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Halifax (metro) Transit.


Guest M. Boone

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I have a question about Metro Transit. I know they have the 6 fishbowls, 3 D-30LFs and 14 classic artics. How much of the classics(regular), novas, and D40LFs do they have now? I can't find any *up to date* rosters for them. Last I heard for the D40LFs it was around 70.

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I have a question about Metro Transit. I know they have the 6 fishbowls, 3 D-30LFs and 14 classic artics. How much of the classics(regular), novas, and D40LFs do they have now? I can't find any *up to date* rosters for them. Last I heard for the D40LFs it was around 70.

I'll forward this question to some Halifax people I know. They'll probably know.

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Okay I know you already know this Mat as you are on the group but for others to know.

Currently 102 D40LFs

3 D30LFs (as mentioned)

14 TC60-102N articulated Classics (as mentioned)

6 New Looks (T6H-5307N - as mentioned)

15 NovaBus LFS'

As for Classics: 32 NovaBus, 29 MCI and 25 GMC (please someone correct

me if I'm wrong, my info could very well be out of date)

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  • 2 months later...

It might of been 506 since the Streetside guide omits that bus in there 2002/2004 listing. If it was that bus it sure got fixed up quickly.

Just to clarify, 506 was not the bus involved in the accident a few years back, 507 was.

And 507 was returned to service within a month or so of the accident. The only remaining evidence is a slight dent on the front-left side of the bus.

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Chris, are you interested in Halifax trolleybuses, which ran from 1949-1969? If so, there are pictures and a fleet roster at http://www.trolleybuses.net/hfx/hfx.htm. Halifax was the only Maritime trolleybus operation, and until 1962 was all-trolley buses (only then did they get their first fishbowls). Only one of them, # 273, is preserved, at the Seashore Trolley Museum at Kennebunkport, Maine; see http://www.trolleymuseum.org/collection/trackless/273.html. In 1995 the Bus History Association published the book "Halifax - City of Trolleycoaches", a few copies of which may still be available. If you're interested please PM me for more info.

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Mark,

I am indeed interested in the trolleys Halifax ran from 1949-1969. I can't tell you how many times I've checked that book, Halifax - City of Trolleycoaches" out of the library here. I've been searching for a copy to buy for a while now, it's actually one of my favourite books!

I myself was not alive when they were running them (I'm only 21 myself), however I do have a big interest in local transit history going all the way back to the Birney tram cars and beyond.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Sure, here's some quick info:

post-1996:

year - model - fleet no's

1999 - NFI D30LF - 505-507

1999 - Nova LFS - 986-996

2000 - Nova LFS - 997-1000

2002 - NFI D40LF - 1001-1032

2004 - NFI D40LF - 1033-1060

2005 - NFI D40LF - 600-619 (used for MetroLink; Metro Transit's BRT system)

2005 - NFI D40LF - 1061-1082

2006 - NFI D40LF - 1083-1107

For more information, check out the fleet roster on the Metro Transit Wikipedia article, which I'm continually poking at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metro_Transit_(Halifax).

Also, there is a semi-updated roster on the Halifaxtransit Yahoo group.

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  • 1 year later...
Hey what's this I hear about you guys maybe getting DE60LFRs next year, just a rumor I heard.

At the very least we definitely know we're getting New Flyer Artics next year. An insider confirmed that we'd be getting artics, and Metro Transit is not very warm to Nova, and dislikes Orion. Add that to the fact that there was DE60LFR demo here earlier this year, and it seems pretty likely. We badly need them too, what with ridership being up 25% and all. I'm almost always standing when I take the bus these days...

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Where did you hear that?

Indeed, there is a bit of speculation and assumption on my part, I should have said that.

My reasoning is based on almost every driver I've talked to (that's more than a few) saying that their least favourite bus to drive is the LFS, and I can't imagine that MT would order buses that their drivers don't like to drive. I'm sure the Novas have gotten better since then, but there is a stigma surrounding them in the eyes of some drivers. If Nova bid lower than New Flyer in a tender, that might be another matter, because Nova scored pretty close to New Flyer in everything but cost. But as it stands now, driver dislike + higher cost = no more LFS's.

As for Orion, in a tender document from the 2006 order of buses, Orion scored several points lower in the technical and vendor support categories than New Flyer and Nova, who were tied. Not to mention that Orion was asking for almost $50,000 more per unit.

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Well, I dunno if I would say they dislike Orion. If they're bidding higher, then they're just not an option. As for the LFS, I thought some of the drivers disliked them more from an ergonomic / comfort standpoint.

Oh by the way, two fantastic shots of 874 and 1007. Thanks for posting!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Yes and no. The majority of them stay back at the garage and just see peak time usage, but they always have a few, maybe 4 or 5 out on specific routes, I remember they used to be on routes like the 17 and 18 religiously during the day. And every now and then they'll give them all a good run and you'll see them everywhere during the day :rolleyes:

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Yes and no. The majority of them stay back at the garage and just see peak time usage, but they always have a few, maybe 4 or 5 out on specific routes, I remember they used to be on routes like the 17 and 18 religiously during the day. And every now and then they'll give them all a good run and you'll see them everywhere during the day :ph34r:

Religiously?? I didn't know that religion had anything to do with bus manufacturers ;)

Just kidding.

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  • 5 weeks later...

I might as well just provide a few updates for people not on the halifaxtransit board:

We're finally getting a new garage! The two current garages are way over capacity, so a new garage is being built with a capacity of 150 buses. Estimated cost = $25 million.

Also, the city is spending $1.4 million to put security cameras in all buses by next year. Necessary? Not really, IMHO, but I guess if it makes people feel safer...

Two new routes and a bunch of service increases are on the way, but not on any routes that matter to me... :P

And a random comment: I was on an articulated Classic the other day on my way home, during rush hour. It has seating for 71 people, but by the time we reached the bridge, every seat was filled, plus there were about 30 standees! I got on at the beginning of the run (sitting in the "idiot" seat), but gave my seat to an older woman, and was thus standing for the rest of the run packed in like sardines. That was not fun, and neither was going up hills... :P The lesson? For a start, increase the 10 to run every 10 minutes during rush hour, darn it! I don't take the bus that often (although I will be soon), but I've never seen it packed like that before. Which brings me to the final point:

The official numbers are out (or at least I found them), and transit ridership has increased 25 percent over the last 4 years, and is now somewhere in the range of 18-20 million a year. Divided by 365 (but of course ridership will realistically be higher on weekdays) = 52,000 per day, and if you were to divide by two again, assuming that everyone uses the bus twice a day, 26,000 individual riders per day. Not bad for a service population of 282,000. At least it's a start, but there's a lot that can still be done to make the system better. The new garage and service expansions are a step in the right direction.

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