buses are "retired". Has anyone gotten 100% word this is true? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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