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20 April 2009
Posted in
Springboard to Motion: Eco-Commuting
Ok… so some things might be more obvious to some than to others. But if you’ve never taken the bus, you just might have one too many questions or objections about doing so that prevent you from getting on:
- How much does it cost?
- What are the route numbers? And what time does the next bus come?
- Can I ride if I have a physical disability?
- Can I bring my stroller on? What do kids pay?
- Can they make change for the twenty I got from the bank machine last night?
Here are answers to these quips, queries and more in hopes that you’ll seek out your next bus riding opportunity soon. So help the planet a little today and take mass-transit. Leave your car at home and “ride the bus with us”!
- Basics & Costs
- Routes, Map & Schedules
- Transfers & Ferries
- Bus Stop Telephone Number: Call for the Next Bus
- Access-A-Bus
- Students Ride Free
- F.R.E.D. – Free Rides Everywhere Downtown
- Green Bus Fuel
1. Basics & Costs
HRM has and abundance of up-to-date information about their mass transit options. Find out about costs, service interruptions or delays, bus etiquette or acceptable practises and more on-line at www.halifax.ca/metrotransit.
But for 2 bucks or less, depending on your age, you can get on. The more you ride, the less it costs. Multi-use passes are available. And remember that children under 5 ride FREE!
2. Routes, Map & Schedules
HRM has a very detailed pdf map you can download and zoom in and out of to see all the routes. (www.halifax.ca/metrotransit/Schedules/documents/MapBack_27.pdf)
If you ride the bus regularly, you get to know the main bus routes. And once you’ve got your bearings about the city and generally know the main routes, the schedules are easy to follow. Schedules can also be downloaded from HRM’s website and uploaded to your laptop or favorite handheld device from: www.halifax.ca/metrotransit/Schedules/index.asp.
3. Transfers & Ferries
No need to shy away from transfers. These can help you get to your intended destination FREE if the bus near you doesn’t take you there. You can even ride the “water bus” (the ferry) with a pass! But be sure to ask your bus driver when you get on the bus. And be sure to take note of when the pass expires since often it can be 90 minutes after it was issued.
If you travel back and forth from Dartmouth to Halifax, or vice-versa, why not hop the ferry to do so. See schedules at www.halifax.ca/metrotransit/ferries.html.
4. Bus Stop Telephone Number: Call for the Next Bus
This is brilliant and so convenient if you forgot your bus schedule! There is a number associated with and written on each bus stop. We’re not talking about the route number, which also on the bus stop and is the most prominently displayed number.
There is a 4-digit number that form the last part of a phone number you can call, that is tied to each bus stop. Dial 480 and the 4-digit number posted on your bus stop, and you will access an automated system that tells you when the next bus is due to arrive at your particular stop. Ingenius! No more excuses!
5. Access-A-Bus
If you or anyone you know is unable to access the bus due to physical or cognitive disabilities, there’s an option: Access-a-Bus.
“Metro Transit's Access-A-Bus service is a shared ride, door-to-door, transit service for persons who are unable to use the conventional transit system due to physical or cognitive disabilities and are declared eligible through a registration process.
The Access-A-Bus service is meant to supplement the Metro Transit fixed route system. Funding is provided by the Halifax Regional Municipality.”, according to HRM’s Metro Transit website. For more details, visit on-line at: www.halifax.ca/metrotransit/access_a_bus.html.
6. Students Ride Free
If you are a full time student at St. Mary’s University, Dalhousie University or King’s College, you are eligible for a U-Pass. The U-Pass is an unlimited bus pass valid during the academic year. Visit their website to find out more bout U-Pass. (www.halifax.ca/metrotransit/upass.html)
7. F.R.E.D. – Free Rides Everywhere Downtown
Yes, it says Free Rides Everywhere Downtown. And that’s what you’ll get when you park your car downtown and join in on this accessible mass transit effort. It’s available during tourist season and operates from July to October.
FRED is sponsored by the Downtown Halifax Business Commission, and will begin this year on July 4th. It runs 7 days per week from 10:30am to 5:00 pm. It operates on a 40 minute frequency, servicing specially marked FRED stops such as: Pier 21, the Casino, Spring Garden Rd. and Citadel Hill. See www.downtownhalifax.ns.ca .
So be a tourist in your own city and tour all the highlights on FRED… free!
8. Green Bus Fuel
Did you know that some of the Metro Transit bus fleet runs on bio-fuel? So you’re not just helping out the planet by taking mass transit, but also because the fuel used to run a number of the buses is more eco-friendly.
The Metro Transit fleet switched to biodiesel as long ago as 2004. Despite some quality issues they had along the way that interrupted its use in the first year of use, the Metro Transit bus fleet has been back on biodiesel since February 2007.
HRM’s Metro Transit’s website reports that: “As of January 2007, Metro Transit resumed use of the biodiesel product in partnership with Wilson Fuels, beginning with the entire MetroLink fleet, at the B-5 mixture. As product testing continues, Fleet Services plans to increase the mixture to B-10, and eventually B-20 once the rest of the fleet comes on board.” (www.halifax.ca/metrotransit/Biodiesel.html)
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